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

Chojin Patriarch · Aug 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
3rd Sigmarzeit 2512
Early Morning

"Yes, I… Mostly try to keep busy so that I don't think about them."

But he's not talking about my family back on Earth. My eyes light up as I look around, staring through the walls and looking for-.

Ah... Looking to marry off a cousin or niece, of course. Because bonds of marriage are a little more reliable than any treaty on paper. Not that such things stopped some would-be lords. Consider the 'alliance' of Wu and Shu during the Three Kingdoms era, for example...

Ah.

"My sister had just gotten married. My father was approaching retirement… He taught biology in college, and-" I smile faintly "-you can get some pretty odd fixations growing up with a biology teacher for a father."

"I thought that the air smelled a little less pungent around you. I take it you were lectured extensively on the danger of bad airs?"

Because the Empire, for all its enlightened scientific advancements, has still not cottoned on about sanitary practices...

It's been a while since I read Genevieve Undead, but I seem to remember Karl-Franz's heir being his son. I don't specifically remember whether it was mentioned that Karl-Franz was married or not. Turns out that he isn't, but he's in a long term relationship with a woman with whom he's had two illegitimate children. I don't really know what's going on there. I mean, she lives in the palace, no one's going to take the idea that he's still on the marriage market seriously. His actual heir is his sister Isabella's son, Wolfgang Holswig-Abenauer.

Maybe he doesn't trust the lady to keep a level head if she went from mere 'Emperor's lady' to full Empress. Never underestimate the heady lure of that much power on a person's state of mind.

Of course, he's hardly her only child.

"Really, the smell is more of a side-effect of the actual source of danger than a threat to health itself. I've hired a team of dwarf engineers to try and build a sewage system in my village, but it's actually quite hard that close to the sea."

Not least the issue of where to send the results. Too close and you'd soon stink up your beaches. Too far and it becomes prohibitively expensive to maintain.

Karl-Franz nods. "Townsmen here pay night soil collectors." He chuckles. "When they don't just chuck their chamber pots into the streets."

I wince.

"You have something better in your homeland?"

And no doubt even hefty fines can convince them to stop that shit.

"After the late Queen Victoria's husband died of typhoid fever, she sponsored some major efforts in improving sanitation across the country. The dwarfs know far more about building underground tunnels than me, but they actually hadn't considered the U-bend or the flush. Please; once my village is finished, come and have a look at it. I'm trying to turn it into a model that other places can replicate, and… If you like it, I could happy re-plumb this whole palace for you."

His little burg might well end up being the cleanest place in The Old World.

"Hah! That's the strangest bribe anyone's ever offered me. I see what you mean about your father. But… Your parents. Did they have a marriage arranged for you? I assume that your sister is your senior."

"No, two years younger. And no, we don't really do it like that. I mean, we used to, but these days even amongst the peerage, young people are mostly left to organise things themselves."

Yeah, good luck explaining modern dating practices to someone with an understanding of matters five centuries or more in the past.

"And had you?"

The distraction didn't work. Not surprising given that his niece is in the next room. No idea why he's trying to match her with.. me.

"No. Which turns out to have been a sound judgement, given that I'm here. I hate to think that I could have been forced to abandon a wife or children."

...Ah. Because of course the classic OL denseness was not unique to him alone.

One of the things that I keep missing is the low speed of information transfer on this planet. I see newspapers and I assume that I'm on a world that has the telegraph at least. But it's not. He doesn't know that I have a lover, or that I'm… I've got some sort of understanding with Queen Khalida. Why would he? I haven't told anyone in Altdorf, or spent significant time with either anywhere where someone reporting to him could spy on them. He only knows about the beastwomen because I had to get him to sign off on the Amber College assisting me.

Well, embedding actual spies in Bretonnia into his village might be a challenge.

There has just about been enough time for a ship to sail from Cathay with news about the diggings on the east coast of Nehekhara, so he might have confirmation about that. He had the report from High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer and multiple reports about the various daemon's I've hunted down. So he knows that I'm capable from people whose word he trusts. But I have no significant connections. Raw power is all I bring to the table, and I've made it clear that I'll bring that anyway. The Old World road network is my second highest priority.

And so he's looking to harness you to his Empire, by way of marriage. Pretty simple logic, really.

So.. he.. wants a threat? Bound to him by marriage? Does he not understand how little I want to rule places? If that was what I wanted I'd have gone to the Border Princes, not stayed in a small Bretonnian village.

"Sir Paolo? Are you well?"

Heh. So deep in thought he forgot he had company...

"Ah, sorry." I shake my head. "I was just trying to work out why your niece is in the next room." A slight reaction from him, more curiosity than concern. "I'm not very good at this sort of thing."

He turns his head and nods at a servant, who bows and leaves the room in her direction.

Not really surprised that he'd have spotted her, I see. I suppose this just makes it easier to invite her in without a contrived little ploy.

"I wanted to introduce you over breakfast."

"With a view to..?"

I mean, it's fairly obvious, really.

"I have ambassadors in the courts of each of the Elector Counts. It is seldom possible to gather more than a few of us in any one place, so virtually all of our communications happen indirectly. You may be able to fly to any of our capitals when you like, but we cannot similarly contact you. Usually my ambassadors are distant cousins, but given your significance and the lack of existing ties, I felt that someone a little closer would be more appropriate."

And I suppose this niece is troublesome enough that you can afford to lose her that way?

"So she would be your ambassador to my little village?"

"The village is incidental; I want to be certain that I can reach the man who can face Greater Daemons in the field and vanquish them."

...Paol might have to work on a method to allow that contact. Pity a Crystal Radio is a bit too short-ranged.

"Alright. Actually, I was thinking that a big get-together of rulers might be a good idea. Considering that the roads will be going through the territories of multiple countries."

"I think that you make for an excellent envoy. What could be accomplished by meeting directly that could not be achieved with a sealed letter?"

Among other things, face-to-face meetings with your fellow rulers? Easier to think of someone as a friend rather than a distant title when you have a face to match to the name.

"That's fine for King Thorgrim and King Louen, but… I was thinking of spreading things a little more widely. You know that I am on good terms with Queen Khalida."

"An Undead."

Oh, don't hold that against her. She doesn't smell at all, I assure you!

"That's the point. Nehekharan rulers think of the Empire as it was in Sigmar's time. They don't really understand the improvements in magic, in artifice or in industry that your people have made. Entertaining her in person could change that as well as establishing a personal rapport."

"And who else?"

Not really all that many nations in the Old World that the Empire aren't already on neutral terms with.

"Ah… King Erik Redaxe."

The Emperor sits up slightly. "He still lives? I heard the tale of how he traded the Duke of Marienburg to my great grandfather when I was a boy."

Barring a descendant with ambitions and a lack of scruples?

"He's not a young man any longer, but he still rules the land north of Kislev. Still favours the aesir over the Chaos Gods."

"He raided Ulthuan. The elves don't like you enough to forget that."

Still, that is an impressive feat, given the High Elves are fairly powerful at sea.

"I'm not asking them to like him. Just… Understand that it's in their interests to negotiate for him to unleash his reavers against the Dark Elves instead of them, or to hire them to fight orcs rather than fight them and the orcs." I shrug. "Heck, he may not even want to come. I didn't want to bother asking him if even you weren't prepared to talk to him."

"If he and Boris Bokha are in the same room, one of them will not leave it alive."

Suggest a drinking contest, maybe? Perhaps they'll both die and you can get a more amenable successor?

"It would need to be handled delicately."

"Delicately." He exhales. "I though you were against piracy."

Well, it's a matter of who the piracy is committed against, I guess.

"I am. But if he agrees to limit his peoples' actions in exchange for mercenary contracts, they won't be pirates any longer. If he doesn't, then he's had his chance. I could even explain the concept of shipping insurance to him."

"I think-."

...Honestly not that different to how the French dealt with the Nordic raiders.

The door opens, and a well-but-not-ostentatiously dressed young woman walks in, followed close behind my servants bearing trays of breakfast foods. Fruit, fresh rolls, bacon and sausages. Karl Franz stands, and I do as well.

"Sir Paolo, my niece, the lady Richilde Holswig-Abenauer."

Off to a good start, I see.

I bow my head. "A pleasure to meet you, I'm sure."

She smiles-. I don't know. Maybe I've been spoiled between a elf and a woman with a custom-crafted face blessed by a goddess, but honestly? She looks kind of plain. Slightly short, shoulder length hair brown and straight… The only things that draws my attention is her genuine curiosity about me.

I think you just need to recalibrate a little, Paol.

She curtsies. "Good morning, Sir Paolo." A servant pulls out her seat and she sits, prompting the Emperor and I to do so as well. "Uncle Karl has been telling me about your plans for a road network. Tell me, how do you intent to maintain it once it is built?"

I take a draft plan out of subspace and put it down next to my plate.

"A combination of road tolls and magic drawn from the network. In Tilea, it was the responsibility of the military to build and maintain roads, and I think…"

Making a good first impression, I see.

Well, that's off to a good start. It seems the lady has a keen intellect, given her initial question. At least she's not trying to play foolish games of romance with him.

...Yet. Methinks the other prospects for Paol might have a new challenger. And an amusing discussion of sanitation, before that, eh? Still, I don't expect to see anyone complaining about that sort of thing... Other than Papa Nurgle.

Lord Ernest · Aug 25, 2023

I totally forgot that he has an Elf girlfriend, how many times did she show up?

And can't they create some communications network using the road that is gonna get build as well? Even if it's as simple as messengers and waypoints, it would be a lot faster than the practically non-communication they have now, no?

moralrelativity · Aug 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Raw power is all I bring to the table

is -> isn't

Mr Zoat said:
Tell me, how do you intent to maintain it once it is built?

intent -> intend

Mr Zoat · Aug 25, 2023

Lord Ernest said:
And can't they create some communications network using the road that is gonna get build as well? Even if it's as simple as messengers and waypoints, it would be a lot faster than the practically non-communication they have now, no?

The Imperial Road Warden Service has existed for about fifty years at this point.

moralrelativity said:
is -> isn't

No, that's intentional. He is acknowledging that he doesn't bring an alliance with any other territory, either internal or external.

intent -> intend

Thank you, corrected.

Duke Long · Aug 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
If you like it, I could happy re-plumb this whole palace for you."

'happily'

Mr Zoat said:
I see newspapers and I assume that I'm on a world that has the telegraph at least.

An optical telegraph is pretty easy to make, right? I wonder if he'll introduce it. Maybe they wouldn't work so well when beastmen or greenskins will just smash them.

Mr Zoat said:
He had the report from High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer and multiple reports about the various daemon's I've hunted down.

Extraneous apostrophe?

Mr Zoat · Aug 25, 2023

Duke Long said:
'happily'
Extraneous apostrophe?

Thank you, corrected.

An optical telegraph is pretty easy to make, right? I wonder if he'll introduce it. Maybe they wouldn't work so well when beastmen or greenskins will just smash them.

You mean, like combining a semaphore tower with a teliscope? It would be a bit dangerous to work somewhere like that in most places.

Duke Long · Aug 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
You mean, like combining a semaphore tower with a teliscope? It would be a bit dangerous to work somewhere like that in most places.

Either that or using lights and covers to message in Morse code. Both were used IRL. But yeah, I can see how it might not be viable over there, except in the most civilised areas.

Steelplaza · Aug 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"After the late Queen Victoria's husband died of typhoid fever, she sponsored some major efforts in improving sanitation across the country.

I think it's interesting that this is one of the few settings where the SI finds it useful to talk about his original world. Often it's either "like this world except without some of the fantastical stuff" or "such a completely different context that there's no point in talking about it". The Warhammer Fantasy world is a rare case where the Old World has just enough echoes of real world history (because that's what all the writers were ripping from) that it can be useful to bring up examples and even the SI's former life is alien to them but not so alien that explaining it can't communicate elements of his psychology that he wishes others to understand.

And frankly it's nice to have him quoting real world history rather than television shows, cartoon, and pop culture. That stuff is fun, but the philosophies of characters in stories lack the rigor of stuff tested in the real world where the writer can't cover for you.

Mr Zoat said:
If that was what I wanted I'd have gone to the Border Princes, not stayed in a small Bretonnian village.

It's not clear to me why he is staying in a small Bretonnian village, other than the SI's tendency to get deeply attached to the first group he ends up with. It took main universe Paragon Paul forever to separate himself from the Team in a social sense, despite the fact that hanging around with a bunch of teenagers is objectively not really the peer group he would choose for himself all other factors being equal. (I mean, he's still friends with them, but his social circle is different these days.)

But the small Bretonnian village is offering almost nothing in terms of resources, other than the fact that I guess he's not pissing off anyone important by setting up shop there.

Duke Long said:
Either that or using lights and covers to message in Morse code. Both were used IRL. But yeah, I can see how it might not be viable over there, except in the most civilised areas.

In the real world this seems to have been limited mostly to very crude signaling not sophisticated high information density reporting, so I guess it's a harder thing to do than you might think.

Patrick Holt · Aug 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
followed close behind my servants

by

Someguy Somewhere · Aug 25, 2023

I think the Empire could handle, with a bit of help, some version of the early Spark Gap Transmitters. Building on the scale to cover the empire wouldn't be too bad, and depending on how the winds of magic effect the planet's ionosphere and geography you could get lucky and bounce signals globally on a good night. With the Spark Gap's methods you couldn't get audio in anything you'd understand, but Morse code would be simple. On the receiving end, even without crystals or tubes, you can still manage a basic diode effect with steel and carbon. Foxhole Radio's are what it says on the tin, and could be cobbled together out of scraps in a cave, you just need to put even more power in at the transmitter end of things to get a decent output.

Honestly with a bit of magic, you could skip some of the issues holding back either end of things, since summoning crashes of thunder and lightning are things the heavy weight mages can do. The Skaven certainly have the technological foundations to get things up and running on entry level magitech....maybe loot the skavenblight before you bomb it to bits first oh Knight of the Orange Lantern.

Mr Zoat · Aug 25, 2023

Patrick Holt said:
by

Thank you, corrected.

Steelplaza said:
It's not clear to me why he is staying in a small Bretonnian village, other than the SI's tendency to get deeply attached to the first group he ends up with. It took main universe Paragon Paul forever to separate himself from the Team in a social sense, despite the fact that hanging around with a bunch of teenagers is objectively not really the peer group he would choose for himself all other factors being equal. (I mean, he's still friends with them, but his social circle is different these days.)

But the small Bretonnian village is offering almost nothing in terms of resources, other than the fact that I guess he's not pissing off anyone important by setting up shop there.

Basically, because no one cares if he completely controls it, it's big enough to experiment with and small enough that he can fix it quickly if something goes wrong. Once he's checked that his potatoes aren't poisonous he can spread them elsewhere fairly easily. The issue is that while he's aware that a lot of things are possible, he doesn't know how to do a lot of them.

Someguy Somewhere said:
I think the Empire could handle, with a bit of help, some version of the early Spark Gap Transmitters. Building on the scale to cover the empire wouldn't be too bad, and depending on how the winds of magic effect the planet's ionosphere and geography you could get lucky and bounce signals globally on a good night. With the Spark Gap's methods you couldn't get audio in anything you'd understand, but Morse code would be simple. On the receiving end, even without crystals or tubes, you can still manage a basic diode effect with steel and carbon. Foxhole Radio's are what it says on the tin, and could be cobbled together out of scraps in a cave, you just need to put even more power in at the transmitter end of things to get a decent output.

While that's probably true, this SI has no idea how to do any of that. The most he could do is offer an explanation if someone was already working on it.

Honestly with a bit of magic, you could skip some of the issues holding back either end of things, since summoning crashes of thunder and lightning are things the heavy weight mages can do. The Skaven certainly have the technological foundations to get things up and running on entry level magitech....maybe loot the skavenblight before you bomb it to bits first oh Knight of the Orange Lantern.

Oh heck no. He's getting his evil technology from somewhere competent: Zharr-Naggrund. They have trains.

Someguy Somewhere · Aug 25, 2023

Ah yes, the great hats, and the chaos dwarves under them....hmm...would figure since they've already got the empire's 'Steam Tanks' rolling around (if in limited numbers) Paolo might have mentioned putting something like that on tracks.

At which point this whole WHFB setting starts looking more like Saruman of Many Devices . Not a bad thing, but it's been done, and the Empire already has black powder and proper logistics to support it.

Mr Zoat · Aug 25, 2023

Someguy Somewhere said:
Ah yes, the great hats, and the chaos dwarves under them....hmm...would figure since they've already got the empire's 'Steam Tanks' rolling around (if in limited numbers) Paolo might have mentioned putting something like that on tracks.

Last time I checked, the Steam Tanks were built by Leonardo da Miragliano and the Empire can't build more. It's a good day when they can get the existing ones working. They used to have 12, now they have 8. The Chaos Dwarfs build more than that per day.

At which point this whole WHFB setting starts looking more like Saruman of Many Devices . Not a bad thing, but it's been done, and the Empire already has black powder and proper logistics to support it.

Ah, one of many great fics that will most likely never be finished.

moralrelativity · Aug 26, 2023

Someguy Somewhere said:
At which point this whole WHFB setting starts looking more like Saruman of Many Devices . Not a bad thing, but it's been done, and the Empire already has black powder and proper logistics to support it.

Mr Zoat said:
Ah, one of many great fics that will most likely never be finished.

I kept checking back for months and then years, hoping and hoping that fic was going to update again.

Mr Zoat · Aug 26, 2023

17th February 2013
08:23 GMT -5

Ned Bucksted the xeno-computation specialist shakes his head, the yellow ring awkwardly sitting on his right ring finger almost entirely dull. "I don't get it."

Richard waves a computer pad at the first crate. "We need to get a baseline for what someone normal can get the ring to do. Once we know that, we can work out how important it is for the user to have an instinct for it."

Mr. Bucksted points his right hand at the crate and.. waves his hand away as if he thinks that the motion itself is enough. "Ah, is there a button..?"

"No. You have to focus your mind on either causing fear, or how what you're doing relates to something that you're afraid of."

"It's a.. box, though."

I attach a filament to the box and yank, causing it to fly past his face with about two millimetres clearance.

"Y-ah!"

That made his environmental shield flare, but that's about it.

Richard doesn't look impressed.

"Did you feel what that was like?"

"Ah…" He looks down at his glowing body… As the glow fades. "I think so. God, that's weird. Do you do that every time?"

"At this point it's second nature for me."

"Okay, I got this."

A weak yellow glow surrounds a crate. He raises his right hand, but all the crate does is wobble slightly. And then he concentrates and the glow vanishes completely.

"This is surprisingly difficult. I-I gotta say, as an engineer, I'm not keen on technology that needs you to feel the right thing. That sort of thing's dangerous to the user."

"Usually we select people who have a natural inclination or learned ability in the field. The problem with fear is that there aren't a lot of people with that way of thinking that we could actually trust with it."

"I always found Mister Luthor pretty intimidating."

"Yes, but unless I very much miss my guess, you've been working for LexCorp on the sort of project where people who make mistakes or talk to the wrong people 'have an accident'."

"That-. No, that's-."

"Don't worry about it. Under the circumstances, I'm happy people like you exist. Goodness knows we need your expertise."

"Ah, okay, but I don't work anywhere like that."

"So places like that do exist, you just happen not to work there?" The ring glows a little brighter. "But if you could make it work, think about all the jobs Mister Luthor could have for you to do. Acquiring examples of alien technology? Decoding alien manuals and computer code? Performing repairs on components in storage? I dare say that with abilities like that, you'd be too valuable to ever let go of."

His environmental shield glows again and the crate hits the ceiling before crashing back down.

I smile. "Okay, well, we'll write it up as 'unable to maintain focus', shall-"

He's already taking the ring off his finger and handing it back to Richard.

"-we?"

"I need-. I need to-" He keeps watching me and he sidles towards the door. "-get back to work."

"Thank you for your time."

Richard waits for the door to close, staring at the ring in his hand.

"Was Lex keeping him prisoner?"

"No, but I imagine there were some fairly hefty golden handcuffs." He frowns questioningly. "Come on, there aren't that many alien computer systems on Earth, and governments claim most of them. Lex probably has to source his materials creatively. Either illegally or using off-world contacts. That man would have to know the relevant laws, but he works there anyway."

"Is that just a deduction, or have you actually been tracking them?"

"Deduction. But not exactly a difficult one. You want to have a go with that?"

"No." He shakes his head. "I never really got into the 'fear' part of Batman's training."

"He.. told me about his change of heart." I sigh. "He'd have been perfect for this."

"Sorry I got Anti-Lifed. I'll be sure to complain to Mannheim."

"Not what I meant. I just-. I was sort of hoping he'd be okay falling off the wagon for a day. Really…" I shake my head.

"No, I think this had been coming for a while."

"Since he married Talia? Because that wasn't the direction I thought she'd push him in."

"Since he adopted me. He couldn't be all doom and gloom the whole time in case it rubbed off on me."

"You were something to live for outside of the crusade."

"That's a…" He frowns. "Bit… Dark, but… Maybe?"

"And he wants to be there for you and any children he and Talia have in a way that his parents couldn't be for him. And that's all part of it so there's no chance of him going back."

He squints at me. "I think I should be offended, but I'm not sure which part I should be offended by."

"That Batman loves you more than fighting crime? I'd take it as a compliment."

"But he can't use the ring."

"Which would you prefer?"

He nods. "But we still need someone who can use the ring."

"What did you think about using Power Ring?"

"He's a supervillain who rules a world, Oh El. I don't want to give him more power. Or trust him. You sure there's not another way to get into Erebos? Didn't you send souls from your planet Lantern to Hades?"

"There's a shrine, but that just helps the souls of the dead enter Erebos. Souls naturally gravitate to an afterlife. Stopping them passing on is hard. So if I called Lantern Mother of Mercy back here and someone wanted to commit suicide-. And it would have to be me, because everyone else would be stuck at the back of the queue, then we could get a message in that way."

"So, no. How about..? Getting in through another afterlife?"

"Ah… Maybe? I…" I frown. "Hades did say that they had treaties with most other afterlives concerning necromancy… Why, do you have a way to get into another afterlife?"

"No. But Cornwall Boy does."

Darko · Aug 26, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Usually we select people who have a natural inclination or learned ability in the field. The problem with fear is that there aren't a lot of people with that way of thinking that we could actually trust with it."

Yeah, unfortunately most people that rely on fear are the ones you don't want to have in power.

Mr Zoat said:
"Since he adopted me. He couldn't be all doom and gloom the whole time in case it rubbed off on me

Every parent wants their kids to be better than them.

Mr Zoat said:
"He's a supervillain who rules a world, Oh El

Yeah, you'd basically be trading one evil psychopath for another one.

Mr Zoat said:
"Ah… Maybe? I…" I frown. "Hades did say that they had treaties with most other afterlives concerning necromancy… Why, do you have a way to get into another afterlife?"

"No. But Cornwall Boy does

Yeah, I remember him mentioning interviewing a celtic king for his homework.

Handlewithcare · Aug 26, 2023

So he is about to offer Melinöe a ring? Yeah, no way Papa Hades could misconstrue that...

Darko · Aug 26, 2023

Handlewithcare said:
So he is about to offer Melinöe a ring? Yeah, no way Papa Hades could misconstrue that...

Assuming he understands modern courtship rituals.

Chojin Patriarch · Aug 26, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
17th February 2013
08:23 GMT -5

Ned Bucksted the xeno-computation specialist shakes his head, the yellow ring awkwardly sitting on his right ring finger almost entirely dull. "I don't get it."

Richard waves a computer pad at the first crate. "We need to get a baseline for what someone normal can get the ring to do. Once we know that, we can work out how important it is for the user to have an instinct for it."

So, I suppose the scientific approach is necessary here. With some of their best options entirely too close to the Godzilla Threshold, they need someone more average. Let's see if he can even get the Ring to light up.

Mr. Bucksted points his right hand at the crate and.. waves his hand away as if he thinks that the motion itself is enough. "Ah, is there a button..?"

"No. You have to focus your mind on either causing fear, or how what you're doing relates to something that you're afraid of."

To be fair, the average person isn't going to be especially introspective on that front.

"It's a.. box, though."

I attach a filament to the box and yank, causing it to fly passed his face with about two millimetres clearance.

Whoa, easy there, OL. Sure, you could patch him up if he breaks something, but still...

"Y-ah!"

That made his environmental shield flare, but that's about it.

Any idiot could make an environmental shield. Heck, depending on opinions of some Lanterns, some do.

Richard doesn't look impressed.

"Did you feel what that was like?"

Or is another example necessary? Just watch out for diminishing returns on scares, though.

"Ah…" He looks down at his glowing body… As the glow fades. "I think so. God, that's weird. Do you do that every time?"

"At this point it's second nature for me."

The joy of Enlightenment. Indeed, OL sometimes has trouble getting the shield to dim.

"Okay, I got this."

A weak yellow glow surrounds a create. He raises his right hand, but all the crate does is wobble slightly. And then he concentrates and the glow vanishes completely.

Yeah, not an uncommon instinct, is it? Trying to do something? Focus on it.

"This is surprisingly difficult. I-I gotta say, as an engineer, I'm not keen of technology that needs you to feel the right thing. That sort of thing's dangerous to the user."

"Usually we select people who have a natural inclination or learned ability in the field. The problem with fear is that there aren't a lot of people with that way of thinking that we could actually trust with it."

And to be fair, Orange Rings would be the greater risk of unintended actions anyway. When focused on Fear, most people's instincts would turn to 'Ah, run away!' or 'Ah, smash the scary thing!'

"I always found Mister Luthor pretty intimidating."

"Yes, but unless I very much miss my guess, you've been working for LexCorps on the sort of project where people who make mistakes or talk to the wrong people 'have an accident'."

Ooh, good point. Big paychecks may get results, but so do 'consequences' for failing.

"That-. No, that's-."

"Don't worry about it. Under the circumstances, I'm happy people like you exist. Goodness knows we need your expertise."

Still letting the humans bash away at the ships' computers?

"Ah, okay, but I don't work anywhere like that."

"So places like that do exist, you just happen not to work there?" The ring glows a little brighter. "But if you could make it work, think about all the jobs Mister Luthor could have for you do. Acquiring examples of alien technology? Decoding alien manuals and computer code? Performing repairs on components in storage? I dare say that will abilities like that, you'd be too valuable to ever let go of."

Ah, Yellow Rings. The only kind of Ring that benefits from going into a cold sweat.

His environmental shield glows again and the crate hits the ceiling before crashing back down.

I smile. "Okay, well, we'll write it up as 'unable to maintain focus', shall-"

On the other hand, good data about inducing the right state in people to channel the Yellow Light.

He's already taking the ring off his finger and handing it back to Richard.

"-we?"

Ah, not enjoying your little brush with power, Ned?

"I need-. I need to-" He keeps watching me and he sidles towards the door. "-get back to work."

"Thank you for your time."

Bet the second he's out of sight, he hauls ass.

Richard waits for the door to close, staring at the ring in his hand.

"Was Lex keeping him prisoner?"

A reasonable assumption. Not entirely off, either, I bet.

"No, but I imagine there were some fairly hefty golden handcuffs." He frowns questioningly. "Come on, there aren't that many alien computer systems on Earth, and governments claim most of them. Lex probably has to source his materials creatively. Either illegally or using off-world contacts. That man would have to know the relevant laws, but he works there anyway."

"Is that just a deduction, or have you actually been tracking them?"

Little of column A, little of column B?

"Deduction. But not exactly a difficult one. You want to have a go with that?"

"No." He shakes his head. "I never really got into the 'fear' part of Batman's training."

Sadly, it's a few years before he'd be a reliable candidate for a Violet Ring. 'Superheroing community's most eligible bachelor', if you catch my drift?

"He.. told me about his change of heart." I sigh. "He'd have been perfect for this."

"Sorry I got Anti-Lifed. I'll be sure to complain to Mannheim."

No, I don't think you getting whammied was the sole catalyst for this change...

"Not what I meant. I just-. I was sort of hoping he'd be okay falling off the wagon for a day. Really…" I shake my head.

"No, I think this had been coming for a while."

I mean, have you asked him about this, OL, or are you just assuming?

"Since he married Talia? Because that wasn't the direction I thought she'd push him in."

"Since he adopted me. He couldn't be all doom and gloom the whole time in case it rubbed off on me."

And to be fair, any time a Batman has a Robin, they're a lot less dark because of it. Which is a good thing. You want a dark avenger? Go follow Midnighter.

"You were something to live for outside of the crusade."

"That's a…" He frowns. "Bit… Dark, but… Maybe?"

But accurate.

"And he wants to be there for you and any children he and Talia have in a way that his parents couldn't be for him. And that's all part of it so there's no chance of him going back."

He squints at me. "I think I should be offended, but I'm not sure which part I should be offended by."

Honestly, at this stage, I have little expectation we'll one day see Damien, but a Bruce Junior isn't very likely either.

Reality doesn't work that way.

"That Batman loves you more than fighting crime? I'd take it as a compliment."

"But he can't use the ring."

And really, what boy wouldn't want the goddamn Batman as his father, smiting evil with the Hammers of Justice?

"Which would you prefer?"

He nods. "But we still need someone who can use the ring."

True, no getting around that issue.

"What did you think about using Power Ring?"

"He's a supervillain who rules a world, Oh El. I don't want to give him more power. Or trust him. You sure there's not another way to get into Erebos? Didn't you send souls from your planet Lantern to Hades?"

...Okay, good point. Let's not give the career supervillain ideas about expanding his franchise.

"There's a shrine, but that just helps the souls of the dead enter Erebos. Souls naturally gravitate to an afterlife. Stopping them passing on is hard. So if I called Lantern Mother of Mercy back here and someone wanted to commit suicide-. And it would have to be me, because everyone else would be stuck at the back of the queue, then we could get a message in that way."

"So, no. How about..? Getting in through another afterlife?"

Not that many that have open access to the living.

"Ah… Maybe? I…" I frown. "Hades did say that they had treaties with most other afterlives concerning necromancy… Why, do you have a way to get into another afterlife?"

"No. But Cornwall Boy does."

Now I wonder how he's been handling the constant influx of Anti-Life energies. Being a Thaumovore and all.

Hmm... Setting up a consultation with the Celtic afterlife? Using them to get in touch with the Hellenic realms? Hopefully that won't offend whatever deity handles the business of the post-mortem. Still, it might be necessary, to find a suitable Fear-master. Let's just hope OL doesn't have to make too many compromises to get such a being on side...

...causing it to fly passed his face...

...causing it to fly past his face...

A weak yellow glow surrounds a create.

A weak yellow glow surrounds a crate.

...you've been working for LexCorps on the sort of project...

...you've been working for LexCorp on the sort of project...

I dare say that will abilities like that...

I dare say that with abilities like that...

Bud-E · Aug 26, 2023

Handlewithcare said:
So he is about to offer Melinöe a ring? Yeah, no way Papa Hades could misconstrue that...

Does Hades even remember her? Last we heard he and Persephone agreed to a mindwipe do-over.

thepsyborg · Aug 26, 2023

Darko said:
Assuming he understands modern courtship rituals.

He demonstrably doesn't even understand ancient Greek courtship rituals.

(Or didn't, until OL explained them to him with small words, depending on timeline.)

Vaermina · Aug 26, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"Ah… Maybe? I…" I frown. "Hades did say that they had treaties with most other afterlives concerning necromancy… Why, do you have a way to get into another afterlife?"

"No. But Cornwall Boy does."

You could also just ask Zauriel.

Old Knife · Aug 26, 2023

New best candidate: Nylor Truggs?

Mr Zoat · Aug 26, 2023

Chojin Patriarch said:
...causing it to fly past his face...
A weak yellow glow surrounds a crate.
...you've been working for LexCorp on the sort of project...
I dare say that with abilities like that...

Thank you, corrected.

Duke Long · Aug 26, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"But if you could make it work, think about all the jobs Mister Luthor could have for you do.

'to do' or extraneous 'do'

Mr Zoat said:
"No. But Cornwall Boy does."

Well, I'm looking forward to seeing the Otherworld. Haven't seen much of the Celts in this story, though I suppose we've still seen more of them than a whole bunch of other pantheons which haven't been mentioned at all.

Ngamer11 · Aug 26, 2023

Vaermina said:
You could also just ask Zauriel.

The Silver City doesn't really maintain good relations with other afterlives.

Radiant Knight · Aug 26, 2023

Bud-E said:
Does Hades even remember her? Last we heard he and Persephone agreed to a mindwipe do-over.

The mind-wipe do-over was explicitly only pertaining to their memories of each other, not all their memories. Persephone didn't want to forget her children, just Hades.

Wheenesss · Aug 26, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
17th February 2013
08:23 GMT -5

Ned Bucksted the xeno-computation specialist shakes his head, the yellow ring awkwardly sitting on his right ring finger almost entirely dull. "I don't get it."

Richard waves a computer pad at the first crate. "We need to get a baseline for what someone normal can get the ring to do. Once we know that, we can work out how important it is for the user to have an instinct for it."

Mr. Bucksted points his right hand at the crate and.. waves his hand away as if he thinks that the motion itself is enough. "Ah, is there a button..?"

"No. You have to focus your mind on either causing fear, or how what you're doing relates to something that you're afraid of."

"It's a.. box, though."

I attach a filament to the box and yank, causing it to fly past his face with about two millimetres clearance.

"Y-ah!"

That made his environmental shield flare, but that's about it.

Richard doesn't look impressed.

"Did you feel what that was like?"

"Ah…" He looks down at his glowing body… As the glow fades. "I think so. God, that's weird. Do you do that every time?"

"At this point it's second nature for me."

"Okay, I got this."

A weak yellow glow surrounds a crate. He raises his right hand, but all the crate does is wobble slightly. And then he concentrates and the glow vanishes completely.

"This is surprisingly difficult. I-I gotta say, as an engineer, I'm not keen of technology that needs you to feel the right thing. That sort of thing's dangerous to the user."

"Usually we select people who have a natural inclination or learned ability in the field. The problem with fear is that there aren't a lot of people with that way of thinking that we could actually trust with it."

"I always found Mister Luthor pretty intimidating."

"Yes, but unless I very much miss my guess, you've been working for LexCorp on the sort of project where people who make mistakes or talk to the wrong people 'have an accident'."

"That-. No, that's-."

"Don't worry about it. Under the circumstances, I'm happy people like you exist. Goodness knows we need your expertise."

"Ah, okay, but I don't work anywhere like that."

"So places like that do exist, you just happen not to work there?" The ring glows a little brighter. "But if you could make it work, think about all the jobs Mister Luthor could have for you do. Acquiring examples of alien technology? Decoding alien manuals and computer code? Performing repairs on components in storage? I dare say that with abilities like that, you'd be too valuable to ever let go of."

His environmental shield glows again and the crate hits the ceiling before crashing back down.

I smile. "Okay, well, we'll write it up as 'unable to maintain focus', shall-"

He's already taking the ring off his finger and handing it back to Richard.

"-we?"

"I need-. I need to-" He keeps watching me and he sidles towards the door. "-get back to work."

"Thank you for your time."

Richard waits for the door to close, staring at the ring in his hand.

"Was Lex keeping him prisoner?"

"No, but I imagine there were some fairly hefty golden handcuffs." He frowns questioningly. "Come on, there aren't that many alien computer systems on Earth, and governments claim most of them. Lex probably has to source his materials creatively. Either illegally or using off-world contacts. That man would have to know the relevant laws, but he works there anyway."

"Is that just a deduction, or have you actually been tracking them?"

"Deduction. But not exactly a difficult one. You want to have a go with that?"

"No." He shakes his head. "I never really got into the 'fear' part of Batman's training."

"He.. told me about his change of heart." I sigh. "He'd have been perfect for this."

"Sorry I got Anti-Lifed. I'll be sure to complain to Mannheim."

"Not what I meant. I just-. I was sort of hoping he'd be okay falling off the wagon for a day. Really…" I shake my head.

"No, I think this had been coming for a while."

"Since he married Talia? Because that wasn't the direction I thought she'd push him in."

"Since he adopted me. He couldn't be all doom and gloom the whole time in case it rubbed off on me."

"You were something to live for outside of the crusade."

"That's a…" He frowns. "Bit… Dark, but… Maybe?"

"And he wants to be there for you and any children he and Talia have in a way that his parents couldn't be for him. And that's all part of it so there's no chance of him going back."

He squints at me. "I think I should be offended, but I'm not sure which part I should be offended by."

"That Batman loves you more than fighting crime? I'd take it as a compliment."

"But he can't use the ring."

"Which would you prefer?"

He nods. "But we still need someone who can use the ring."

"What did you think about using Power Ring?"

"He's a supervillain who rules a world, Oh El. I don't want to give him more power. Or trust him. You sure there's not another way to get into Erebos? Didn't you send souls from your planet Lantern to Hades?"

"There's a shrine, but that just helps the souls of the dead enter Erebos. Souls naturally gravitate to an afterlife. Stopping them passing on is hard. So if I called Lantern Mother of Mercy back here and someone wanted to commit suicide-. And it would have to be me, because everyone else would be stuck at the back of the queue, then we could get a message in that way."

"So, no. How about..? Getting in through another afterlife?"

"Ah… Maybe? I…" I frown. "Hades did say that they had treaties with most other afterlives concerning necromancy… Why, do you have a way to get into another afterlife?"

"No. But Cornwall Boy does."

When he says Power Ring, is he referring to Alan Scott from -14 or to Jordan Harrolds from -16?

Ngamer11 · Aug 26, 2023

Wheenesss said:
When he says Power Ring, is he referring to Alan Scott from -14 or to Jordan Harrolds from -16?

Does it matter? Both are terrible people that he'd never trust.

Lord Ernest · Aug 26, 2023

Wheenesss said:
When he says Power Ring, is he referring to Alan Scott from -14 or to Jordan Harrolds from -16?

I think Harrolds. I believe he refers to Scott as Al Scott or Capo Al Scott, while Harrolds is the most recent and relevant Power Ring because Robin already is aware of -16 amd their people smuggling operation.

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

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