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

Darko · Jul 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"And Abra Kadabra. Who… Still isn't an American citizen."

"He isn't?"

"He's a time traveller, so he isn't a natural born citizen

Heck, he wasn't even born on Earth if I remember correctly.

Mr Zoat said:
"Yeah. But it's not just metahumans, is it? Free speech, rule of law, free trade… All the things that makes America great. You spend most of your time on Earth in America. You signed up with an organisation that's run by Americans for a reason. I'm assuming it's because you like the way we do things."

"I like the way you do things when you do them like you're supposed to

Plus a lot of countries aside from America have those values.

Mr Zoat said:
"And did the C.I.A. do anything useful with that money?"

"Damn good question." He snorts. "I'd say 'no', but I didn't know that at the time

I'd say no too.

Mr Zoat said:
How long am I going to live for, anyway?"

"Between the stem cells and the Danner Formula, at least another century. Possibly longer. Possibly a lot longer

Unless he dies in action.

Mr Zoat said:
And I'll be seeing a lot of Adams. Great

There's a solution to that.

Let him put a radiation covered hand through your head.

Assuming he wants to.

Vaermina · Jul 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"Orange Lantern to Lantern Gardner. I have a… Situation."

Guy is never going to let you forget fucking up this badly.

To the point a thousand years from now in another universe I expect his reincarnation to show up and go "Hey Paul? Remember that time you fucked up so badly you almost got the entire universe anti-lifed?"

Chojin Patriarch · Jul 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
14th February 2013
18:36 GMT -5

The assembled heavy cruisers point their guns down the gravity well and open fire, moon rock evaporating as the plasma hits the moon surface. It will take a while to dig down to the Dominion gate structure, but it inevitably will reach it. And then we'll have to keep an eye out for future infiltration attempts, but until then there won't be any more attacks from that avenue.

Zo told me that they had only one gamma gong on the fleet, and while I haven't gone room-to-room I certainly haven't seen any sign of there being more. Apparently, they're very resource-intensive to make, and it was only going to be used to contain prisoners. Plenty of time to check later.

I hope you at least checked that they hadn't retrieved anything significant from the Kryptonian outpost's systems, but I expect that was one of the first things on your to-do list. After securing all the ships and gathering up their crews.

The Dhorians have been loaded into two cruisers that I personally ripped the guns off, given a message to play in case Hyathis sends her fleet to finish them off on the way home and told to get out. I can see them heading for the edge of the interdiction zone now. It won't be a comfortable trip, but they'll make it. In a few months.

Eiling is watching the guns ravage the lunar surface.

I hope they have enough rations for the trip home the moderately-slow way. Otherwise there might be less crew than they started with when they get home.

"Lantern, are these ships American ships now?"

"Legally, their status is in limbo. The Dhorians declared war against Earth, but the disposition of any property would depend on the results of the final peace treaty negotiations. I'll be pushing for the Justice League to take full control of them, because it's legally far simpler. And less likely to cause friction between Earth nations in the post-Anti-Life period."

I can see some of the nuclear powers being upset that they don't get one for themselves to reverse-engineer. Especially if they could throw some super-geniuses at the matter.

"Everyone who took part in this mission except you is American."

"And Abra Kadabra. Who… Still isn't an American citizen."

He might be getting included simply because, well... He's very American in behaviour.

"He isn't?"

"He's a time traveller, so he isn't a natural born citizen, and then he was convicted felon… But that's not the point."

And as noted up-thread, possibly not even born on Earth. Though the 'convicted felon' part will be a memory before long anyway.

"Isn't it? You know what the Chinese do with their metahumans, don't you?" I nod. "You could have gone to them. They'd probably have let you write your own ticket. You stuck with the Justice League. And sure, they're your friends. But is that why?"

"It's generally right to be on the side without concentration camps."

Yeah, as soon as you bring up 'active concentration camps', that faction tends to lose some moral high ground. (And yes, I know about the 'internment' camps during World War II... The USA Isn't lily-white on that front either.)

"Yeah. But it's not just metahumans, is it? Free speech, rule of law, free trade… All the things that makes America great. You spend most of your time on Earth in America. You signed up with an organisation that's run by Americans for a reason. I'm assuming it's because you like the way we do things."

"I like the way you do things when you do them like you're supposed to."

Like the chocolate? You definitely hate American-style chocolate, after all.

"You don't like me, you don't like what I do. Fine. Nate's lucky to have people on his side like you."

"No, it's not that. You want to sell weapons to America's enemies for whatever reason, I wouldn't care all that much. And your explanation made a lot of sense. My issue is what you did to Major Adams."

That would be the 'crime he didn't commit' in his backstory , then.

"That was the best I could do. It wasn't like I had an entirely free hand. Once Lemar and Yarrow decided to try and kill each other, I had to keep everything quiet."

"Why not clean house? After Lemar was dead, arrest Yarrow and Polk and have them killed while escaping. Then have the official report blame the three of them for the smuggling-."

A good reminder that OL isn't necessarily Lawful, even if he tries to be Good.

"Officially there wasn't any smuggling. And it had to stay that way if the C.I.A. was going to get its money."

"Then come up with something else. It's not like Adams had a motive either."

...Besides money. That's pretty much a universal motive to apply when framing someone.

Eiling shakes his head. "He'd have kept investigating. I'm not going to try and tell you that it played on my conscience for decades or anything like that. I've seen better men killed for less, and some of them were on my side. But given the objectives, there wasn't any other way to handle it."

"And did the C.I.A. do anything useful with that money?"

You think they'd tell Eiling? I'd be amazed if the higher-ups in the CIA even knew about this thing.

"Damn good question." He snorts. "I'd say 'no', but I didn't know that at the time."

"Same principle. I'm sure that whoever used these ships to throw an asteroid at someone you don't like would think they were doing the right thing. As far as I'm concerned, if you're going to pull the trigger in a situation like that, you better be right. Because the default setting shouldn't be 'ruthless bastard', it should be 'follow the rules'."

Situational morality, eh? I suppose that does explain so much about OL's choices...

"How's that working out for you?"

"Reasonably well." I shrug. "I trust the League not to do anything disastrous, even if I'd rather that they pushed a bit harder sometimes. I don't trust the various parts of the United States government to do the same."

Especially if some of those parts are working against the rest. Looking at you, SHADE.

I look over his shoulder at the lunar surface as the guns finally break through to the Dominion gateway, smiling as it's destroy.

Cease fire.

Well, that job's done. Next on the to-do list, OL?

The guns stop shooting.

"That it?"

Unless the gate has a robust self-repair system...

"Until next time. Hey." He looks around. "You'll actually get a pardon out of this, won't you?"

"Yeah. I'm too useful not to. Won't get my rank back. Won't get my kids back. But I'll get 'freed'. How long am I going to live for, anyway?"

Well, since he's not actually in the Shaggy Man's body, not 'until his brain rots.' But then, no-one's really found out the extent of a Danner enhancile's lifespan yet. Hugo himself is still barely middle-aged.

"Between the stem cells and the Danner Formula, at least another century. Possibly longer. Possibly a lot longer. So I expect we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

"And I'll be seeing a lot of Adams. Great. So what's next?"

I have to wonder which of them Eiling would be willing to put up with more... Adams is a military man still, but OL's more tolerant of Eiling's more... Unsavory side.

"If you're in need of a place to go?" Truggs strolls in, smiling smugly. "Then what's next is-."

"No. And don't pretend that was a fluke: you were obviously lurking by the door."

Truggs: "Fine, cahn't blame a guy fer wantin' to make an entrance."

"No?"

"I have a plan for removing the Anti-Life from Earth. Unless it fails, there's no need to evacuate people."

Though it might not be a bad idea anyway. Assuming they can find a safe planet to colonise.

"Do you need the ships for this plan of yours?"

"I need the resources that would otherwise be spent on checking potential colonists for Anti-Life infection. The ships would only be used as a distraction."

And even with good checking, there's still a chance that someone might slip through the net.

But the gong might be genuinely useful, if we can work out how it functions.

"What if they're already ready to go?"

Still seems positively magical, the way it appears to work without any obvious machinery.

Breathe. Breathe.

"That may be acceptable. Take it up with Batman when we return to Earth. Enjoy your stay in the prisoners' suite."

And I don't see Batman approving on basic principle.

"Not the first time."

"Glad that you're happy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to report in."

Who you gonna call?

He waves with exaggerated disinterest, and I fly down the corridor a way to get a little privacy.

"Orange Lantern to Lantern Gardner. I have a… Situation."

...Oh, this is going to be fun... For Guy, at least.

You know that Guy will never let you live this down, OL. Then again, it is kind of your fault you got tagged with Anti-Life, leaving usable clones laying around like that. Hopefully next time, you'll have much better security on them than just what Manga Khan left set up, which clearly wasn't up to the task. At any rate, hopefully you'll get yourself checked out now, and send word out to Maltus for fresh Rings.

...break through to the Dominion gateway, smiling as it's destroy.

...break through to the Dominion gateway, smiling as it's destroyed.

Vaermina · Jul 24, 2023

Chojin Patriarch said:
You know that Guy will never let you live this down, OL. Then again, it is kind of your fault you got tagged with Anti-Life, leaving usable clones laying around like that. Hopefully next time, you'll have much better security on them than just what Manga Khan left set up, which clearly wasn't up to the task. At any rate, hopefully you'll get yourself checked out now, and send word out to Maltus for fresh Rings.

There is no safe place For him to keep clones of himself.

He made himself too big of a target for that.

Though I feel like this is a good reminder that he lost his genre savyness a good while ago. Because if he still had it he would have known better then to even try it in the first place. After all, it's very obvious that a hero leaves clones around. One or more bad guys is going to get their hands on them and use the clones for evil.

Signaller · Jul 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"Free speech, rule of law, free trade… All the things that makes America great.

Does the show The Newsroom exist within YJ?

Bud-E · Jul 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"Between the stem cells and the Danner Formula, at least another century. Possibly longer. Possibly a lot longer. So I expect we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

Was it said earlier that Eiling was transformed by a version of the Danner formula? I don't remember that.

Duke Long · Jul 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"He's a time traveller, so he isn't a natural born citizen, and then he was convicted felon…

'a convicted'

RoninSword · Jul 24, 2023

Bud-E said:
Was it said earlier that Eiling was transformed by a version of the Danner formula? I don't remember that.

Yep.
Since the Danner formula only works on fetus in utero, they experimented and got it to work using stem cell injection/cultivation combined with the Danner formula. He had to have his immune system completely suppressed while it was being applied and that he grew to be like he is now physically was basically the best they could get.

Stsword · Jul 24, 2023

Quite possibly Zoat was inspired by DCAU's Eiling who was transformed by a Nazi superserum.

Not even that much of a stretch, it's canon in DC comics that Nazis had the Danner formula- Ubermensch.

WereDragon · Jul 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Breathe. Breathe.

Don't breath, kill him. Nothing good will ever come from him being alive. A great deal of harm will come from him being alive. Kill him and make the universe a better place.

PDV · Jul 24, 2023

Still giving Truggs more benefit of the doubt than he's earned. Wonder if he's up on the Earth -16 events?

Mr Zoat said:
I've been better men killed for less, and some of them were on my side.

had

Lord Ernest · Jul 24, 2023

Not like the Illustres actually needs to give the ships away, does he? Yes, these X-Force members helped in capturing it, but the bigger part of it was thanks to the Illustres himself. Same thing that happened with those Ice Fortresses, just keep them if you want, they might come handy.

If he does give them to the Justice League is not bad, but it makes me apprehensive that some one will do a goof and the ships will be mismanaged, lost or given to the UN by some moronic idea, I don't know. Otherwise, they could be the first step into creating a planetary defence for Earth, linked with the Har-Zod facility and the Watchtower.

Oh, and the nerve of Eiling trying to justify what he did to Major Atom. Dude went full NTR villain on Adams trying to cover for the BS they were doing and he thinks he can excuse it?

Mr Zoat · Jul 24, 2023

Ngamer11 said:
I think that should say 'seen' or 'had'.

Idkusername said:
I'm on my phone right now, but Eilling should say 'conscience' instead of 'continence', though the idea of his guilt giving him diarrhoea is hilarious.

Chojin Patriarch said:
...break through to the Dominion gateway, smiling as it's destroyed.

Thank you, corrected.

Signaller said:
Does the show The Newsroom exist within YJ?

I have no opinion. Maybe?

Mr Zoat · Jul 24, 2023

Duke Long said:
'a convicted'

Thank you, corrected.

Stsword said:
Quite possibly Zoat was inspired by DCAU's Eiling who was transformed by a Nazi superserum.

Not even that much of a stretch, it's canon in DC comics that Nazis had the Danner formula- Ubermensch.

Thing about Ubermensch is that his mother would have had to have been dosed in the twenties.

NightmareWarden · Jul 24, 2023

Signaller said:
Does the show The Newsroom exist within YJ?

Ah, what a good rant. Not sure if I can link it, due to QQ politics rules.

I genuinely enjoy characters that espouse American exceptionalism like Eiling, patriots who treat it like a religion. Of course believing in those values doesn't mean they uphold, they further those causes successfully. The equivalent to Christian crusaders and inquisitors pop up for every cause, it seems.

Stsword · Jul 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Thank you, corrected.

Thing about Ubermensch is that his mother would have had to have been dosed in the twenties.

Or he was artificially aged up.

Or the Nazis figured out how to make it work on those who are already born.

The Nazis existed in the twenties, but it's a bit hard to believe they had the resources to spare to take research trips to South America before they came to power in 33.

But then again that story had the Sons of Dawn hunt dinosaurs in Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World and Iron Monroe had vibes with Professor Challenger's daughter, so really Nazi expeditions in the 20s could be argued to be the least weird thing in that story.

Vaermina · Jul 25, 2023

Stsword said:
Or the Nazis figured out how to make it work on those who are already born.

This seems most likely given LePaul figured out how to do it easily enough.

earlyriser · Jul 25, 2023

Off-topic, but I've been making some edits on the WTR wiki as linked on the homepage. Kudos to the people updating the recap page of TvTropes as it has been truly helpful.
I love this fic, but there is honestly a lot of plot points, characters and little details to keep track off in Universe 16, never mind the cross-overs that have happened. I would love to see other people contribute.
We are coming up on the 10th anniversary of WTR! (Aug 14 2013). Thank you MrZoat for all of your hard work!

Mr Zoat · Jul 25, 2023

14th February 2013
20:48 GMT -6

"I thought… Things felt strange." King Orin runs his right hand down the side of his face. "Like I was-." His hand continues downwards as he pulls himself together, balling into a fist as it reaches the nadir of its descent. "What exactly has he done?"

"He hath caused you and your people to sleepwalk through the lives of your forebears. Shaded, we imagine, by his own beliefs and prejudices. There is not a place in Atlantis where 'Pureblood' and the 'impure' live at close quarters."

"Damn it."

I hunch my shoulders and make a circling motion with my right hand. "Given how things are, I could probably… Ah… Use my own power to fix things… But-."

"That would mean you mind controlling my people."

"It's more of an unnatural mental influence. But that's why I asked rather than just doing it. Alternately, I can perform the awakening on you, and you can do it."

"No. No more mind control. If there's a lingering problem afterwards, we can deal with it when we need to." He walks over to the window, looking out across Poseidonis towards the sea. "God, I never thought I'd get a view like this."

Behind him I wince, and wait for him to reason it out.

"It won't last, will it?"

"Neigh, it will not." Luna takes a step closer. "In truth, We are surprised that it has survived the removal of the Caliph's support. We can only imagine that it is of supreme importance to Ahri'ahn."

"It's not just him. This has been a dream for a lot of Atlanteans." He turns back to us, frowning at Nabu. "Is that something you can keep going?"

"Only by leaving your people half-consumed by the Dream. This subverts the natural magic flow of the world. It could only be maintained with an external power source of great power."

"Or." I raise my right forefinger. "Your people could put the effort into making it happen gradually. You can't tell me that Atlantis doesn't have spells for making things float. Or for making aquatic volcanoes erupt. Heck, I can get you an asteroid if it comes to it."

"That would-." He pauses and shakes his head. "Do you know how much of what I'm feeling are my own feelings and how much is a left over from Ahri'ahn? I grew up in Maine. I never thought that Atlantis should be anywhere but the sea floor before."

Luna nods. "Ahri'ahn still holds the dream over much of Atlantis. Until we confront and defeat him, We may only bend it a little. We suggest that you place a hold on important decisions until you are truly free."

"Alright. What's the plan? And why aren't I having this talk with the Justice League?"

"Ah, basically, I'm tough enough to survive hostile magic without being so overtly magical that Ahri'ahn would immediately detect me."

Luna nods. "And We are an expert in dream magic. Giovanni Zatara is powerful, but he lacks Our particular skills."

I nod. "And my absolute faith. Plan is, you turn up to your regular consultation as if you're still dreaming and lamp him. If that doesn't work, Luna and I will be one floor-punching away."

"'Floor punching'?"

"Look, this place is going to be wrecked by the sudden change in water pressure when it sinks again. Don't worry about the hole I have to make to reach you fast enough to stop one of the planet's top five magicians disintegrating you."

"Okay, that's-" He nods. "-a reasonable point. How much damage did he do raising Atlantis?"

"Not a lot. We were all over that. No one's going to hold the actions of one wizard against Atlantis as a whole." Hm. "Do you have a good place for us to hide?"

"Who else have you woken up?"

I shake my head. "No one. It would have made sneaking around harder and risked tipping off Ahri'ahn. And people should wake up by themselves after he's defeated."

"Defeated or dead?"

"Given his power level and the potential political fallout from taking him alive, I was planning on killing him."

"He's the founder of our magic traditions. The only reason why Atlantis still exists today."

I nod. "Yes, he's definitely outlived his usefulness, I agree. I suggest denying that you ever clarified that point and 'blaming' me."

"Are you sure that he's not being influenced by anything else?"

"Sure? No. But anything powerful enough to influence him… Well… Not a lot we can do about it at short notice. And… Honestly… Has anything he's done been out of character? For an Atlantean noble of his era?"

"Perhaps not. Alright, I've completed my appointments for the day, but I can get Ahri'ahn to discuss…" He frowns, the thoughts of his Dream-self colliding with those of Actual Arthur Curry. "Vassalage reform? That was-?"

"I imagine that his views on democracy are a little dated. Luna, do you have-?"

Luna hands him an enchanted lollipop stick. "Break this when it is time for us to intervene."

He nods. "I wouldn't visit his workshop, not while I was under his control. I'll call him to the east wing drawing room. Do you know where that is?"

"Yes. We'll be lying in wait."

He nods distractedly. "Maybe I can find out where he was going with all of this."

"I wouldn't recommend risking yourself to assuage your curiosity, but it's your life you're risking. Don't forget to dismiss your guards just in case things spill over."

He nods, then turns away and marches out of the royal apartments.

"Is this what it is like?"

I turn to Luna. "Is what what what's like?"

"Being a 'super hero'. We had largely assumed that it was something like being a knight errant, but no mere knight would be trusted to do what we have done today."

"Pretty sure that Celestia would dump it on Twilight."

"Not without a great deal more notice and preparatory material."

"I don't remember her getting a fat lot of preparatory material before being sent to fight Sombra. Didn't even get the Elements."

"You need not argue that point with Us. Having considered your viewpoint, we are in agreement."

"Twilight and maybe Rainbow Dash count. At our level, superheroism is about highly skilled and powerful people dealing with otherwise intractable problems that would otherwise cause widespread devastation. Both of us needed our full range of skills and resources to get this far, and our combat abilities will be tested before too long. There aren't many things that would require people in our weight class to apply themselves like this, but it's nice to be around when they come up."

She nods, looking pensive. "We think that We may desire… To participate in such incidents more often. To… Beat off the rust."

I smile. "I was rather hoping that-."

"And We believe that Our Sister may similarly wish to engage in such pugilistic events."

"Maybe Kal-El's got something for her."

Chojin Patriarch · Jul 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
14th February 2013
20:48 GMT -6

"I thought… Things felt strange." King Orin runs his right hand down the side of his face. "Like I was-." His hand continues downwards as pulls himself together, balling into a fist as it reaches the nadir of its descent. "What exactly has he done?"

"He hath caused you and your people to sleepwalk through the lives of your forebears. Shaded, we imagine, by his own beliefs and prejudices. There is not a place in Atlantis where 'Pureblood' and the 'impure' live at close quarters."

Which says a lot about Ahri'ahn's hang-ups, doesn't it? Good to see they went straight to the top in search of aid to sort this out, at least. And I get the feeling Arthur is really in the mood to punch a certain blonde magician right now...

"Damn it."

I hunch my shoulders and make a circling motion with my right hand. "Given how things are, I could probably… Ah… Use my own power to fix things… But-."

Not really the best solution. Heck, if you tried to replace Ahri'ahn, you'd probably be in the unenviable position of paying the magical cost of maintaining things.

"That would mean you mind controlling my people."

"It's more of an unnatural mental influence. But that's why I asked rather than just doing it. Alternately, I can perform the awakening on you, and you can do it."

Nah, Arthur's far too American to accept that option.

"No. No more mind control. If there's a lingering problem afterwards, we can deal with it when we need to." He walks over to the window, looking out across Poseidonis towards the sea. "God, I never thought I'd get a view like this."

Behind him I wince, and wait for him to reason it out.

As in, is it him thinking that, or the 'King Orin' Ahri'ahn made him be?

"It won't last, will it?"

"Neigh, it will not." Luna takes a step closer. "In truth, We are surprised that it was survived the removal of the Caliph's support. We can only imagine that it is of supreme importance to Ahri'ahn."

Which will at least made it harder for him to fight back, if most of his power is tied up holding the city afloat.

"It's not just him. This has been a dream for a lot of Atlanteans." He turns back to us, frowning at Nabu. "Is that something you can keep going?"

"Only by leaving your people half-consumed by the Dream. This subverts the natural magic flow of the world. It could only be maintained with an external power source of great power."

And while you have them around, they're not really the sort of thing that enjoys being used that way. Like, say, Oceanus.

"Or." I raise my right forefinger. "Your people could put the effort it to making it happen gradually. You can't tell me that Atlantis doesn't have spells for making things float. Or make aquatic volcano erupt. Heck, I can get you an asteroid if it comes to it."

"That would-." He pauses and shakes his head. "Do you know how much of what I'm feeling are my own feeling and how much is a left over from Ahri'ahn? I grew up in Maine. I never thought that Atlantis should be anywhere but the sea floor before."

And really, it's a lot cooler that way. In cultural terms, not temperature, even if it is colder...

Luna nods. "Ahri'ahn still holds the dream over much of Atlantis. Until we confront and defeat him, We may only bend it a little. We suggest that you place a hold on important decisions until you are truly free."

"Alright. What's the plan? And why aren't I having this talk with the Justice League?"

And if the Renegade remembers the 'Obsidian Age' story arc, he immediately realises how bad that could turn out.

"Ah, basically, I'm tough enough to survive hostile magic without being so overtly magical that Ahri'ahn would immediately detect me."

Luna nods. "And We are an expert in dream magic. Giovanni Zatara is powerful, but he lacks Our particular skills."

So, in a way, they're the sneakiest options the league had for infiltration.

An eight-foot-tall strongman conqueror and a beautiful-yet-mighty pony-turned woman. Only in comic books...

I nod. "And my absolute faith. Plan is, you turn up to your regular consultation as if you're still dreaming and lamp him. If that doesn't work, Luna and I will be one floor-punching away."

"'Floor punching'?"

Not so much 'pulling the rug from under Ahri'ahn's feet' as pulling the floor entirely.

"Look, this place is going to be wrecked by the sudden change in water pressure when it sinks again. Don't worry about the hole I have to make to reach you fast enough to stop one of the planet's top five magicians disintegrating you."

"Okay, that's-" He nods. "-a reasonable point. How much damage did he do raising Atlantis?"

To Atlantis? Next-to-nothing because Magic. To the rest of the world? Like he cared.

"Not a lot. We were all over that. No one's going to hold the actions of one wizard against Atlantis as a whole." Hm. "Do you have a good place for us to hide?"

"Who else have you woken up?"

Backup? Good plan, but...

I shake my head. "No one. It would have made sneaking around harder and risked tipping off Ahri'ahn. And people should wake up by themselves after he's defeated."

"Defeated or dead?"

Are you asking as a super-hero or a vengeful King?

"Given his power level and the potential political fallout from taking him alive, I was planning on killing him."

"He's the founder of our magic traditions. The only reason why Atlantis still exists today."

And? Doesn't mean he's not a seeping arsehole in need of shanking with the Sword of the Fallen. Or better yet, any regular sword.

I nod. "Yes, he's definitely outlived his usefulness, I agree. I suggest denying that you ever clarified that point and 'blaming' me."

"Are you sure that he's not being influenced by anything else?"

'Heat of battle' and all that. Can't blame the Renegade for putting his ~~surfboard~~ Daiklave through all of Ahri'ahn...

"Sure? No. But anything powerful enough to influence him… Well… Not a lot we can do about it at short notice. And… Honestly… Has anything he's done been out of character? For an Atlantean noble of his era?"

"Perhaps not. Alright, I've completed my appointments for the day, but I can get Ahri'ahn to discuss…" He frowns, the thoughts of his Dream-self colliding with those of Actual Arthur Curry. "Vassalage reform? That was-?"

Let me guess: 'Putting the impure in their rightful place', that place being under his boot?

"I imagine that his views on democracy are a little dated. Luna, do you have-?"

Luna hands him an enchanted lollipop stick. "Break this when it is time for us to intervene."

Heh. Subtle, easily hidden. And if Ahri'ahn asks, Arthur was feeling a little peckish.

He nods. "I wouldn't visit his workshop, not while I was under his control. I'll call him to the east wing drawing room. Do you know where that is?"

"Yes. We'll be lying in wait."

Preferably with a nice sharp knife in hand...

He nods distractedly. "Maybe I can find out where he was going with all of this."

"I wouldn't recommend risking yourself to assuage your curiosity, but it's your life you're risking. Don't forget to dismiss your guards just in case things spill over."

Collateral damage, and all that. Or Ahri'ahn could set them on Arthur, being still bespelled...

He nods, then turns away and marches out of the royal apartments.

"Is this what it is like?"

The Superheroing life? Not really. Big things like this tend to come along once in a while, but a lot of it tends to be punching lunatics in fancy dress.

I turn to Luna. "Is what what what's like?"

"Being a 'super hero'. We had largely assumed that it was something like being a knight errant, but no mere knight would be trusted to do what we have done today."

To be fair, both you and the Renegade are a bit higher-tier than a mere Knight.

"Pretty sure that Celestia would dump it on Twilight."

"Not without a great deal more notice and preparatory material."

Pfft, please. Do you not remember... Nearly every major disaster thus far?

"I don't remember her getting a fat lot of preparatory material before being sent the fight Sombra. Didn't even get the Elements."

"You need not argue that point with Us. Having considered your viewpoint, we are in agreement."

Good to see you recognise that no, just being lucky and plucky doesn't make you a big hero...

"Twilight and maybe Rainbow Dash count. At our level, superheroism is about highly skilled and powerful people dealing with otherwise intractable problems that would otherwise cause widespread devastation. Both of us needed our full range of skills and resources to get this far, and our combat abilities will be tested before too long. There aren't many things that would require people in our weight class to apply themselves like this, but it's nice to be around when they come up."

As I noted, a lot of it is fighting regular loonies. And that's well below the Renegade's level.

She nods, looking pensive. "We think that We may desire… To participate in such incidents more often. To… Beat off the rust."

I smile. "I was rather hoping that-."

As long as one situation or another ends up with the two of them standing over defeated foes, panting for breath before sharing a big damn kiss.

You know it'd happen sooner or later.

"And We believe that Our Sister may similarly wish to engage in such pugilistic events."

"Maybe Kal-El's got something for her."

Wonder if Celestia has a spell that could amplify Superman's solar energy levels for a big fight?

Well, looks like Ahri'ahn's little bit of foolishness is going to be getting wrapped up sooner rather than later. Hopefully without causing too much havoc as Atlantis returns below the waves. Hopefully the League doesn't mind too much if Ahri'ahn is 'killed while resisting arrest' or something, because I don't see the Renegade wasting time trying to talk him down.

KaiKolo · Jul 25, 2023

I would like to see more of Celestia interacting with people in the Renegade timeline, she and Superman teaming up to do some hero work would be a nice change of pace for her.

Superman doesn't have the same baggage that Celestia has, not having been a millennia long ruler and having numerous close personal ties, but he does know what it's like to hold back in a fragile world and constantly deal with threats to the planet.

Senevri · Jul 25, 2023

Magical pony princesses as superheroes is a Yes.

Stsword · Jul 25, 2023

Oh about that pureblood thing?

Aquaman's marine telepathy is a mutation he inherited from Kordax along with his blond hair.

While not explicitly stated in YJ, neither Gar nor Kaldur have marine telepathy, marine telepathy is not a standard part of Atlantean physiology, so that might hold true in YJ as well.

So it's possible Orm's underwater Voldemorte parallel even goes as far as the purists' leader being descended from an "impure fish-head" just as Voldemorte has a muggle father.

Duke Long · Jul 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
King Orin runs his right hand down the side of his face. "Like I was-." His hand continues downwards as pulls himself together, balling into a fist as it reaches the nadir of its descent.

'he pulls'

Mr Zoat said:
"In truth, We are surprised that it was survived the removal of the Caliph's support. We can only imagine that it is of supreme importance to Ahri'ahn."

'has survived'

Mr Zoat said:
"Your people could put the effort it to making it happen gradually. You can't tell me that Atlantis doesn't have spells for making things float. Or make aquatic volcano erupt.

'into making'
'making aquatic volcanoes erupt'?

Darko · Jul 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
feeling are my own feeling

"own feelings"

Old Knife · Jul 25, 2023

Superman sungoddess. That's a hell of a team up.

rkyeun · Jul 25, 2023

Old Knife said:
Superman sungoddess. That's a hell of a team up.

"He's tough. even I'm getting beat up. I need to leave and get more sunlight."
"Neigh, hold your monkeys. I'll bring the sun here."
"Wait what? OH..."

Mr Zoat · Jul 25, 2023

Duke Long said:
'he pulls'
'has survived'
'into making'
'making aquatic volcanoes erupt'?

Darko said:
"own feelings"

Thank you, corrected.

Old Knife said:
Superman sungoddess. That's a hell of a team up.

It's not as good as you'd think.

Celestia (as shown in the film and her fight with Chrysalis) isn't much good in a fight. And if you watch the episode where Flurry Heart destroyed the Crystal Heart, even her magic isn't all that impressive. Grayven's probably going to get her a book on plasma physics for Hearthswarming and see if she can extend her special talent that far.

NightmareWarden · Jul 25, 2023

Maybe my brain is playing tricks on me... Did the chapter title change? I know it was still Pyrr- something before, but I thought it was Pyrr(con)spiracy, minus the "con," or something similar.

Mr Zoat · Jul 25, 2023

NightmareWarden said:
Maybe my brain is playing tricks on me... Did the chapter title change? I know it was still Pyrr- something before, but I thought it was Pyrr(con)spiracy, minus the "con," or something similar.

I didn't change anything intentionally, but stranger things have happened.

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

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Revelation That Uncertainty Is Itself An Answer

At the End...

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Versed in the lewd.

Well worn.

Getting sticky.

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Not too sore, are you?

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