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

I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean. Or is this a typo?

It's nice to see Tommy acting like a hero. I hope he gets to talk with Paul about this so that Paul can talk to more of his friends and relax.
LePaul is incapable of relaxing, because relaxing involves not wanting things and just being.
 
Home Field

4th February 2013
11:37 GMT -7


"Hey, man."

I sit down next to the dude laying in the street. That's something Wonder Woman tol' me to do. Makes it so I'm not tower… Ah, taller than them. Less scary.
Ah, A look at Earth again? Hopefully surviving better than it would have thanks to the League and other local heroes providing leadership. And I'm guessing we're seeing one of those local heroes. Wonder if that'll be a theme for this episode?

"H-hey."

"Y'all plannin' on hol'en up traffic all day?"
I mean, depending on the temperament of the local drivers, a person laying in the road might not even get a look.

Ain't a lotta cars 'round. Spent a couple days pullin' car outta the road so's trucks and ambulances could get through back when this whole mess started. People ain't drivin', 'cept when they got to.

...
And most of them don't go too far when they do?

Sometimes, they don't go fer a drive when they got to. Wonder Woman don't like us gettin' those jobs so much. I tol' her we can handle it, but, ah… She said robot-atom's little robots can deal with jobs like that. She needs us fer actually talkin' to people.

"Ah 'unno. Can't think of no reason t'move."
Ah, yes. Keeping the young ones from the bad cases. The people who just lay down in bed, and... Stopped.

And she says that's it. I used to think there was… I dunno, not, like, magic words… Just stuff a smart guy could say to… Like, encourage someone. Like Doc Quinzel did with us. But it turns out jus' talking to someone does nearly the same thing.

And that'll have to do, 'cause I sure s-sugar ain't going back to school.
Sometimes, as we saw, all it takes is nudging someone into an emotional response to throw off the Anti-Life.

I don't know what set this guy off. More guys do this stuff like this than girls. When they get real bad, they don't leave the house at all.

I don't know what this guy needs to hear, neither. But if all I gotta do is talk? I can do that.
I'd say offer him a beer and a sympathetic ear to talk to, but you're still underage.

"Don't look comfy. It's all gritty and dusty."

"That it is. Ah jus' don't think those things matter none."
Not joking, either. Roads are fricking pebbly. Ever tried to cross black-top barefoot?

"Sure they do. Who wants to do laundry more than they gotta?"

"Heh."
Ah, typical guys.

That wasn't no happy kinda laugh, but it's… He's responding. He heard what I said and he said something back.

"What's it to you, anyways?"
Well, someone's got to worry about folks, with what's going on.

"Ah'm working for Wonder Woman. Y'all layin' here makes me look bad."

"That all it is, huh?"
Heh, taking the adversarial approach, huh? Make him get up just to spite you? Anger is a valid emotional response, after all.

"Sure. 'cause if'n ah do a real good job, maybe ah'll get a kiss out of it."

"Fer real?"
Hey, if it works, it works.

I shrug. "Can't hurt tryin', right?"

Ain't going to happen. She ain't been with a guy in a hundred years, and she treats me like Doc Sivana does. Older Doc Sivana. The woman one, not the little scary guy. She told me to call her 'Venus' and I didn't think that was right, but maybe it's the only way to talk without getting confused the whole time?
I can imagine things getting confusing in that sort of formal discussion.

Don't rightly know how I feel about it. Got two ladies who want to be my Maw, and they're both better than the real one. Nice when they're doing it, but…

"Guys done dumber before."
Indeed, guys do some dumb things in the pursuit of pretty ladies.

"So ah jus' gotta beat those guys, an' I'm set. C'm'on, man." I hold out my right hand. "Where you live? Ah'll take y'all home."

"We lost, didn't we?"
Humanity doesn't lose as long as one person's still fighting, man.

"Ah. Ah don't really keep up with football…"

"You people. Superheroes. That why everyone feels lakh they whole family up an' died."
Man, imagine trying to keep up sports seasons under these conditions. A losing team's fans would just gloom up and flop.

"Thanks! Ah ain't never been called a superhero 'fore."

Especially around theses parts. 'Don't shit where you sleep' sure is good advice, and my life would have worked out better if I'd gotten it earlier. There's a few places I don't really want to go right now because… I don't want to think 'old me' and 'new me', because that's…
But the folks there remember when you went around in a sleeveless T and suspenders, busting up local banks?

What did Doc Quinzel call it..?

Thinking like that stuff was done by someone else. When it wasn't. It was me. Me deciding I don't want to be like that no more don't mean that I wasn't back then. And I know I don't do that stuff no more, but plenty of people don't.

"So what's with the get-up?"
Hopefully he's wearing something better than his canon getups.

I look down at my shirt. The Anti-Life folks got alla the equipment that was stored in Belle Reve for the prisoners, and we didn't stick around to get our normal clothes back. So the guys who needed equipment got given old versions of their stuff the Justice League had in storage. I got some clothes that the old Doctor Fate had in his trunk. Don't got no idea who owned them. Fate was, like, two thirds my size when he was a hero. And I don't know who picked this stuff, because the round collar jackets make me feel Chinese, and then there's the decoration. It's sewn on and not printed. Whoever made it used gold-coloured thread to make the pictures and it must have taken ages. Looks good, though. But I don't think it's really me.
Huh. I can kind of picture it. Like a nehru jacket?

"Thrift store. Only thing they had that fit me. Guess they had some Chinese strongman who needed cash real quick."

"Got their address?"
At least he can make jokes. Looks like the guy's starting to feel better.

He look at me for a little while, then he reaches out to take my hand and I pull him upright.

"Yeah man, but it's in Massachusetts."
Bit of a trip. And I doubt they can do mail-order. :p

"Oh. Don't worry, then."

"So where'd you live?"
Besides the middle of the street?

"I-I can make it on mah own. I jus'…"

I try looking like I got sympathy, like I want to know what's got him so down. But this isn't the first time I've dealt with someone doing this. I get a couple a day, every day since the Justice League started sending me out. I can make like I care -and it's not like I want bad things to happen to him or nothing- but I can't make me actually care. I ain't good at it. Can only manage a fistful of people right now.
Like I said: Get him a drink and a sympathetic ear. There's bound to be a soda joint around there somewhere.

"What's happ'ning, man?"

"Is this it? Are we doomed? I thought the Justice League would get her done in a few days, but..?"
...Larry? Larry the Cable Guy? Is that you? :p

He sighs real heavy.

The truth is… I think Batman's making things up as he goes. And I get it. No one knows how we should deal with this. They don't tell me much about what's going on, but I see how many people are killing themselves. And how many are just doing what Mannheim tells them to, or doing what one of the city bosses tells them to. Just about everyone on Mannheim's side is hostage, and… I don't want to kill them. Even if it would make things a whole lot more simple. So all we can do is destroy their Anti-Life radio things and fight them when they try to take a new town. And run away when F…
Things are that bad, huh?

Big evil robot dude, shows up. And that sucks. But even I know you can't just tell folks that. Or they just give up.

"Yeah, this whole thing sucks real bad. It's gonna take a whole lotta work to get things straightened out. But a lotta people thought the world was ending when the Sheeda attacked, and we still beat them, right?"
Admittedly, the Sheeda were an enemy you could fight, once you found them...

"Yeah."

"So we gotta tough it out. Gotta remember that even if it feels bad now, we're gonna get there in the end. Ah." I shake my head, because I got this speech from a real good speaker and when I do it, it just sounds dumb. "Superman does this better than me. But we're gonna win. You'll see."
Still, say them with enough earnestness, and they can work.

"O-okay. Thanks… Thanks, man. Hey, what's yer name, anyhow?"

"Tommy. Tommy T-. Beresford."
See? He's out of his funk.

"I dunno, man. That ain't exactly Superman, y'hear me? Maybe you should work on it some maw."

"What y'all think ah'm doin' here?"
I suppose something like 'Tommy Terrific' would be too cheesy.

Well, at least the 'heroes taking charge' plan is having some results. Not nearly as much as hoped for, but Humanity is still holding out. And once OL gets his hands on that last ring, things will get sorted out swiftly, I suspect. Still, it's up in the air if he'll manage it. And perhaps some of those villains trying to help out will find that just maybe, being good is a bit better than their usual habits...


Spent a couple days pullin' car outta the road...
Spent a couple days pullin' cars outta the road...
That why everyone feels lakh they whole family up an' died."
That's why everyone feels lakh they whole family up an' died."
Especially around theses parts.
Especially around these parts. (Unless that's part of his 'hick' accent?)
He look at me for a little while...
He looks at me for a little while...
 
'Get her done' is vernacular in some parts of the US, and maybe other places. It doesn't sound out of place to me given this guy's accent.
Spent a couple days pullin' cars outta the road...
Especially around these parts. (Unless that's part of his 'hick' accent?)
He looks at me for a little while...
Thank you, corrected.
That's why everyone feels lakh they whole family up an' died."
That one's intentional.
 
I still don't quite get how the Anti-Life broadcast on Earth works and how people become resistant to it. Like Tommy here. Not one of his thoughts were black. Why is he virtually immune instead of merely fighting against it and overcoming?
 
I still don't quite get how the Anti-Life broadcast on Earth works and how people become resistant to it. Like Tommy here. Not one of his thoughts were black. Why is he virtually immune instead of merely fighting against it and overcoming?
He spends most of his time in a shielded area, and receives constant positive reinforcement.
 
He spends most of his time in a shielded area, and receives constant positive reinforcement.

Lantern Ratchet: Welcome to Costco, I love you.

But seriously, glad to see Tommy back. He's one of best projects Paul has worked on. I would not be surprised to see him become a Blue Lantern under Alan by the end of the story.
 
Lantern Conspiracies (part 1)
27th August 1999
7:23 GMT


"Will ye no' sit down?"

The… Short alien gestures to the human-scale chair opposite him as he takes a sip from his teacup. The table between us is similarly sized for humans, meaning that he's sitting on a wooden highchair.

I… Take a look around the interior of his home. It looks like… Like a country cottage from a century ago. A bookshelf covered in traditionally-bound books, heavy wooden furniture rather than modern chipboard flat packed stuff and… Jars of preserves.

It's not what I was expecting.

"Did ye drop something?"

"No. Ah. Sir?"

This isn't how I thought this would… I give him an awkward smile and sit down in the chair. There's a slight hiss of escaping air as the padding deflates and my weight pushes gas out through the seams in the leather.

"Last time I checked, aye. So. What does the Triarchy want wi' the likes o'me?"

I stare at him for a moment, and he stares back.

"Sir?"

"Is there some communication problem we be having?"

"Sir, I just appeared in orbit with this ring. And then I asked it to take me to…" I gesture to him with both hands. "I… Don't know what the… Triarchy? Is?"

"Is that so? Hah!" He looks away for a moment. "And here's me thinking they'd tracked me down, begorrah!"

That… Doesn't… Sound good. Um.

"Should..? They be tracking you down?"

"I don't see why they would. I like the simple life. And they don't. But sometimes they can't keep themselves to themselves and they stick their noses in for the sake o' it."

"Ah. No. I'm here for purely selfish reasons."

"Oh? Well. I suppose I am too, when you get down to it. So what'll ye be wanting?"

"I-deally, a personal lantern."

"And what might one o'them be?"

Oh.

"The charge unit? That goes with the ring?"

"I don't know anything about anything like that. Back when I left, those rings were for the weans, no' for aliens."

"For what?"

"Children. So I don't really understand how you got a hold of it."

"I would be happy to cooperate with you in investigating that." I sigh. "So you can't recharge it."

"Recharge it? O' course I can recharge it. Let me see, now."

He closes his eyes for a moment and mutters something in a language I don't understand. The green power ring on my finger can translate just about any language, but I turned everything off the moment I realised that I had no way to recharge it once I ran out of power.

"There we are."

A pale green glow envelops his right hand, and a moment later the ring starts glowing the same colour.

"It'll take a moment or two."

"Ah. Thank you, but… Ah."

"You'll be needing to be a little clearer than that."

"I… Sort of assumed that either you wanted me for something, or I could negotiate for a way to recharge with… With something I could carry with me. It doesn't seem… I mean, it isn't reasonable for me to expect you to just drop whatever you're doing when I get low on power."

"A lot o' that going around."

"A lot of..? What?"

"Assuming. So what were you thinking I was wanting?"

"To… Recruit me to the Green Lantern Corps. For some reason."

"And what would that be?"

"I'd… I'd like to say 'my fearlessness and resolution', but… I don't… I don't think I really stand out in either of those…"

"Ah, no. I mean to say, 'what is the Green Lantern Corps', when it's at home?"

"I'm a little surprised that you don't know."

"I moved away from the rest o'mah kind when we still lived on Maltus. I don't know much about what the rest o'them have been doing since."

"Ah. Well, as far as I know, they've taken to outsourcing some things to people like me." I raise my right hand slightly, drawing attention to the ring. "We get these, and a lantern-shaped charge point."

"Lantern-shaped, y'say? I'm not used to the rest o' my kind respecting our traditions like that. Do you know where it comes from?"

"A lantern is the traditional symbol for law enforcement amongst your people."

"It was a long time ago, when we still had a need for such things. So is that the sort o'work you'd be looking for, then?"

"It's-. What I assumed-. Yes? If that's what you want in exchange for recharging me. But if I'm honest, I'd rather have a charge point and be left to my own devices."

"Well, I don't really know about that. As I say, when I left, we didn't go around handing them out to folk. And I haven't done anything with the glow meself for a long time. But if you're looking fo' work, I might have something for ye."

"… Yes..?"

"What sorta work did you do before this?"

"I'm-. I was an administrative assistant."

"Oh." He frowns. "It's nothing at all like that."

"I don't need a power ring to be an administrative assistant."

"True enough. You see, I'm not the only alien on this world."

"I suspected, but didn't want to assume."

"I've been trying to keep an eye on the others. They're not all the sociable type, you understand. But I'm not so young as I was, and from the feel of it that ring o'yers can pack quite a punch."

"So you want me to..? Police them?"

"Something like that, lad. Why don't I bring you up to speed, so's you know what you're getting into."
 
Last edited:
Oooooh, this is gonna be good. A Stubborn police Paul enforcing decency and common sense onto DC?

Obviously its going to blow up in his face. But I'm sure he'll harness those explosions to propel himself to success.

Does that mean this will be a Righteous Face Punching Paul?
 
27th August 1999
7:23 GMT


"Will ye no' sit down?"

The… Short alien gestures to the human-scale chair opposite him as he takes a sip from his teacup. The table between us is similarly sized for humans, meaning that he's sitting on a wooden highchair.
Ah, one of the fabled Maltusian Leprechauns. Something we haven't seen in the main story yet. Presumably they've been keeping their heads down, even during the Anti-Life outbreak. But who is this visiting him?

I… Take a look around the interior of his home. It looks like… Like a country cottage from a century ago. A bookshelf covered in traditionally-bound books, heavy wooden furniture rather than modern chipboard flat packed stuff and… Jars of preserves.

It's not what I was expecting.
Sounds very old-fashioned. The fellow likes it homey.

"Did ye drop something?"

"No. Ah. Sir?"
...Going by the very British politeness, this is a Paul. One fresh from the dimensional shunt, by the sounds of it.

This isn't how I thought this would… I give him an awkward smile and sit down in the chair. There's a slight hiss of escaping air as the padding deflates and my weight pushes gas out through the seams in the leather.

"Last time I checked, aye. So. What does the Triarchy want wi' the likes o'me?"
And evidently he didn't adjust his personal appearance, so he's still carrying a little extra mass.

I stare at him for a moment, and he stares back.

"Sir?"
...Boy, this is awkward, isn't it? :oops:

"Is there some communication problem we be having?"

"Sir, I just appeared in orbit with this ring. And then I asked it to take me to…" I gesture to him with both hands. "I… Don't know what the… Triarchy? Is?"
...And evidently this is closer to a main-line DC universe, given the lack of information this Paul has. Unless Mr Zoat had never heard of the Triarch before beginning the story...

"Is that so? Hah!" He looks away for a moment. "And here's me thinking they'd tracked me down, begorrah!"

That… Doesn't… Sound good. Um.
Well, Percy does like playing the part, doesn't he? Not surprising, the Irishman stereotype is a pleasant role which puts people at ease. Much like Hinon's 'stern granny' act.

"Should..? They be tracking you down?"

"I don't see why they would. I like the simple life. And they don't. But sometimes they can't keep themselves to themselves and they stick their noses in for the sake o' it."
Yeah, that sums up the Guardians quite well. Sometimes to excess.

"Ah. No. I'm here for purely selfish reasons."

"Oh? Well. I suppose I am too, when you get down to it. So what'll ye be wanting?"
And from the sound of it, he probably does have an Orange Ring.

"I-deally, a personal lantern."

"And what might one o'them be?"
Yeah, that's how long ago the Leprechauns split off back in the day.

Oh.

"The charge unit? That goes with the ring?"
He does at least recognise a Ring, right?

"I don't know anything about anything like that. Back when I left, those rings were for the wanes, no' for aliens."

"For what?"
Well, good on that front, at least.

"Children. So I don't really understand how you got a hold of it."

"I would be happy to cooperate with you in investigating that." I sigh. "So you can't recharge it."
Wonder if Percy here knew Hinon back in the day? There weren't that many Maltusians back before they split, right?

"Recharge it? O' course I can recharge it. Let me see, now."

He closes his eyes for a moment and mutters something in a language I don't understand. The green power ring on my finger can translate just about any language, but I turned everything off the moment I realised that I had no way to recharge it once I ran out of power.
Huh. An actual Green Ring? I suppose this Paul's got plenty of stubbornness to go around, then. Even if he's generally more confused. :p

"There we are."

A pale green glow envelops his right hand, and a moment later the ring starts glowing the same colour.
Score. Though I don't expect it's used that much charge yet.

"It'll take a moment or two."

"Ah. Thank you, but… Ah."
Heh. That awkward moment before you have to ask 'so, what do you want for that?'

"You'll be needing to be a little clearer than that."

"I… Sort of assumed that either you wanted me for something, or I could negotiate for a way to recharge with… With something I could carry with me. It doesn't seem… I mean, it isn't reasonable for me to expect you to just drop whatever you're doing when I get low on power."
Very nice of you, at least. Not wanting to be tied down, I guess?

"A lot o' that going around."

"A lot of..? What?"
...Did this Paul get a little addled during transit, or... o_O

"Assuming. So what were you thinking I was wanting?"

"To… Recruit me to the Green Lantern Corps. For some reason."
Usually the Ring would handle things like that. You really did get every bit of DC trivia whammied, didn't you?

"And what would that be?"

"I'd… I'd like to say 'my fearlessness and resolution', but… I don't… I don't think I really stand out in either of those…"
Most people don't think so...

"Ah, no. I mean to say, 'what is the Green Lantern Corps', when it's at home?"

"I'm a little surprised that you don't know."
He's been out of the loop for a long time, m'boy.

"I moved away from the rest o'mah kind when we still lived on Maltus. I don't know much about what the rest o'them have been doing since."

"Ah. Well, as far as I know, they've taken to outsourcing some things to people like me." I raise my right hand slightly, drawing attention to the ring. "We get these, and a lantern-shaped charge point."
It does sound a little silly when you say it, doesn't it?

"Lantern-shaped, y'say? I'm not used to the rest o' my kind respecting our traditions like that. Do you know where it comes from?"

"A lantern is the traditional symbol for law enforcement amongst your people."
Okay, so not all of the DC knowledge is gone, obviously.

"It was a long time ago, when we still had a need for such things. So is that the sort o'work you'd be looking for, then?"

"It's-. What I assumed-. Yes? If that's what you want in exchange for recharging me. But if I'm honest, I'd rather have a charge point and be left to my own devices."
Which raises the question of what the superheroic community of this Earth looks like. Or if there even is one yet.

"Well, I don't really know about that. As I say, when I left, we didn't go around handing them out to folk. And I haven't done anything with the glow meself for a long time. But if you're looking fo' work, I might have something for ye."

"… Yes..?"
Ah. When the opportunity present itself, well...

"What sorta work did you do before this?"

"I'm-. I was an administrative assistant."
Not much of a background for a superhero, is it?

"Oh." He frowns. "It's nothing at all like that."

"I don't need a power ring to be an administrative assistant."
Other Pauls certainly didn't hesitate to make use of their rings...

"True enough. You see, I'm not the only alien on this world."

"I suspected, but didn't want to assume."
Hell, if he pinged all DNA above a certain level of divergence from human basic, he'd be in for a surprise.

"I've been trying to keep an eye on the others. They're not all the sociable type, you understand. But I'm not so young as I was, and from the feel of it that ring o'yers can pack quite a punch."

"So you want me to..? Police them?"

"Something like that, lad. Why don't I bring you up to speed, so's you know what you're getting into."
Ah. A little bit of exposition that can be safely skipped on our part, if not Paul's.

Well, this is interesting. This might be the first proper Green Ringed Paul we've seen. Not counting the former Anti-green or the Green Lantern alt!Jade, that is. Though it sounds like he's not going to be the typical Lantern. But more importantly, what Earth is this going to turn out to be that he's on? I mean, we haven't seen a 'Smallville' Alternate yet. Or a 'Lois and Clark' one... :confused: So many unused alternate media continuities.
 
And evidently he didn't adjust his personal appearance, so he's still carrying a little extra mass.

Not necessarily.

It could just be the chair.

And evidently this is closer to a main-line DC universe, given the lack of information this Paul has. Unless Mr Zoat had never heard of the Triarch before beginning the story...

To be fair, the Triarchs aren't that big characters.

Well, Percy does like playing the part, doesn't he? Not surprising, the Irishman stereotype is a pleasant role which puts people at ease. Much like Hinon's 'stern granny' act.

Heck, he may have made the stereotype in the first place.

Did this Paul get a little addled during transit, or... o_O

Paul's have...a unique intelligence.

Okay, so not all of the DC knowledge is gone, obviously.

Only the knowledge about his current universe.

Not much of a background for a superhero, is it?

They come from a variety of backgrounds.

One of the first was a record keepe.

This might be the first proper Green Ringed Paul we've seen

There was that Stargirl Paul.
 
The title makes me think that this may be the Inviolate universe.
No.
Oooooh, this is gonna be good. A Stubborn police Paul enforcing decency and common sense
Yes.
No.
And evidently he didn't adjust his personal appearance, so he's still carrying a little extra mass.
No, fat is lighter than muscle. That's just what happens when you sit on a chair like that.

...

And I'm not that fat.
Well, this is interesting. This might be the first proper Green Ringed Paul we've seen. Not counting the former Anti-green or the Green Lantern alt!Jade, that is. Though it sounds like he's not going to be the typical Lantern. But more importantly, what Earth is this going to turn out to be that he's on? I mean, we haven't seen a 'Smallville' Alternate yet. Or a 'Lois and Clark' one... :confused: So many unused alternate media continuities.
Neither of them.
If Zoat wants a politics flame war this could be Red Son.
No.
Considering Percival is a Maltusian Leprechaun, and the title, I'm wondering if this Greenie Paul is on the world of Roswell Conspiracies.

A cartoon in which aliens live among us, and are responsible for all those legends like banshees and vampires etc.
And we have a winner.

I didn't get to watch the end of that series until I was in university, due to Al-Qaeda.
 

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