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

Brim Stoned (part 1)
Jet Fighter

25th October 1998
21:12 GMT -7


"Ohshitshitohshit!" The terrified man laying on the pavement grabs my shoulders as I crouch next to him. "You gotta call me an ambulance, man!"

I smile, grabbing the side of his coat with my right hand and pulling it up to reveal the hole.

"You're fine." I wiggle my right forefinger through the double hole. "See? They missed. Amateur gunfighters often do."

"Whu-?" He frowns in confusion, staring at me and then at his own coat.

I unhook my finger and then pat him across the torso before holding up my hand. "No blood. Are you in any major pain?"

"N-? No?" He frowns harder, shaking his head as if he can't quite believe what's happened. "I-. I was?"

"It might have skimmed you, I suppose. Bullets are quite hot when they come out of the barrel, and if it skimmed you then you might have felt a burn. Do you want a hand up?"

"Ah..?"

I move my right hand under his left armpit and then stand, pulling him half-willingly up with me. He takes a moment and then pulls away, patting himself down as if to… No, to actually reassure himself that he's not injured. After a moment of finding nothing he calms down a little.

"Ah. Thanks."

I smile a little more broadly. "Your attacker was so shocked that I just had to shout at them and they ran off. Not a big deal. Ah. Are you going to be alright getting home, or do you want me to call you a taxi?"

"Did you-? Did you get a good look at them?"

I shake my head. "Sorry. Between the bad lighting and the adrenaline, not really. I mean, if you want to report it to the police I don't mind-."

"Nah. No, I'll-." He manages to relax a little. "I'll go talk to 'em tomorrow. Right now, I just wanna go home and hug my kids. And… Change their curfew to Five PM."

He laughs awkwardly and I nod. "Sounds wise. You have a good evening."

He nods, turning to walk away. He gets about half way to the sounds and lights of the next street, then stops and turns his head back towards me. I wave, and he awkwardly nods and keeps walking.

Good job his brain wasn't quite dead when I got to him.

My right hand moves to the faintly glowing orange ring on my left ring finger. Yes, I could easily have captured the idiot youth who nearly killed him, but after something like this I think tracking them down and having a stern word with them… Helping them sort their life out, will really do more good in the long run. It was supposed to be a threat and they were genuinely horrified-.

I frown as I catch sight of a blond… Slightly ratty-looking man at the end of the road, where whoever that was I just intercepted from his premature meeting with his maker went. He ducks back when he notices that I've seen him. Not sure what that's about.

Now, where's the first-time gunfighter gone? I'm sure this would be easier on a world with an established superhero tradition, but… Needs must where the Devil drives. This city's enough of a mess that even a neophyte like me can find people to help, and… Not like there's much point starting again on this world's version of Britain.

Okay, start walking, ratty man apparently having disappeared. Compare my target's location with a local map… A bar. I haven't been here long enough to know whether it's a criminal underworld type bar or if he just wants to steady his nerves. I walk at a pace, hands in pockets and making good time. He was running, but he's not thinking straight. I could just appear next to him, but I don't really want to blow my own cover. Or prompt him to panic into a relapse. Let him calm down, then have a word.

Never really been a fan of bars. Music, too many people in close proximity, dancing and alcohol. Still, I can usually get a laugh out of the bar tender.

I sit down, and manage to catch his eye.

"Yeah?"

"Orange juice, please."

He stares at me for a moment. "You know this is a bar, right buddy?"

"Ah, I apologise. Orange juice, I'm a great tipper."

"Hahaokay." He ambles over to the bar's fridge. "You want ice?"

"In October? No, thank you."

He takes the cap off the bottle and pours it into a glass before putting it down in front of me. I pass him a twenty dollar bill before picking it up and taking a sip. Well… I… Shouldn't have expected freshly squeezed. The barman-.

"Hey."

I turn to my left, and it appears that ratty-man has followed me here. He's looking at me… Rather intensely-.

"Hello?"

"So, ah. How do you wanna do this?"

Ah. I've never really been sure how to handle this sort of situation. I knew… Los Angeles was basically America's Brighton, but it still…

Just have to learn to deal with it, I suppose.

"Ah. Look, I'm sure you're a splendid chap, but you're not really my type, and even if you were, congress in public toilets is extremely unhygien-"

"Ah, no, no-."

"ic-. Oh. Sorry, I-. Just assumed-." He looks as awkward as I feel. "I'd.. buy you a drink by way of apology, but I'm worried that would be giving mixed messages."

"No. Jesus. Look, I-. Saw what you did for that guy."

Ah.

"Are you a police officer?"

"I… Was."

I blink in bafflement. "What the heck did you do to get fired from the Los Angeles Police Department?"

"No, I was.. in the NYPD."

Okay… Nineties computers, but I'll manage-.

His right hand's gone under his coat, because… He just saw my eyes flash.

"That won't be necessary, Detective Stone-."

Who is listed as dead. Huh.

"Again, not wanting to give mixed messages, but you're looking surprisingly good for a man your age, who's been dead for fifteen years. Um. Are you under cover?"

His face hardens slightly. "How about we take this outside?"

"Um. Okay?"

I down my orange juice and then set the glass back down on the bar. Barman… It's a busy evening, and I think $20 for a small low quality orange juice covers the 'generous tip' part. I step back from the bar as Detective Stone gestures for me to go first.

The man I'm looking for is downing shots at the other end of the bar. He's not going anywhere. I nudge my way past the flow of people entering the bar and head out with a shrug. Other than myself, Detective Stone is the first sign I've seen that anything supernatural exists on the Earth, and I'm definitely curious what that-.

"Time to give the Devil his due."

"Um." I turn to face him as he raises his gun. "What?"
 
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Uh, what world is this?

And the hell kinda guy kills someone for saving a life? Dick move, Ex-Detective.

Is this the universe from the Lucifer show?
The link goes to the title sequence of a show called Brimstone. It features a dead Detective who works for the Devil and he must return to Hell 113 souls who have escaped to Earth. He obviously thinks the SI is one, since he has no reference for any other kind of supernatural phenomena. Thankfully, a power ring is enough to stop a bullet. Also, I'm curious as to whether or not something bad will happen to the Detective if he accidently kills the SI somehow.
 
Damn, straight to killing him? I'd have thought the detective would've tried to talk it out more.
Flashing orange eyes after he got out of hell? Nah. Man's trying to send the demons back to hell so he can get a new lease on life. Fuck, this is an old show.

What's next? Gargoyles? Firefly? Dad's Army?
 
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Well, that's a very obtuse opening for a very low-budget 90's show. (Danger! TVTropes Link!) Lots of ominous voice-over and swirly words fluttering over mysterious video! A strange setup for a strange series. :p The finest effects 1997 Video Toaster could provide!

"Ohshitshitohshit!" The terrified man laying on the pavement grabs my shoulders as I crouch next to him. "You gotta call me an ambulance, man!"

I smile, grabbing the side of his coat with my right hand and pulling it up to reveal the hole.
And a Paul, stuck in this screwed-by-the-network series. Let's hope he's at least got some kind of Power.

"You're fine." I wiggle my right forefinger through the double hole. "See? They missed. Amateur gunfighters often do."

"Whu-?" He frowns in confusion, staring at me and then at his own coat.
And Paul's hoping he doesn't notice that the holes are over his ribs, not open air.

I unhook my finger and then pat him across the torso before holding up my hand. "No blood. Are you in any major pain?"

"N-? No?" He frowns harder, shaking his head as if he can't quite believe what's happened. "I-. I was?"
Hmm. Some manner of healing capability. If it's a ring, it's either blue, orange or indigo.

"If might have skimmed you, I suppose. Bullets are quiet hot when they come out of the barrel, and if it skimmed you then you might have felt a burn. Do you want a hand up?"

"Ah..?"
And a fairly truthful rationalisation... Between the heat of the powder burning and the scraping as it flies down the barrel, 'hot lead' is not a misnomer.

I move my right hand under his left armpit and then stand, pulling him half-willingly up with me. He takes a moment and then pulls away, patting himself down as if to… No, to actually reassure himself that he's not injured. After a moment of finding nothing he calms down a little.

"Ah. Thanks."
Something of a life-changing experience regardless. And possibly a pants-changing one as well. :p

I smile a little more broadly. "Your attacker was so shocked that I just had to shout at them and they ran off. Not a big deal. Ah. Are you going to be alright getting home, or do you want me to call you a taxi?"

"Did you-? Did you get a good look at them?"
Friend, unless you're a cop, I'd leave it be and be glad you're alive.

I shake my head. "Sorry. Between the bad lighting and the adrenaline, not really. I mean, if you want to report it to the police I don't mind-."

"Nah. No, I'll-." He manages to relax a little. "I'll go talk to 'em tomorrow. Right now, I just wanna go home and hug my kids. And… Change their curfew to Five PM."
I expect Paul here handled the cleaning of pants. A mere courtesy to save your dignity. :D

He laughs awkwardly and I nod. "Sounds wise. You have a good evening."

He nods, turning to walk away. He gets about half way to the sounds and lights of the next street, then stops and turns his head back towards me. I wave, and he awkwardly nods and keeps walking.
Not a jaunty tip of the hat? Doable even if you're not wearing one. Still, I think the guy's had enough strangeness for one lifetime.

Good job his brain wasn't quite dead when I got to him.

My right hand moves to the faintly glowing orange ring on my left ring finger. Yes, I could easily have captured the idiot youth who nearly killed him, but after something like this I think tracking them down and having a stern word with them… Helping them sort their life out, will really do more good in the long run. It was supposed to be a threat and they were genuinely horrified-.
Ah, the power of Avarice. Excellent for changing the ways of misguided people. Though I wonder about his charging methods...

I frown as I catch sight of a blond… Slightly ratty-looking man at the end of the road, where whoever that was I just intercepted from his premature meeting with his maker went. He ducks back when he notices that I've seen him. Not sure what that's about.

Now, where's the first-time gunfighter gone? I'm sure this would be easier on a world with an established superhero tradition, but… Needs must where the Devil drives. This city's enough of a mess that even a neophyte like me can find people to help, and… Not like there's much point starting again on this world's version of Britain.
Ooh, I sense a protagonist. Or rather, a canon protagonist. Probably following a trail of brimstone... :V

Okay, start walking, ratty man apparently having disappeared. Compare my target's location with a local map… A bar. I haven't been here long enough to know whether it's a criminal underworld type bar or if he just wants to steady his nerves. I walk at a pace, hands in pockets and making good time. He was running, but he's not thinking straight. I could just appear next to him, but I don't really want to blow my own cover. Or prompt him to panic into a relapse. Let him calm down, then have a word.
I'm betting he relies on his ring's scans a lot more, with the Internet being a lot less... Mature than it is now.

Never really been a fan of bars. Music, too many people in close proximity, dancing and alcohol. Still, I can usually get a laugh out of the bar tender.

I sit down, and manage to catch his eye.
You're not the only one. Can't stand large crowds in small spaces myself. Tolerable in shopping centres, not so fun in a gaming store...

"Yeah?"

"Orange juice, please."

He stares at me for a moment. "You know this is a bar, right buddy?"
Should have asked for a dirty glass, then. :p

"Ah, I apologise. Orange juice, I'm a great tipper."

"Hahaokay." He ambles over to the bar's fridge. "You want ice?"
There's that laugh. The English accent probably helps with the 'being disarming' thing.

"In October? No, thank you."

He takes the cap off the bottle and pours it into a glass before putting it down in front of me. I pass him a twenty dollar bill before picking it up and taking a sip. Well… I… Shouldn't have expected freshly squeezed. The barman-.

"Hey."

I turn to my left, and it appears that ratty-man has followed me here. He's looking at me… Rather intensely-.
Yep, we have our protagonist. One 'Zeke' Stone, sent back from Hell as Satan's hitman in hopes of a second chance.

"Hello?"

"So, ah. How do you wanna do this?"
And it looks like it's straight down to business... Pity he has the wrong man.

Ah. I've never really been sure how to handle this sort of situation. I knew… Los Angeles was basically America's Brighton, but it still…

Just have to learn to deal with it, I suppose.
...Oh, right. the still-somewhat-closeted gay subculture of the 90's.

"Ah. Look, I'm sure you're a splendid chap, but you're not really my type, and even if you were, congress in public toilets is extremely unhygien-"

"Ah, no, no-."
Never mind the mechanics of it. Most men's toilet stalls are not very large, you know. It's hardly conducive to any kind of encounter, much less an erotic one.

"ic-. Oh. Sorry, I-. Just assumed-." He looks as awkward as I feel. "I'd.. buy you a drink by way of apology, but I'm worried that would be giving mixed messages."

"No. Jesus. Look, I-. Saw what you did for that guy."
Awkward, especially since Zeke went to hell for killing the guy who raped (and presumably murdered) his wife.

Ah.

"Are you a police officer?"

"I… Was."
...Could still consider yourself one, if you apply Satan's authority over demons rather loosely. Well, more of a bounty hunter.

I blink in bafflements. "What the heck did you do to get fired from the Los Angeles Police Department?"

"No, I was.. in the NYPD."
Not just for logical story reasons either. It's probably cheaper to do night shoots in LA. :p

Okay… Nineties computers, but I'll manage-.

His right hand's gone under his coat, because… He just saw my eyes flash.
"The eyes are the windows of the soul", as the intro above says.

"That won't be necessary, Detective Stone-."

Who is listed as dead. Huh.
And not recently. And he probably looks a lot younger than his mid-to-late forties.

"Again, not wanting to give mixed messages, but you're looking surprisingly good for a man your age, who's been dead for fifteen years. Um. Are you under cover?"

His face hardens slightly. "How about we take this outside?"
Well, escalating to fisticuffs already? I bet he'll find fighting a man with a magic space ring a tough match. :p

"Um. Okay?"

I down my orange juice and then set the glass back down on the bar. Barman… It's a busy evening, and I think $20 for a small low quality orange juice covers the 'generous tip' part. I step back from the bar as Detective Stone gestures for me to go first.
God knows what the bartender's thinking of all this, but he's probably distracted.

The man I'm looking for is downing shots at the other end of the bar. He's not going anywhere. I nudge my way past the flow of people entering the bar and head out with a shrug. Other than myself, Detective Stone is the first sign I've seen that anything supernatural exists on the Earth, and I'm definitely curious what that-.

"Time to give the Devil his due."

"Um." I turn to face him as he raises his gun. "What?"
...And the bullet is promptly caught by a construct mitt. :D Predictable, really.

Well, this was an... Odd choice for an alternate. Quite the obscure little oddity of Nineties American Network television. But looking at it, I find myself wondering what other shows a Paul found himself in. Perhaps a full series version of the 'Generation X' Marvel TV pilot would be amusing. Or just imagine a Paul meeting Fox Mulder and telling him that 'Yes, there are aliens out there. Some aren't nice, though." x3

"If might have skimmed you, I suppose.
"It might have skimmed you, I suppose.
I blink in bafflements.
I blink in bafflement.
I step back from the bar as Detective Stone gestures for me to go first.
Double Space.
 
Damn, now to me that's obscure! I didn't even remember that show existed but it was actually where I first met John Glover. If it gets more nostalgic I will be remembering my baby days!
 
As pointed out . . . This is Brimstone.

Main character is Ezekiel Stone. NYPD police officer. His wife was raped and the rapist got off on a technicality. He tracked the guy down and killed him. Not long after he himself was killed and he went to Hell for killing that rapist. It was eventually revealed that it wasn't the kill itself that condemned him, but that he took pleasure in killing the guy.

113 souls end up escaping from Hell, and Stone is selected to hunt them down and send them all back. The reward for doing so being a second chance at life, and thus a chance of eventually going to Heaven.

Souls from Hell are effectively invulnerable. Nothing you do to them will effectively put them down. Well, almost. They all have one weakness. Their eyes. If you destroy their eyes they get sent back to Hell. Apparently because "the eyes are the window of the soul". (Which actually makes me think of that Tales from the Crypt movie where eyes are the weakness of demons, too.)

That said, even if it won't put them down, apparently only a damned soul can make another damned soul feel pain. At least on Earth. So, like, if a normal person punched one of these people they wouldn't even feel it. But if they punched each other . . .

The longer one of these escaped souls has spent in Hell, the more powerful they are on Earth. And since Stone's only real context for running into people with weird powers is said escaped souls, he's assuming this version of Paul is one such soul.

Another fun thing is that every time one of these souls from Hell, including the protagonist, wakes up in the morning they wake up in the clothing they were wearing when they died. They even get back whatever was in their pockets at the time. In Ezekiel Stone's case, beyond his clothes, he always wakes up with his badge, a fully loaded service pistol, and $36.27.

Ezekiel 36:27 - "And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."

For some cosmology stuff . . . All the various faiths and their gods and afterlives used to be real. But apparently if you get conquered by people following one of the Abrahamic faiths, your gods and afterlife get wiped the fuck out. It seems this is because it's all actually shaped by human faith, so I think they end up being destroyed because of the whole "YAHWEH is the ONLY God thing".

Which, because of the spread of the Abrahamic faiths and like colonialism and shit . . . Pretty sure it was outright stated that the only thing left is the Abrahamic God and the Abrahamic afterlife. It doesn't matter what you believe in anymore. Whenever any human anywhere in the world dies, they're judged by Abrahamic standards.

The main villain used to be a high priestess for one of the other religions and she is super pissed off about that. So her big plan is that somehow she's going to make everyone lose faith in, well, the Abrahamic faiths. Which will make God, Satan, Heaven, and Hell all poof out of existence.

Not sure what would happen to people who died if she succeeded, or if it would be possible for other faiths to become real in the aftermath.
 
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For some cosmology stuff . . . All the various faiths and their gods and afterlives used to be real. But apparently if you get conquered by people following one of the Abrahamic faiths, your gods and afterlife get wiped the fuck out. It seems this is because it's all actually shaped by human faith, so I think they end up being destroyed because of the whole "YAHWEH is the ONLY God thing".

Which, because of the spread of the Abrahamic faiths and like colonialism and shit . . . Pretty sure it was outright stated that the only thing left is the Abrahamic God and the Abrahamic afterlife. It doesn't matter what you believe in anymore. Whenever any human anywhere in the world dies, they're judged by Abrahamic standards.

The main villain used to be a high priestess for one of the other religions and she is super pissed off about that. So her big plan is that somehow she's going to make everyone lose faith in, well, the Abrahamic faiths. Which will make God, Satan, Heaven, and Hell all poof out of existence.

Not sure what would happen to people who died if she succeeded, or if it would be possible for other faiths to become real in the aftermath.
That's not how I remember it.

Yes, Ash complained about not being judged by her people's gods, but I don't recall anything to indicate that those gods ever actually existed.
 
The SI is using his power pretty freely, so I guess this isn't one of the versions where lack of recharge for the ring is a big problem. I wonder how, though. He says that Stone is the first supernatural thing he's found in this world, so it's not like other alternatives where he finds a magic artifact or something that can provide a recharge. And we're seeing orange flashes, so it's not a different ring type that recharges without a lantern. Just a "Fuck it, Brimstone version gets a lantern" decision?
 
The SI is using his power pretty freely, so I guess this isn't one of the versions where lack of recharge for the ring is a big problem. I wonder how, though. He says that Stone is the first supernatural thing he's found in this world, so it's not like other alternatives where he finds a magic artifact or something that can provide a recharge. And we're seeing orange flashes, so it's not a different ring type that recharges without a lantern. Just a "Fuck it, Brimstone version gets a lantern" decision?
No, he's getting power... Elsewhere.
 
The SI is using his power pretty freely, so I guess this isn't one of the versions where lack of recharge for the ring is a big problem. I wonder how, though. He says that Stone is the first supernatural thing he's found in this world, so it's not like other alternatives where he finds a magic artifact or something that can provide a recharge. And we're seeing orange flashes, so it's not a different ring type that recharges without a lantern. Just a "Fuck it, Brimstone version gets a lantern" decision?
We've seen another Paul (Not hellion, not incubus, not malefactor… Sybarite!) who ate demons to recharge. That could happen here. It isn't like anything will break if a hellspirit on Earth is destroyed rather than returned to Hell.

edit: Sybarite!Paul
 
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