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

Katillno · Mar 23, 2023

Huh isn't plugging a volcano one of the worst things you can do to a volcano?

Ngamer11 · Mar 23, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Thank you, corrected.

It seems I was mistaken. Though, shouldn't the link be colored orange like the rest of that sentence?

Mr Zoat said:
Interesting that he didn't try and deflect blame. He would have been advised, but where technically matters are concerned, how much advice could someone from Volkreg actually give?

That should say 'technical'.

Darko · Mar 23, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
move it a world that had

"to a world"

Mr Zoat said:
nearly the full extend of the ash

"full extent"

FeepingCreature · Mar 23, 2023

Something like the last five chapters in a row have been entirely Jade-less, with exactly one comms line dropped in at the end.

Gotta mean something. No clue what though.

Mr Zoat · Mar 23, 2023

Ngamer11 said:
It seems I was mistaken. Though, shouldn't the link be colored orange like the rest of that sentence?
That should say 'technical'.

Darko said:
"to a world"
"full extent"

Thank you, corrected.

Pinklestia · Mar 23, 2023

Katillno said:
Huh isn't plugging a volcano one of the worst things you can do to a volcano?

Yes, yes it is.

Want to calm things down? Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Signaller · Mar 23, 2023

I suppose Paul doesn't have sufficient investment in this planet to do the "give me ash" thing he used to extract all the plastic from Earth's oceans? If that worked it could be compressed and returned to the source volcano.

Chojin Patriarch · Mar 23, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
21st January 2013
10:59 GMT

"A Lantern! Thank the Source! Can you stop this?"

Volkregian society isn't advanced enough to support the level of ostentatiousness that 'throne room' usually implies to a European, but the quality of the stone and woodwork is clearly a cut above what I've seen elsewhere. The Dal's clothing is-. Ah. It's a space farer's jumpsuit with added jewellery, the fabric being something they couldn't produce on planet and as such shows off his wealth and power while also being stain resistant and hard wearing.

Because in any culture, imported clothing and fashion suggests richness and sophistication. Just look at how popular silk was back in the Medieval and Renaissance periods, when it's rarity made it incredibly expensive, having to be carried thousands of leagues from China...

Not seeing any red. Not in him, or the rest of his advisors.

"Yes, but there is a matter I have to resolve first, because there's no point in stopping it if someone just starts it up-."

Huh.

And here I was expecting a frothing madman or a cackling, calculating schemer. Nope, just a young king who messed up?

"Yes, I admit-! I wanted to form an alliance with Crelan, so I arranged for the bomb to be brought to-. I just thought there'd be a few earth tremors!"

Interesting that he didn't try and deflect blame. He would have been advised, but where technical matters are concerned, how much advice could someone from Volkreg actually give?

And ultimately, the final say-so would have been his, wouldn't it?

"Do you have any more such bombs?"

He-. Shakes his head. Not the local gesture, but not an uncommon one around humanoid species. He's had more off-world contact, and either picked it up or learned to use it around aliens.

Well, at least there's no immediate risk of further popped geological zits.

"The people you bought it from. As far as you know, are they in contact with anyone else?"

"They've-. They mentioned people a few times-. I assumed it was a negotiating tactic; no one on Volkreg can afford to have things shipped here in bulk. We're too far away from their workshops."

And really, interstellar trade would likely come in technology that can't be reproduced locally.

Accurate enough. Azmah is theoretically advanced enough, but they've got… Other problems. For the Sector's other advanced worlds, sure, they can get here, but Volkreg doesn't have an industrialised society. They don't manufacture anything that it's worth selling somewhere else, and they don't have the equipment to extract raw materials in the sort of quantity they'd need in order to use them for mass trade. Even farm produce is no good, because any merchant would just buy a breeding stock and move it to a world that had chemical fertiliser. So: sporadic visits to trade once they've build up sufficient… Gold, probably. And even then, only small traders.

Or other precious materials. I doubt slavery is a currency either. Who'd need living people who don't like you, that you'd need to transport alive to where you need them, and are likely less efficient than synthetic workers anyway?

"Alright, here's what I want in return. Y-."

"Name it!"

Now see, some people would be tempted to take advantage of a blank check like that...

"You will foreswear the use of wars of aggression, both for yourself and your heirs. You will personally accept responsibility at a gathering of your peers which I will arrange. You will provide me with all information that I will need to apprehend the people who sold you the bomb."

"Yes! Yes! I want this to stop! You have to believe me, I never-."

Well, I'm convinced. Even a low level of empathic sight isn't needed to see how regretful he is.

"I do. Ilana, Razer, get the information we need. Excuse me."

I fly on automatic, out of the residence, out of the city and up into near-Volkreg space. From here I can see the full… No, nearly the full extent of the ash cloud. It actually extends over the horizon in the windward direction, even from up here. The plume is still fairly extensive in the other direction as the heat from the volcano pushes the air away in all directions.

And naturally, it was one of the most spinwards mountains that exploded, wasn't it? So that plume covers most of the inhabitable world...

I form a large cold gun construct and take aim at the centre of the caldera. There wasn't a great deal of magma, but cooling the ground should solidify the magma reservoirs and bung it up a little. And without the hot subterranean air, the ash should stop being ejected with the current level of vehemence. This much cooling can have some fairly severe affects on the atmosphere by itself, but under the circumstances I suspect that the locals will take a unseasonal hurricane or two over an electrified ash storm.

Better a few nasty storms than seeing their world smothered to death by ash...

And fire.

The pale blue beam cuts through the ash plume, air contracting as the ash is frozen. It looks like someone poked a hole in the billowing mass, though this won't do much to the rest of the ash. I'm going to have to clean that up once I've dealt with the source.

No point cleaning up the symptoms when the cause is still cooking, yes...

You know, there are probably Lanterns who get to spend their entire career doing things like this.

The cold beam hits the ground and the ash ejection stops almost at once. Scans show the temperature of the crust reduce down to normal levels, lava tubes closing… Yes, good, good. Now… A plug. Scan… Yes, that asteroid looks about the right size and composition. I

Ah, dumping a few million tons of shredded ice on it?

Turn it into a giant snowcone?

step out and

reappear next to it, grab it with a construct tether and warp back to the planet.

Convenient, not having an interdiction field.

See, when OL wants to move fast, he moves fast, doesn't he?

Then fly down through the atmosphere. The wind has picked up as the cold air starts pulling the hot air inwards and upwards, and that's adding to the lightning show. Not a danger to me due to my environmental shield providing me with perfect insulation, but I'm.. getting slightly uncomfortable Oceanus flashbacks. Now, this rock isn't much above absolute zero, so that should handle any residual heat. And it's a solid enough mass that it should contain any pressure build-up-.

Hey, at least you weren't the final projectile that shattered his avatar. That would have been a trip.

And check the rock for dangerous micro-organisms, because I've seen The Andromeda Strain. And macro-organisms, because I've seen The Empire Strikes Back. No, nothing dangerous.

And down, with enough force to compress the rock and close off some of the fissures, without setting the whole thing off again.

...Huh. A literal plug? Hopefully noticeably softer than the rock of the mountain proper, so any pressure probably gets to work its way through eventually, slowly...

If there was any moisture in the air, this whole area would be covered in frost and rain would be falling from the sky. As it is, the lightning intensifies, striking the newly-earthed iron-rich asteroid with great fury.

Right, that can take care of itself. I have great clouds to deal with. I don't know of any construct designed for…

Oh, joy. Dusting. The bane of many a collector of stylish tchotchkes like gaming miniatures or robot models.

Huh. John's ring had two records of Green Lanterns dealing with incidents like this. One used a vacuum cleaner construct and was at it for days, and the other sprayed the cloud with sea water, causing it to rain out of the air. That took a day, but caused widespread environmental damage from the salty rainfall and ash sludge and chemicals.

Oh, and Dox has a file on here about using a quantum teleporter to track the average movement of dust in a continent wide cloud and turn them into a solid block. The description seems to show that it's a good fit for this situation.

I don't know... how much of a rush are you in?

But I think that I should probably stick to the one I can comprehend.

Heh. probably for the best. If Dox's design goes wrong, how would you know, short of catastrophic backfires?

It's most important to deal with the densest ash cloud closest to the source, and lesser amounts of ash are a problem but not a existential one. To that end I fly up through the rapidly shrinking hole my cold ray made, up until I'm above almost all of the ash cloud. Then I spread my construct downwards. I don't make constructs this size very often due to the overt threat they imply, but at this point it seems to be for the best. I keep going until I've got a tube pointing towards the billowing ash cloud, then add the filters-.

...About on par with the shield you made to protect the NEMO Fleet that one time?

Wait, the ash is electrically charged. That should make this easier.

Add a magnetic field as well as a vacuum, storage tanks for the ash and escape vents for the air. Then -careful to take into account local terrain features and structures- I move it forwards.

So you'll miss some of the stuff on the ground. But better to miss a little than catch something you don't want. Like trees. Houses. Livestock... People.

The ash cloud goes from impenetrable blackness to dense fog levels as it passes through, and I know that will start to spread out and dissipate without the continual source of heat from the ground. Still damaging, if not quite Year Without Summer bad, but I can go back through with the water method to get the rest out once I'm done.

"Illustres to Jade. I'm dealing with the supervolcano now. Please reassure people that they'll be able to plant."

...And shit like this is why people start to worship Lanterns, you know.

"I will. Orion has a lead on the Butcher's Blood."

"Oh, I was starting to think that there was nothing here. Good work. I'll go to you once I've finished here."

Huh. How fortuitous. I guess shouting loudly at people worked?

I wonder how much of their little information-gathering success was Orion's part, and how much was Jade's? At any rate, once OL's done with cleanup, they can hopefully go pick up the macguffin and send it on back with Orion. Then OL can have words with the people selling nukes to people with little knowledge of vulcanology and potential geological disasters?

PepeTheFrog · Mar 23, 2023

Signaller said:
I suppose Paul doesn't have sufficient investment in this planet to do the "give me ash" thing he used to extract all the plastic from Earth's oceans? If that worked it could be compressed and returned to the source volcano.

Didn't he do literally the same thing he's doing here? Make a large-ish construct and vacuum it up over time?

Rafin · Mar 23, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
and the other sprayed the cloud with sea water, causing it to rain out of the air. That took a day, but caused widespread environmental damage from the salty rainfall and ash sludge and chemicals.

Well, part of this would be easy to fix. Just filter the salt out of the water that's being used before spraying it. Still ash sludge, but not salting the earth.

CTrees · Mar 23, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"I will. Orion has a lead on the Butcher's Blood."

"Good news, we found it. Bad news, it found Orion. He's uh... no longer controlling his rage."

FeepingCreature said:
Something like the last five chapters in a row have been entirely Jade-less, with exactly one comms line dropped in at the end.

Gotta mean something. No clue what though.

It means that they should break up, and OL should reconnect with the Spider Queen.

WereDragon · Mar 23, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"A Lantern! Thank the Source! Can you stop this?"
-
"Yes! Yes! I want this to stop! You have to believe me, I never-."

Well he certainly learned his lesson. Which puts him above most leaders who screw up I suppose.

One used a vacuum cleaner construct

…been watching spaceballs by any chance?

Orion has a lead on the Butcher's Blood."

Nice to see he wasn't just sitting around looking pretty.

Sojiko · Mar 23, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
No. Why would he suggest that? Would that work on my species?

Because it gets people out of cognitive loops, and 'yes'

I'm still catching up so I only comment when I feel I have to, and this qualifies. I love the subtle ways which Zoat has to show how different lantern interact differently with their rings. The short burst of intuitive information Alyn gets without a visible prompt as his need prompts it to share with him, combined with the very obvious manual requests he makes for more complex information. The extremely concise request of the Coluan and her ability to directly interpret a cortical dump.

Mr Zoat said:
Allyn nods. I look closer, and he has a sword which glows in the same way as his armour. Not all that long ago I've have tried acquiring that sword.

I think that should probably be "I'd" for "I'd have tried acquiring.".

Mr Zoat said:
Shield of Duty and Reason

I love when invisitext has a link because it makes it so much less intrusive to search for. I miss when we could use a plug-in to outline invisitext, so we didn't have to highlight everything. Also, Zartok is definitely not blue, and feels much more Red or maybe Black than Green. I guess that I'm probably reading too much into an Easter egg.

Radiant Knight · Mar 23, 2023

Katillno said:
Huh isn't plugging a volcano one of the worst things you can do to a volcano?

depends on the plug. Also, this volcano already erupted.

Sojiko · Mar 23, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
[Conclusion, descending order of probability]

1) Major disaster (60%)
of which
1a) Supervillain activity (35%)
1b) Poison gas attack (12%)
1c) Zombie apocalypse (8%)
2) Mass public intoxication (18%)
3) Normal human behavior (14%)
4) Other (8%)

I don't think the words "Normal human behavior" have ever made me laugh that hard. Thanks, Zoat.

rkyeun · Mar 23, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Yes, that asteroid looks about the right size and composition. I
step out and
reappear next to it,

You shouldn't have been able to do this. The asteroid is not a sentient being with wants and desires that you can teleport to through the Honden. Just warp there normally. Or warp it to you. You want the asteroid, so you can have it, sure, but this goes against your established mechanism for greedyporting to particular sets of desires. Just shoot out an orange tether at FTL speeds through warp and yank it to you.

Katillno said:
Huh isn't plugging a volcano one of the worst things you can do to a volcano?

This depends on the nature of the plug. If you go for a full seal, then yes, that just makes the pressure start building again, ensuring a second eruption further down the line.
However if you put a tap on the side to it can just continue venting lava downhill as fast as it builds up out across some region of countryside you don't care about into the ocean to make more landmass, without spewing out ash clouds, then you've got a long term solution.

Mr Zoat · Mar 23, 2023

Sojiko said:
I think that should probably be "I'd" for "I'd have tried acquiring.".

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · Mar 23, 2023

Chojin Patriarch said:
...Bet he'd make one hell of a Micro-style RTS player. His commands-per-second would probably break any game's buffer instantly.

Sojiko · Mar 23, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"No blue light, then? Can I get on with my day?"

Hm.

"No, I… Think I can still manage."

I really wonder what he's thinking of, and I now feel the sting of having caught up. At least for the Renegade's side. After the discussion between Sunset and Celestia I became invested enough that I decided to skip all the main story chapter to focus on this story line.

rdfox · Mar 23, 2023

rkyeun said:
This depends on the nature of the plug. If you go for a full seal, then yes, that just makes the pressure start building again, ensuring a second eruption further down the line.
However if you put a tap on the side to it can just continue venting lava downhill as fast as it builds up out across some region of countryside you don't care about into the ocean to make more landmass, without spewing out ash clouds, then you've got a long term solution.

Controlled venting is such a wonderful solution. I have this theoretical idea for a way to make certain volcanic mountains IRL much safer to humanity by deliberately weakening one area of the mountain to ensure that its next eruption will vent in a harmless (or, at least, least-harmful) direction. It'll never happen, though, because it would involve explosively fracking the rock in the desired vent area, and it wouldn't be affordable unless we used nuclear fracking charges--which would have certain other issues involving "fission products" and "vast area dispersal" if the eruption isn't willing to wait for at least a century or two before happening...

Still, though, I think that being able to ensure that Mount Rainier vents to the northeast (where there's basically nothing to damage for a couple hundred miles) instead of towards Spokane or the Seattle-Tacoma area would be useful...

Assblaster5000 · Mar 23, 2023

rkyeun said:
You shouldn't have been able to do this. The asteroid is not a sentient being with wants and desires that you can teleport to through the Honden. Just warp there normally. Or warp it to you. You want the asteroid, so you can have it, sure, but this goes against your established mechanism for greedyporting to particular sets of desires. Just shoot out an orange tether at FTL speeds through warp and yank it to you.

Greedporting also covers areas where desires were present recently enough to linger, so the only explanation needed is that this was either a part of the planets orbital path or that one of the trade ships passed through that spot.

Vaermina · Mar 23, 2023

Katillno said:
Huh isn't plugging a volcano one of the worst things you can do to a volcano?

The second worst thing.

The first worst thing you could do is flash freeze it, because that would cause a combination of shrinkage and additional pressure buildup under the frozen part.

Mr Zoat · Mar 24, 2023

21st January 2013
11:23 GMT

"Green Lantern Jordan."

Ub'x raises his staff in greeting to Jordan, while all Jordan does in return is frown.

"Do..? I know you?"

Ub'x looks… No, feels disappointed. Not.. sure what's going on there. Did he want Jordan to remember his criminal career?

"No, but I met your predecessor. A great man, Lantern Sur."

"Ah. Yeah." His frown deepens. "This is gunna sound like a strange question, but do you know Lantern Ch'p?"

"Yes. Quite well, actually, though I've been out of touch for a while."

He raises his staff, and Jordan nods.

"Yeah, I hear that. It's a full time job and then some. Okay, Grayven, you've found a… Purple Lantern. Why do you want Psycho Pirate's mask?"

I cringe theatrically. "It turns out that while Guardian Ganthet is working on a blue power ring, it's nowhere near ready for a field test. That leaves me at a loss for a source of hope."

"And you wanna use his mask? Would that work?"

"Won't know until we try. Making people feel emotion is what it does, but obviously it doesn't manifest actual constructs. I'm hoping that the feeling alone will be enough to count."

"So who's going to wear it? You?"

"No, I'll need to focus on using my yellow ring. I was going to offer it to Luna, on the grounds that she's touched the blue light before."

"I don't think it'll fit on her face."

"She's an immensely powerful magical demigoddess pony. I'm sure that she can manage to hold it on while she uses it."

"What, with her hoof?"

"No, her horn."

"What, you're just gunna stick it on there?"

"With her horn's magic. Look, I know perfectly well that there's no established procedure for releasing these things, and there's no way that Batman's taken it since it's a magic device and he doesn't do those. So either Giovanni's got it and I need to talk to him, or it's up here and you can approve its release. I hate to be a nag-"

"You allowed to say that word?"

"-but I doubt that having his brain exposed to all the evil on his planet is doing King Sombra any good, so if I could have a decision..?"

"And if I say 'no', you'll accept that?"

I look away, scratch my nose and shift my feet. "Yes."

Jordan doesn't look impressed. "That was on purpose."

"Fine. I'll accept it, and then open a portal to a parallel universe… Earth Fifty? And borrow theirs. I'm asking you because I'm aware that the League likes to keep tabs on me and I don't want to make that harder for you than it needs to be."

"Weren't you dating their Supergirl?"

"We went on one date and she treated it like a hostage situation."

"So you haven't told her about the pony."

"If you're not going to give me the darn mask, just say so."

He thinks for a moment. "Okay. But it's my responsibility. I need to be there every step of the way."

"You… Want to come to magical pony wor-?"

"No, but I'm going to anyway. Wait here while I get it out of storage."

Jordan flies off into the secure parts of the Watchtower. From which Batman presumably removed my access overrides after I rebuilt it… Two years ago? Huh. Doesn't time fly when you spend hundreds of years in the far future?

Ub'x looks around. "This looks like a Green Lantern Corps Sector House."

"That's because it is one, remodelled a few times. Humans have only recently reached the point where flying in space is a regular thing. Do you want to meet the people you'll be working with?"

"That's probably for the best. Though I do have another question."

"Yes?"

"You knew that Indigo Lanterns exist. You knew that we were founded by Abin Sur, and you knew that our corps is based on planet Nok. You even recognised me, though you were surprised that I have an indigo power ring."

"Yes?"

"But you haven't asked me to use the blue light on your behalf."

"No? Why, is that surprising?"

"Indigo Lanterns who are doing penance can use other colours of light."

What?

I frown. "How?"

"Their core psyches are still intact. But with their evil suppressed by compassion, the better angels of their nature are brought to the fore, shorn of the particularity of their vice."

What?

"They can use whatever colour related to what happened to get one of us to stick an indigo ring on them. Iroque relished the fear she saw in her victims, so these days she can use the yellow light."

"Her constructs are made more powerful by the people who fear her, and them?"

"No, when you use an indigo ring, it doesn't work quite like that. Her constructs are fairly weak."

I frown. Ah. I.. don't remember that from the comics, but… It was a while ago.

"So… There's… Someone who can use the blue light?"

"It's unusual, as our penitents are violent criminals. But there are one or two."

"Was there a reason why you didn't volunteer that information earlier?"

"Because I wanted to see how you would work around the problem before I let you know. You're not supposed to know anything about us."

"Okay." I glance in the direction Jordan flew off in. "So are you offering, or are we going with the mask?"

"Oh, we can try both. A mission of mercy working alongside the leader of the Orange Lantern Corps seems like a good way to introduce us to the wider universe."

"Good man. Grayven to Ghia'ta."

Her face appears over my ring. "Yes?"

"We need to go rescue my future sister-in-law's boyfriend. He sacrificed his mind by absorbing the evil from two evil magicians who were threatening her and her realm."

Her face metaphorically lights up. "They love one another?"

"They're each the only person the other has been interested in in a thousand years."

The space next to me crystallises for a moment before Ghia'ta steps through.

"Then in the name of love, let none stand before us!"

I regard her placidly for a moment.

"Magic girl anime is not a how to guide."

Darko · Mar 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
count."

So who's going to wear it? You?"

Add a " at the second sentence.

Mr Zoat said:
. I hate to be a nag

No, you love it.

Mr Zoat said:
that being having his brain exposed

"that having"

Mr Zoat said:
when you send hundreds

"spend"

Mr Zoat said:
So… There's… Someone who can use the blue light?"

"It's unusual, as our penitents are violent criminals. But there are one or two."

I mean Hitler kinda made the people of Germany hopeful for a better future.

Mr Zoat said:
"Then in the name of love, let none stand before us!"

I regard her placidly for a moment.

"Magic girl anime is not a how to guide

But it works.

RichardWhereat · Mar 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
I regard her placidly for a moment.

"Magic girl anime is not a how to guide."

Bullshit.

Pinklestia · Mar 24, 2023

Actually there are worse role models that Anime Sailor Moon.

Manga Sailor Moon is... way too into sex.

BlackCoat13 · Mar 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
the better angels of their nature

angles
I think? I've never seen this phrase before either way.

Chojin Patriarch · Mar 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
21st January 2013
11:23 GMT

"Green Lantern Jordan."

Ub'x raises his staff in greeting to Jordan, while all Jordan does in return is frown.

Come, now, Jordan. It's not the first time you've met a talking zoomorph. Hell, one or two of your co-workers are such.

Still, at least Ub'X agreed to do this. Hopefully without too many strings attached.

"Do..? I know you?"

Ub'x looks… No, feels disappointed. Not.. sure what's going on there. Did he want Jordan to remember his criminal career?

I mean, he probably has a small amount of personal pride in it. Even if he's doing penance for it...

"No, but I met your predecessor. A great man, Lantern Sur."

"Ah. Yeah." His frown deepens. "This is gunna sound like a strange question, but do you know Lantern Ch'p?"

Of course that's where he starts...

"Yes. Quite well, actually, though I've been out of touch for a while."

He raises his staff, and Jordan nods.

At least he gets the logic of their equipment. I guess the Renegade filled him in beforehand.

"Yeah, I hear that. It's a full time job and then some. Okay, Grayven, you've found a… Purple Lantern. Why do you want Psycho Pirate's mask?"

I cringe theatrically. "It turns out that while Guardian Ganthet is working on a blue power ring, it's nowhere near ready for a field test. That leaves me at a loss for a source of hope."

Indigo, thank you. I mean, it technically is purple, but still...

"And you wanna use his mask? Would that work?"

"Won't know until we try. Making people feel emotion is what it does, but obviously it doesn't manifest actual constructs. I'm hoping that the feeling alone will be enough to count."

...Ah, Renegade? Forgetting something about Indigo Lanterns? Honestly, surprised Ub'X hasn't spoken up yet.

So who's going to wear it? You?"

"No, I'll need to focus on using my yellow ring. I was going to offer it to Luna, on the grounds that she's touched the blue light before."

...Sort of? Not sure if using it in a dream quite counts...

"I don't think it'll fit on her face."

"She's an immensely powerful magical demigoddess pony. I'm sure that she can manage to hold it on while she uses it."

To be fair, Psycho Pirate originally carried multiple masks. Hayden simply melted them together, somehow, without destroying their power... Just imagine him carrying around a little bag of masks.

"What, with her hoof?"

"No, her horn."

Honestly, Jordan, read up on the Ponies, before you end up offending someone?

"What, you're just gunna stick it on there?"

"With her horn's magic. Look, I know perfectly well that there's no established procedure for releasing these things, and there's no way that Batman's taken it since it's a magic device and he doesn't do those. So either Giovanni's got it and I need to talk to him, or it's up here and you can approve its release. I hate to be a nag-"

...You can't even help making the horse puns, can you, Renegade?

"You allowed to say that word?"

"-but I doubt that being having his brain exposed to all the evil on his planet is doing King Sombra any good, so if I could have a decision..?

I doubt the locals appreciate it much either. And saving people is part of a Green Lantern's job.

"And if I say 'no', you'll accept that?"

I look away, scratch my nose and shift my feet. "Yes."

I mean... Is their secure vault Boom Tube-proof?

Jordan doesn't look impressed. "That was on purpose."

"Fine. I'll accept it, and then open a portal to a parallel universe… Earth Fifty? And borrow theirs. I'm asking you because I'm aware that the League likes to keep tabs on me and I don't want to make that harder for you than it needs to be."

And with any luck, Universe 50's Ganthet might have made better progress on a Blue Ring, too.

"Weren't you dating their Supergirl?"

"We went on one date and she treated it like a hostage situation."

Well, you did come on a bit strong when you first met. And trolled her mercilessly.

"So you haven't told her about the pony."

"If you're not going to give me the darn mask, just say so."

<Implied Facepalm.jpg> I suppose with that face, the Renegade can pull it off nicely.

He thinks for a moment. "Okay. But it's my responsibility. I need to be there every step of the way."

"You… Want to come to magical pony wor-?"

Oh, please do make him use the mirror. And then Boom Tube there.

The troll-face will be glorious.

"No, but I'm going to anyway. Wait here while I get it out of storage."

Jordan flies off into the secure parts of the Watchtower. From which Batman presumably removed my access overrides after I rebuilt it… Two years ago? Huh. Doesn't time fly when you send hundreds of years in the far future?

Wow, already nearly three years through the original five-to-six-year plan... It sure doesn't really feel like it.

Ub'x looks around. "This looks like a Green Lantern Corps Sector House."

"That's because it is one, remodelled a few times. Humans have only recently reached the point where flying in space is a regular thing. Do you want to meet the people you'll be working with?"

Though your little Space Fleet project is going to be changing that up soon enough.

"That's probably for the best. Though I do have another question."

"Yes?"

Ah, here comes the 'Indigo can copy other colours, you know.' snark.

"You knew that Indigo Lanterns exist. You knew that we were founded by Abin Sur, and you knew that our corps is based on planet Nox. You even recognised me, though you were surprised that I have an indigo power ring."

"Yes?"

The joy of a spotty memory for old comics.

"But you haven't asked me to use the blue light on your behalf."

"No? Why, is that surprising?"

I can just see Ub'X rolling his eyes at the Renegade...

"Indigo Lanterns who are doing penance can use other colours of light."

What?

Surprise!

I frown. "How?"

"Their core psyches are still intact. But with their evil suppressed by compassion, the better angels of their nature are brought to the fore, shorn of the particularly of their vice."

So, filtered through a lens of Compassion. Like Enlightenment-lite.

What?

"They can use whatever colour related to what happened to get one of us to stick an indigo ring on them. Iroque relished the fear she saw in her victims, so these days she can use the yellow light."

One more 'What', Renegade, and people are going to drag out the Tenth Doctor compilations...

"Her constructs are made more powerful by the people who fear her, and them?"

"No, when you use an indigo ring, it doesn't work quite like that. Her constructs are fairly weak."

So it's more like... Emulating it via a very weak colour-changing prism?

I frown. Ah. I.. don't remember that from the comics, but… It was a while ago.

"So… There's… Someone who can use the blue light?"

Amusingly, OL has also missed that, but I suspect he has the excuse that he hasn't really had a chance to discuss the matter with an Indigo Corpsman.

"It's unusual, as our penitents are violent criminals. But there are one or two."

"Was there a reason why you didn't volunteer that information earlier?"

"...You didn't ask. And I didn't feel the need to offer."

"Because I wanted to see how you would work around the problem before I let you know. You're not supposed to know anything about us."

"Okay." I glance in the direction Jordan flew off in. "So are you offering, or are we going with the mask?"

Logical enough. Though I have to wonder what a blue-tuned Indigo Corpsman would be like...

"Oh, we can try both. A mission of mercy working alongside the leader of the Orange Lantern Corps seems like a good way to introduce us to the wider universe."

"Good man. Grayven to Ghia'ta."

For a second, I thought he was afraid of poking her, but then I realised: Ring Comms.

Her face appears over my ring. "Yes?"

"We need to go rescue my future sister-in-law's boyfriend. He sacrificed his mind by absorbing the evil from two evil magicians who were threatening her and her realm."

...Let's not mention that said evil magicians were the sister-in-law's alternate self and his fiancee's counterpart?

Her face metaphorically lights up. "They love one another?"

"They're each the only person the other has been interested in in a thousand years."

...My god, I can imagine the sparkly anime eyes...

The space next to be crystallises for a moment before Ghia'ta steps through.

"Then in the name of love, let none stand before us!"

Wow, she's eager.

I regard her placidly for a moment.

"Magic girl anime is not a how to guide."

At least she isn't copying their costumes.. Yet?

Well, looks like the Renegade's almost got the full house together. Just needs to borrow an Orange Corpsman and he's all set. After all, his Red Lantern owes him a few for cleaning out the British government's demon-worshipper problem. So that's a lock. Heck, having to deal with intelligent ponies might be a step up from his co-workers in the interim government.

The space next to be crystallises for a moment before Ghia'ta steps through.

The space next to me crystallises for a moment before Ghia'ta steps through.

DAT_NOOB · Mar 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
The space next to be crystallises for a moment before Ghia'ta steps through.

"Then in the name of love, let none stand before us!"

I regard her placidly for a moment.

"Magic girl anime is not a how to guide."

Please tell me she did a pose.

Ganurath · Mar 24, 2023

Pinklestia said:
Actually there are worse role models that Anime Sailor Moon.

Manga Sailor Moon is... way too into sex.

What forum do you think you're on?

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

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