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

Senevri · Oct 13, 2023

Vaermina said:
I love the salt we get when things just refuse to play by his rules.

Well put. Without salt, the story is bland. Suffering of the MC is what gives the story some flavor.

Lord Ernest · Oct 13, 2023

Just had a thought. Why doesn't the Illustres have a magical undersuit that he wouldn't need to put on or remove depending on the situation? On top of that then he can keep a superhero suit for aesthetic and to disguise the undersuit, and finally he can have a couple of more dynamic power-armors in subspace, rather than the refrigerator with limbs that he has right now, which can be further designed for specialization and support.

The undersuit could then handle the defense for the more esoteric attacks and dangers, and if it can't then the power-armor definitely couldn't. He wouldn't need to subspace it since it won't be as cumbersome and so it doesn't represent unnecessary power expenditure. He could make it seamless, or he could have a way to manually remove it, just in case, and have that hidden by the superhero suit, which would have the aesthetic and utility functions i.e. Orange Lantern symbol, color scheme, pouches, etc.

Meanwhile, the power-armors wouldn't need to be as heavy duty, since the vital protection against esoteric effects would be handled separately, and as such they could handle more conventional defence by combining different force-field generators. Again, make different power-armors if necessary to optimize it, and the armors could be actually armed with tools or weapons, so if something disrupts his Power Rings he isn't just locked in a refrigerator and can actually move effectively and fight.

Someguy Somewhere · Oct 14, 2023

Lord Ernest said:
Just had a thought. Why doesn't the Illustres have a magical undersuit that he wouldn't need to put on or remove depending on the situation? On top of that then he can keep a superhero suit for aesthetic and to disguise the undersuit, and finally he can have a couple of more dynamic power-armors in subspace, rather than the refrigerator with limbs that he has right now, which can be further designed for specialization and support.

The undersuit could then handle the defense for the more esoteric attacks and dangers, and if it can't then the power-armor definitely couldn't. He wouldn't need to subspace it since it won't be as cumbersome and so it doesn't represent unnecessary power expenditure. He could make it seamless, or he could have a way to manually remove it, just in case, and have that hidden by the superhero suit, which would have the aesthetic and utility functions i.e. Orange Lantern symbol, color scheme, pouches, etc.

Meanwhile, the power-armors wouldn't need to be as heavy duty, since the vital protection against esoteric effects would be handled separately, and as such they could handle more conventional defence by combining different force-field generators. Again, make different power-armors if necessary to optimize it, and the armors could be actually armed with tools or weapons, so if something disrupts his Power Rings he isn't just locked in a refrigerator and can actually move effectively and fight.

This reminds me of the layering logic for body armour in Shadowrun, where you have rules covering everything from leather jacket to power armour. Only the outer layer really matters, but if need be you can have different grades under it that have different properties.

Logistics wise Paul prefers equipment he can maintain in the field if it's not just a perishable item like ammo he expends, and he's not good enough with magic to maintain or repair a magic undershirt, nor can he modify it on the fly as he does with his existing gear.

Defensively for general use the armour works for most things he expects to go up against in a day, and when he is specifically going after magical threats he'll bring a caster that can aid in defence rather then trying to gear up for it himself. Most magic armors just don't have the mass to tank hits or take enchantment to the degree he's used to fighting at, so conventional solutions in bulk make up the difference.

The Only person we've seen with proper magical clothing was Zatanna when OL returned from space, she'd stitched various buff spells into her kevlar Stage Mage outfit. There were statements about how 'modern' materials don't take enchantment as well as classical materials (think that came up waaay back when they talked about WW's new armor getting a visor, and them not being able to properly enchant modern transparent materials, and the greeks didn't have any durable glass materials that would take the abuse)

NightmareWarden · Oct 14, 2023

Lord Ernest said:
Just had a thought. Why doesn't the Illustres have a magical undersuit that he wouldn't need to put on or remove depending on the situation? On top of that then he can keep a superhero suit for aesthetic and to disguise the undersuit, and finally he can have a couple of more dynamic power-armors in subspace, rather than the refrigerator with limbs that he has right now, which can be further designed for specialization and support.

The undersuit could then handle the defense for the more esoteric attacks and dangers, and if it can't then the power-armor definitely couldn't. He wouldn't need to subspace it since it won't be as cumbersome and so it doesn't represent unnecessary power expenditure. He could make it seamless, or he could have a way to manually remove it, just in case, and have that hidden by the superhero suit, which would have the aesthetic and utility functions i.e. Orange Lantern symbol, color scheme, pouches, etc.

Meanwhile, the power-armors wouldn't need to be as heavy duty, since the vital protection against esoteric effects would be handled separately, and as such they could handle more conventional defence by combining different force-field generators. Again, make different power-armors if necessary to optimize it, and the armors could be actually armed with tools or weapons, so if something disrupts his Power Rings he isn't just locked in a refrigerator and can actually move effectively and fight.

He'd have to have a magic undersuit which does not interfere when he wants his tattoos active, which isn't eaten by his tattoos, which can be removed without his ring (problem with old power armor)… and ideally he can return it to his pocket dimension without sacrificing a lot of ring charge (common with advanced magic items).

So he needs something custom made. His artificing people are already maxed out on capacity, generally. Outside of their own projects.

Mr Zoat · Oct 14, 2023

17th February 2013
18:21 GMT

Kon ducks as the gosh that's big lands next to him, the force of its landing shaking the mountainside! I brace as best I can with a goat in my face which isn't much unless I want to lose fingers, then my eyes widen and I press myself into the rock face as it fails to control its momentum and falls over me-.

It grabs at me with its right hand and I use a construct lasso and pulley to wrench its right arm away as it falls, spinning it around and then letting it go once it's out of range. One second passes and then I hear a thud and crash as it slams down onto the obsidian outcrop below.

"Beeeh!"

Goat and I can't see the robot because it's standing on my shoulders and mostly covering my face. Winch for the goat-.

It jumps off me, lands on a near-vertical surface, and then jumps up again to reach the top.

And then it turns back into M'gann. "Hey guys!"

I look down, thankful that I've long since overcome my vertigo, and see… Yes, that's more or less Tezumak's armour. The obsidian punched through the chest in three places and I can see blood leaking out from the wounds. But it still tries to get up.

"Hey, M'gann. What is it?"

I stab a construct piton into the cliff, attach a construct rope to it and to a construct harness around my chest, and lean back. A couple of jumps and I'm standing next to the armour. No… Obvious response from the mountain.

"Aztec power armour. I think. They haven't said anything."

I cautiously step around its flailing right arm, wincing as new shards are driven into my feet. I'm sort of… Floating above the pain at the moment but if this keep up it won't be all that long before my joking request to Kon becomes a serious one.

"You said there were five of them?"

Left hand on its forehead, x-ionised knife through its throat-.

Blood sprays out, covering me-!

"Ugh."

After a few seconds it.. dies off, reduced to a impressive but low-pressure flow from the wound. A human artery.. could bleed like that, but this blood doesn't look all that highly oxygenated. And there wasn't any noise from the interruption of the wind pipe. And the armour is still moving weakly when any normal human would flail frenziedly for a few seconds and then lose consciousness once the blood pressure in their brain dropped.

So I keep slicing.

"Paul, what are you doing?"

"Need to know what these things are. Miss Martian, is there a mind in here?"

"I.. can't feel one, but that could just be because they've got-"

I cut all the way through the neck, causing the head-. The helmet to fall off and the flow of blood from the neck hole to increase. There's no flesh inside. There's the neck armour, a.. metal 'spine' and a whole lot of blood.

"No one inside."

Analysis of the blood… It's a mixture from many different individuals. I can't… There are anomalous properties that suggest that there's an element of magic here, but a power ring can't characterise it better than that.

"I'd guess that they're using blood from people they've either abducted or Anti-Lifed to animate them. But…"

There's still a little… Movement in the blood. A small surge and then a stop. Another small surge, more of a ripple at this point as most of the blood in the interior has leaked out onto the mountainside.

I send filaments reaching inside the chest cavity-.

That's a heart. It's wired into some sort of frame, and… Okay, it's there.

I climb up on the armour-. I slip, the blood coming from my feet making them slide out underneath me and making me slam face first into the power armour's side.

Ah-ow.

"You okay?"

What do you think, Kon? "Miss Martian, I don't suppose-"

I check my footing better this time before hauling myself up.

"-you've got any healing potions, do you?"

"Sorry, no. Cornwall Boy does, though. Did."

I nod as I take position over where the heart is. This armour panel looks like it can be removed, but I've got no idea where the switch is. If it's even a physical thing, or wasn't sealed shut once its purpose was fulfilled.

Kon's head jerks up. "They're coming."

M'gann just looks determined. "We can beat them. The obsidian goes right through their armour."

"I'm pretty sure that Kon's fists will, too." I crouch down and start slicing around the edge of the panel. "Shout if you need me."

Construct shield.

And… The panel comes off, and there's an interior armour mechanism, but this one… Yes, the latch is there and there, twist and pull…

That's a human heart. Wait… No. Not a human heart. It's roughly the right size, but the shape isn't quite right. And it's still beating in its metal… Cage. Some sort of blood magic. The power armour has finally gone still. Curious that it doesn't have the same Anti-Life aura as the other one, but I don't know enough about Apokoliptian technology or blood magic to draw firm conclusions. Just in case this is linked to someone or belongs to someone, I take a couple of pints of blood out from the armour's interior. Then I tear out the heart and the housing along with it, fabricate a carry case for it and put it inside before covering it with the blood. Then I-.

There's another crash as another suit of power armour lands on the top of the rise. Kon and M'gann have already gotten out of the way, Kon darting back in a moment later to punch it in the leg. That knocks it to one knee, then it raises its hands-. Are those claws? Yes, yes they are. And it lashes out with them and forces Kon back.

I can't get up the cliff face while that's going on. There isn't another convenient way up here… I can go around, but that will take at least ten minutes. Or more, because my feet are a mess and it's all obsidian fragments. Standing here…

Hm.

I point my right hand at where the heart used to be and generate a heart-shaped construct before linking it to my tattoos. Grab the head piece and… Clone my own blood. Seal the neck, pour my blood inside it with a little of the actual blood that's leaking from just about all of my body at this point, then reattach the head.

"Ugh."

The power armour's eyes glow orange.

"Up you get. And carry me."

Its left arm grabs hold of me, while its right supports its torso as it struggles to rise. I use a construct to snap off the obsidian which ran it through, snorting to myself as I see the obsidian around us grow a little in response. That gives it the space it needs in order to get back on its feet, still holding me to its chest.

"Get us up there."

It follows my pointing finger, crouches slightly, and then leaps.

Ngamer11 · Oct 14, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
I point my right hand at where the heart used to be and generate a heart-shaped construct before linking it to my tattoos. Grab the head piece and… Clone my own blood. Seal the neck, pour my blood inside it with a little of the actual blood that's leaking from just about all of my body at this point, then reattach the head.

"Ugh."

The power armour's eyes glow orange.

I always like seeing Paul make unexpected choices in order to create innovative solutions to problems.

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 14, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
17th February 2013
18:21 GMT

Kon ducks as the gosh that's big lands next to him, the force of its landing shaking the mountainside! I brace as best I can with a goat in my face which isn't much unless I want to lose fingers, then my eyes widen and I press myself into the rock face as it fails to control its momentum and falls over me-.

It grabs at me with its right hand and I use a construct lasso and pulley to wrench its right arm away as it falls, spinning it around and then letting it go once it's out of range. One second passes and then I hear a thud and crash as it slams down onto the obsidian outcrop below.

Yes, Tezumak looked to be about ten feet tall. And ten feet of that much metal is very imposing when it's looming over you. And naturally terrifying if it's toppling over towards you, so OL's concern is completely reasonable.

"Beeeh!"

Goat and I can't see the robot because it's standing on my shoulders and mostly covering my face. Winch for the goat-.

Careful, OL. Kon might get jealous that you're getting that much of an eyeful of M'gann.

It jumps off me, lands on a near-vertical surface, and then jumps up again to reach the top.

And then it turns back into M'gann. "Hey guys!"

She's being surprisingly chipper after what she's been through. Probably just relief over reuniting with the team...

I look down, thankful that I've long since overcome my vertigo, and see… Yes, that's more or less Tezumak's armour. The obsidian punched through the chest in three places and I can see blood leaking out from the wounds. But it still tries to get up.

"Hey, M'gann. What is it?"

...And her boyfriend. It's probably been only hours, but it feels like days.

I stab a construct piton into the cliff, attach a construct rope to it and to a construct harness around my chest, and lean back. A couple of jumps and I'm standing next to the armour. No… Obvious response from the mountain.

"Aztec power armour. I think. They haven't said anything."

The mountain isn't reacting because you're basically going backwards. Now, try and make progress the same way, and it's an obsidian chancla for you.

I cautiously step around its flailing right arm, wincing as new shards are driven into my feet. I'm sort of… Floating above the pain at the moment but if this keep up it won't be all that long before my joking request to Kon becomes a serious one.

"You said there were five of them?"

Honestly, that might well make progress easier. What's worthier than bearing a wounded ally through this mess?

Left hand on its forehead, x-ionised knife through its throat-.

Blood sprays out, covering me-!

OL, please. I know they're already dead, but really...

"Ugh."

After a few seconds it.. dies off, reduced to a impressive but low-pressure flow from the wound. A human artery.. could bleed like that, but this blood doesn't look all that highly oxygenated. And there wasn't any noise from interruption the wind pipe. And the armour is still moving weakly when any normal human would flail frenziedly for a few seconds and then lose consciousness once the blood pressure in their brain dropped.

Then again, they may never have been alive in the first place, perhaps.

So I keep slicing.

"Paul, what are you doing?"

Well, this probably looks awful from the outside, yes.

"Need to know what these things are. Miss Martian, is there a mind in here?"

"I.. can't feel one, but that could just be because they've got-"

Mystical warding? Evidently not that powerful, though, given the divine tests tore them up this badly.

I cut all the way through the neck, causing the head-. The helmet to fall off and the flow of blood from the neck hole to increase. There's no flesh inside. There's the neck armour, a.. metal 'spine' and a whole lot of blood.

"No one inside."

So, functionally hollow, meaning someone could wear it if they needed to. Like Tezumak himself.

Analysis of the blood… It's a mixture from many different individuals. I can't… There are anomalous properties that suggest that there's an element of magic here, but a power ring can't characterise it better than that.

"I'd guess that they're using blood from people they've either abducted or Anti-Lifed to animate them. But…"

Quite a lot of people, I bet. There's probably more than eight pints in there.

There's still a little… Movement in the blood. A small surge and then a stop. Another small surge, more of a ripple at this point as most of the blood in the interior has leaked out onto the mountainside.

I send filaments reaching inside the chest cavity-.

Its last gasp, if you will.

That's a heart. It's wired into some sort of frame, and… Okay, it's there.

I climb up on the armour-. I slip, the blood coming from my feet making them slide out underneath me and making me slam face first into the power armour's side.

Ow. This really isn't OL's finest hour, is it?

Ah-ow.

"You okay?"

And now I imagine him just giving them a Look. No need to describe it, because you already pictured it in your heads, didn't you?

What do you think, Kon? "Miss Martian, I don't suppose-"

I check my footing better this time before hauling myself up.

Which can't be helping your feet. At this stage, John McClane would look at you and go 'That's got to hurt, buddy."

"-you've got any healing potions, do you?"

"Sorry, no. Cornwall Boy does, though. Did."

Careful how you put that, M'gann. That sounds rather final.

I nod as I take position over where the heart is. This armour panel looks like it can be removed, but I've got no idea where the switch is. If it's even a physical thing, or wasn't sealed shut once its purpose was fulfilled.

Kon's head jerks up. "They're coming."

For all you know, it opens by flowing like water, because magic.

M'gann just looks determined. "We can beat them. The obsidian goes right through their armour."

"I'm pretty sure that Kon's fists will, too." I crouch down and start slicing around the edge of the panel. "Shout if you need me."

After all, it may be magically reinforced, it's still gold and brass, right? The former isn't the toughest material.

Construct shield.

And… The panel comes off, and there's an interior armour mechanism, but this one… Yes, the latch is there and there, twist and pull…

Now, what the hell did they cram in there to make it work without a real pilot?

That's a human heart. Wait… No. Not a human heart. It's roughly the right size, but the shape isn't quite right. And it's still beating in its metal… Cage. Some sort of blood magic. The power armour has finally gone still. Curious that it doesn't have the same Anti-Life aura as the other one, but I don't know enough about Apokoliptian technology or blood magic to draw firm conclusions. Just in case this is linked to someone or belongs to someone, I take a couple of pints of blood out from the armour's interior. Then I tear out the heart and the housing along with it, fabricate a carry case for it and put it inside before covering it with the blood. Then I-.

If nothing else, I'm sure the Gods will be needing a snack when they get freed. Or revived, or whatever they need.

There's another crash as another suit of power armour lands on the top of the rise. Kon and M'gann have already gotten out of the way, Kon darting back in a moment later to punch it in the leg. That knocks it to one knee, then it raises its hands-. Are those claws? Yes, yes they are. And it lashes out with them and forces Kon back.

I can't get up the cliff face while that's going on. There isn't another convenient way up here… I can go around, but that will take at least ten minutes. Or more, because my feet are a mess and it's all obsidian fragments. Standing here…

Yeah, no shortcuts back, OL.

Hm.

I point my right hand at where the heart used to be and generate a heart-shaped construct before linking it to my tattoos. Grab the head piece and… Clone my own blood. Seal the neck, pour my blood inside it with a little of the actual blood that's leaking from just about all of my body at this point, then reattach the head.

Heh. Grand Theft Armour. Yoink!

"Ugh."

The power armour's eyes glow orange.

Papa's got a brand new bag, eh?

"Up you get. And carry me."

Its left arm grabs hold of me, while its right supports its torso as it struggles to rise. I use a construct to snap off the obsidian which ran it through, snorting to myself as I see the obsidian around us grow a little in response. That gives it the space it needs in order to get back on its feet, still holding me to its chest.

Heh. I can imagine the spirits in charge just growling in frustration.

"Get us up there."

It follows my pointing finger, crouches slightly, and then leaps.

This could be a little risky, OL. powerful as the armour is, you riding on top makes you very vulnerable.

Man, things are getting proper metal now. Picture it: A trio of superheroes battling golden Aztec power armour atop a mountain of obsidian. All they need now is a wicked guitar riff and an airbrushed logo and it'd be a heavy metal cover.

At any rate, getting down the other side should be a little easier, especially since they have the high ground.

Rebu · Oct 14, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
It follows my pointing finger, crouches slightly, and then leaps.

"It followed me home. Can I keep him?"

LZB1285 · Oct 14, 2023

Chojin Patriarch said:
Heh. Grand Theft Armour. Yoink!

I am suddenly reminded of Dr Krauss in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Not the best movie I've ever seen, but the robots were nice.

Duke Long · Oct 14, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
And there wasn't any noise from interruption the wind pipe.

'of the'

Cool10007 · Oct 14, 2023

What an unexpected, yet very paul, solution.

Mr Zoat · Oct 14, 2023

Duke Long said:
'of the'

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · Oct 15, 2023

17th February 2013
18:25 GMT

Which put me in the exact line of sight of one of the power armour suits holding back from the brawl with Kon and M'gann. I jump off the arm holding me and duck down behind my armour's bulk as the flechettes plink off its chest. They can't penetrate fully whole-.

My armour shudders as a flechette hits the rent torn in the chest by the obsidian spike, punching through my repair construct and causing blood to leak for a moment before I patch it.

But they couldn't penetrate the metal with their flechettes.

Two are hanging back. One has its head and upper body wrecked, and is leaking blood. Not a lot. But the armour is clearly losing integrity. The other is down a right arm, and is using its left to support itself against the rock. Damaged legs? The two that have closed the distance with Kon and M'gann are fighting carefully, firing individual flechettes and planting their feet on the shrinking patches of normal rock before taking a swing. My team mates are more agile, using the power armours' bulk to shield themselves.

These are the only pursuers. If we destroy them, then it doesn't exactly matter how angry the mountain gets, because we can take our time. Assuming that Robert has the sense to keep his head down until we can reach him.

Robert who -and I think this as a friend- has a significant chip on his shoulder about not getting better training and more fieldwork up until I got involved, and certainly isn't just going to wait without an excellent reason-. I can't provoke the mountain.

I push the desire to leap at the second fire support armour into my armour, and grip on tightly as we're airborne again. And a desire to punch-.

The armour we're aiming at spots us coming in and tries to move, but its right leg can't react properly, trembling as it tries to support the acceleration. It still manages to back up a pace which means that we miss the arm we were aiming for, but we land almost chest-to-chest-.

I dart up and forwards and slash its neck with my knife, ducking back-. Ducking back to avoid most of the blood spray.

Shield us.

As our target loses a lot of its strength, my armour picks it up under the arms and turns, using it as a barrier against the armour with the damaged head as it decides to prioritise us. Flechettes… Some hit the armour but a lot go wide-. It can't aim properly. It keeps firing as it.. stumbles forward. Nothing wrong with its legs that I can see, so it's the senses again. It brings its right arm around in an awkward slap which is still strong enough to knock our shield out of my armour's hands, but it's now off-balance-.

Grab its head and crush.

My armour responds at once-. Oh, it felt that, and it tries to twist itself back into position to hit us or at least force the hands gripping its head off. Unfortunately for it, that just puts extra torsion stress on the damaged part of its-

And there's the blood fountain.

-body, causing the damaged metal to give way completely. The armour weakly slaps my armour twice more, causing no damage, before finally slumping to the ground.

I turn to see how Kon and M'gann-. Ah, good show. One of the armour suits they were fighting appears to have been introduced face-first into an obsidian spike. The other, M'gann telekinetically anchored its limbs for Kon to strike the joints. They're both down.

"Good work. Miss Martian, could you fish out their hearts?"

"Ah…" She looks decidedly disquieted. "Why?"

"Aztec magic. We might be able to use it to restore its owner to life… Or if it's the heart of a dead person, restore their minds."

"The heart of a dead..?"

Kon nods. "This is the Aztec afterlife. We think Tlazolteotl is doing something to their souls to control them. A bunch of them were attacking Themyscira with their chests cut open."

"Themyscira?"

I direct my armour to crouch down so that I can get at the heart of the robot it decapitated.

"Yeah, the Greek gods brought it here, but now we can't contact them."

Oh. Ah, I feel a little dizzy. I think I'm…

"Hate to be a nag.. guys, but please focus. I'm not doing so well."

M'gann looks at me in concern as Kon rips a heart compartment open. "I didn't see you get hit?"

"I know that between my armour and ring we usually count me as a 'tough' member of the team, but with magic attacks that bypass my constructs… I'm a lot squishier than both of you."

"But you can… Heal yourself? Right?"

"Not without setting the mountain off. And magic obsidian-" She nods. "-stops me healing the injury without replacing the whole area. None of this will matter in the long term, but right now I'm well below one hundred percent effective. So if we can finish-"

I cut through and pull out another heart, which I shove in a blood-filled tub.

"-up here and get over the mountain, I'll be a good deal happier."

Kon holds up the heart he obtained, and I repeat the containment process. And then…

Augh.

Kon looks at me as M'gann opens up the interior of the next armour suit. "How about you just focus on storing them and let us pull them out?"

I nod gratefully. "Thanks. Up."

My armour straightens up. Okay, let's see. One Anti-Life infected heart. Three regular hearts. And…

M'gann finds the switches and actually takes the heart out as the designer intended.

Four regular hearts. Hundreds of zombies. Ugh, I don't know it matching them up to the original owner matters, or if they just represent a particular capacity. There's probably some way to do it with magic. And… Robert might be able to cast that spell. Shouldn't be too-.

"Here you go." M'gann smiles awkwardly as she holds the still-beating heart in her telekinetic grip. "One heart, two careful owners."

"Ah, thank you."

Another box, another heart in a box. I strap them over the shoulders of the armour I'm riding. I briefly consider trying to repair it using parts from the other ones, but I don't know how to take them apart the easy way and making this even more of a kludge job isn't going to help.

"Right. I don't intend to bring this thing into an actual fight, so don't worry about picking a route that damages it. Superboy's regeneration is still working because.. it's magical, probably. Miss Martian, what's the best way across?"

"Ah, well, the route I used is only good for goats, but I can find you a way." She shifts back into goat form. **Follow me!**

She heads up the gentle part of the slope, leaping from rock patch to rock patch with the ease of a seasoned mountain goat. Kon heads after her with a little less élan, and I bring up the rear.

Robert, please be in one piece.

moralrelativity · Oct 15, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Which put me in the

put -> puts

Mr Zoat said:
only good for goats, but can find you a way.

but can -> but I can

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 15, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
17th February 2013
18:25 GMT

Which put me in the exact line of sight of one of the power armour suits holding back from the brawl with Kon and M'gann. I jump off the arm holding me and duck down behind my armour's bulk as the flechettes plink off its chest. They can't penetrate fully whole-.

My armour shudders as a flechette hits the rent torn in the chest by the obsidian spike, punching through my repair construct and causing blood to leak for a moment before I patch it.

Yeah, the trouble with doing so much damage before you could bring it down. That stuff doesn't magically heal between battles. At least, not in the time you had here. On the upside, the other suits are likely only slightly better off after their climb.

But they couldn't penetrate the metal with their flechettes.

Two are hanging back. One has its head and upper body wrecked, and is leaking blood. Not a lot. But the armour is clearly losing integrity. The other is down a right arm, and is using its left to support itself against the rock. Damaged legs? The two that have closed the distance with Kon and M'gann are fighting carefully, firing individual flechettes and planting their feet on the shrinking patches of normal rock before taking a swing. My team mates are more agile, using the power armours' bulk to shield themselves.

Looks like the mountain spirit is taking exception to the whole 'fighting it out atop the holy trail of courage'.

These are the only pursuers. If we destroy them, then it doesn't exactly matter how angry the mountain gets, because we can take our time. Assuming that Robert has the sense to keep his head down until we can reach him.

Robert who -and I think this as a friend- has a significant chip on his shoulder about not getting better training and more fieldwork up until I got involved, and certainly isn't just going to wait without an excellent reason-. I can't provoke the mountain.

...He's gonna be neck-deep in trouble by the time you get down, isn't he?

I push the desire to leap at the second fire support armour into my armour, and grip on tightly as we're airborne again. And a desire to punch-.

The armour we're aiming at spots us coming in and tries to move, but its right leg can't react properly, trembling as it tries to support the acceleration. It still manages to back up a pace which means that we miss the arm we were aiming for, but we land almost chest-to-chest-.

Because big, heavy things like that aren't always slow.

I dart up and forwards and slash its neck with my knife, ducking back-. Ducking back to avoid most of the blood spray.

Shield us.

Not a fatal blow, so to speak, but a critical one.

As our target loses a lot of its strength, my armour picks it up under the arms and turns, using it as a barrier against the armour with the damaged head as it decides to prioritise us. Flechettes… Some hit the armour but a lot go wide-. It can't aim properly. It keeps firing as it.. stumbles forward. Nothing wrong with its legs that I can see, so it's the senses again. It brings its right arm around in an awkward slap which is still strong enough to knock our shield out of my armour's hands, but it's now off-balance-.

Presumably part of the damage to its head has left its eyes partly occluded, making it hard to use visual tracking. Like having a big black eye. Lucky for you guys.

Grab its head and crush.

My armour responds at once-. Oh, it felt that, and it tries to twist itself back into position to hit us or at least force the hands gripping its head off. Unfortunately for it, that just puts extra torsion stress on the damaged part of its-

Stress it's not designed to withstand, no doubt. The neck is always one of the weakest parts of any armour. Hence why OL's usual heavy armour doesn't have one.

And there's the blood fountain.

-body, causing the damaged metal to give way completely. The armour weakly slaps my armour twice more, causing no damage, before finally slumping to the ground.

Two down, two to go.

I turn to see how Kon and M'gann-. Ah, good show. One of the armour suits they were fighting appears to have been introduced face-first into a obsidian spike. The other, M'gann telekinetically anchored its limbs for Kon to strike the joints. They're both down.

"Good work. Miss Martian, could you fish out their hearts?"

Teamwork for the win!

"Ah…" She looks decidedly disquieted. "Why?"

"Aztec magic. We might be able to use it to restore its owner to life… Or if it's the heart of a dead person, restore their minds."

Right, she hasn't got all the details. Beyond 'big scary Aztec robots', at any rate.

"The heart of a dead..?"

Kon nods. "This is the Aztec afterlife. We think Tlazolteotl is doing something to their souls to control them. A bunch of them were attacking Themyscira with their chests cut open."

Admittedly, I doubt M'gann would recognise that Aztec name, but context would let her understand that they're the bad guy.

"Themyscira?"

I direct my armour to crouch down so that I can get at the heart of the robot it decapitated.

...Man, this is starting to sound like a Metal Gear conversation with all the 'repeating somethign the other person said' bits.

All we need is someone going 'hurm' or 'unh' to complete the resemblance.

"Yeah, the Greek gods brought it here, but now we can't contact them."

Oh. Ah, I feel a little dizzy. I think I'm…

That'll be the blood loss, OL. Might need to do something about that, mountain spirit or not.

"Hate to be a nag.. guys, but please focus. I'm not doing so well."

M'gann looks at me in concern as Kon rips a heart compartment open. "I didn't see you get hit?"

Oh, this was a pre-existing wound.

"I know that between my armour and ring we usually count me as a 'tough' member of the team, but with magic attacks that bypass my constructs… I'm a lot squishier than both of you."

"But you can… Heal yourself? Right?"

Ah, the Wolverine paradox. The one character who can heal fast always manages to take the most damage, so they can show off their power.

"Not without setting the mountain off. And magic obsidian-" She nods. "-stops me healing the injury without replacing the whole area. None of this will matter in the long term, but right now I'm well below one hundred percent effective. So if we can finish-"

I cut through and pull out another heart, which I shove in a blood-filled tub.

On the upside, she can maybe help get some of it out without risking much more breakage.

"-up here and get over the mountain, I'll be a good deal happier."

Kon holds up the heart he obtained, and I repeat the containment process. And then…

...Boy, everybody's going to need a shower after this mission...

Augh.

Kon looks at me as M'gann opens up the interior of the next armour suit. "How about you just focus on storing them and let us pull them out?"

Maybe add a rope or something to hold yourself onto the armour, if you're sticking with it?

I nod gratefully. "Thanks. Up."

My armour straightens up. Okay, let's see. One Anti-Life infected heart. Three regular hearts. And…

Interesting mix. I bet the infected one was acting as the unit leader.

M'gann finds the switches and actually takes the heart out as the designer intended.

Four regular hearts. Hundreds of zombies. Ugh, I don't know it matching them up to the original owner matters, or if they just represent a particular capacity. There's probably some way to do it with magic. And… Robert might be able to cast that spell. Shouldn't be too-.

After explaining why the spell is needed, I hope.

"Here you go." M'gann smiles awkwardly as she holds the still-beating heart in her telekinetic grip. "One heart, two careful owners."

"Ah, thank you."

We appreciate the attempt at levity, too. No need to let circumstances wear down that chipper persona.

Another box, another heart in a box. I strap them over the shoulders of the armour I'm riding. I briefly consider trying to repair it using parts from the other ones, but I don't know how to take them apart the easy way and making this even more of a kludge job isn't going to help.

"Right. I don't intend to bring this thing into an actual fight, so don't worry about picking a route that damages it. Superboy's regeneration s still working because.. it's magical, probably. Miss Martian, what's the best way across?"

...Other than sliding down on its face, which would result in a long, bloody streak of shredded metal, I suspect.

"Ah, well, the route I used is only good for goats, but can find you a way." She shifts back into goat form. **Follow me!**

She heads up the gentle part of the slope, leaping from rock patch to rock patch with the ease of a seasoned mountain goat. Kon heads after her with a little less élan, and I bring up the rear.

Ah, the joys of dating a shapeshifter with such variety of forms. Not that Kon would ever ask her to be anything but herself.

Robert, please be in one piece.

Cut to him running for his life from another dozen Tezumak armours...

Quick and surprisingly easy. Not unexpected given the damage they'd have suffered getting up there in the first place. Throw in a demigod (Kon, given his Danner enhancements) and a wizard (OL) controlling one of their own and the fight got a lot faster. I don't picture the spirits of the mountain being happy about OL's plan to make his trip easier, but they'll probably be glad to see the back of him...

Duke Long · Oct 15, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Ah, good show. One of the armour suits they were fighting appears to have been introduced face-first into a obsidian spike

'an obsidian'

Mr Zoat · Oct 15, 2023

moralrelativity said:
put -> puts

I think it's alright.

but can -> but I can

Duke Long said:
'an obsidian'

Thank you, corrected.

BlackCoat13 · Oct 15, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Superboy's regeneration s still working because..

is

Mr Zoat · Oct 16, 2023

BlackCoat13 said:
is

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · Oct 16, 2023

17th February 2013
18:29 GMT

At least I'm in one piece.

The power armour suits that didn't go after M'gann are on patrol, but it doesn't look like they've got any trace of me. I.. think I've got what Paul's tattoos look like copied right. The big power armour suits standing on guard duty in the main… Town? City? Base? I don't really know what this place is. All looks Aztec to me. They've gone back into standby, and no one has gone anywhere near the portal. Haven't seen any actual people, but I don't know if that's normal or not. Pretty normal for Otherworld, and the Aztec religion didn't go extinct all that much more recently.

But someone built this armour, and I'm not going to find out who by hanging around outside here. This… Ziggurat is the biggest building in the place, and the best guarded, so this is probably where I can find answers. Can't risk trying to talk to M'gann, not with someone listening in like that. And I can't risk waiting in case something happens to Brian.

But how do I get in? There are doors, but there are more big power armour suits next to it and they're closed and probably sealed anyway. Taking that fight is a non-starter. Running past them? Same sort of problem. But the walls aren't guarded in the same way. The ziggurat is made of stone blocks, or something like that. My magic lets me move stone around, so in theory I can walk through it and into the ziggurat. Except the wall is obviously going to be warded with sensors to warn them if someone tries this.

So as far as magic is concerned, I need to not be here. And the stones I move need to not be moved. The stones themselves need to think that they're in exactly the same place. Because if this is stone, that power armour will smash right through it to get to me faster than I can put the spell back up. Plus whatever they've got on the inside.

Don't fuck it up.

Kay, so the first thing is the natural state of the rock. I need to know that so that I can fake it convincingly. And I can't just probe it because that's a ward even I can cast. So I've got to create the idea of a rock that isn't there, switch the two around in the ward scheme without anyone noticing-. No, run them through the same attachments pretending to be one, then take the actual block out.

That… That should work, actually. I mean, it's pointless if there's a wizard actually watching me, but if that's what's happening then it's all pointless anyway. As long as they need the alarm signal…

Try it. Form the earth magic into the spirit of a block but not the form of one because I'm not sure I could hide that. Volcanic rock's easy enough, just got to take into account the fact that this is more of a spiritual world than normal earth so that's going to be a bit more pronounced… Yeah, that should do it.

And the merge has to be instant, no fiddling around and no feeling the spells out. Tune my fake block to not send signals and…

Quick check the giant suits of armour…

Merge.

Woo.

That's a lot of spells. I think… I think that they're doing what Paul did to the mountain: running a whole lot of spells through the outer surface, rather than just setting it to detect things or be stronger. I dunno what this all is, but my fake block looks like it's copying it alright. 'kay. That's the warn-.

Yeah, like that.

The warning spell, that triggered, but it isn't a complicated thing. Least, this bit of the spell isn't. Looks like it's just a low level alert. Which makes sense. That bit looks like the 'brick broken, send help' alert. And some of this stuff… Some of this I can't even tell what it does. But it doesn't look like its triggered from this block. Reset the warning spell, remove the actual brick from the network… Good. And cast Pass Through Rock.

I push into the rock wall of the ziggurat just as easy as I did in practice. The rock sends the alert, but since it's disconnected from the system it doesn't go anywhere. I'll have to reset it… No, that's not how it works. It constantly triggers while something's interfering with it, but once the interference is gone it stops transmitting.

That makes it a bit easier.

Okay, the stone doesn't go all the way through, and the next layer… Same thing. Create etheric stone, duplicate and look at the duplicate.

This one doesn't have the interference alert. Makes.. sort of sense. I guess they aren't worried about people messing about with it from the inside. Looks like the other spells get more complicated, but I can't even guess what they're supposed to do from here.

Keep walking, then drop the spell replacing the first stone once I'm out of it. And cross my fingers… Ah, not seeing an alert. Looks like it worked.

Press on.

And now it-. It's just rubble. Gravel. No spells on any of it, not that I can see. I'll have to remember this, because if I can just run along the inside without setting anything off that's a good way to get around.

And then it's another stone layer, same as before. And another, more like the outside. Normally I'd be getting tired by now, but with this place being more magical I guess I'm just…

I'm just charging off of the realm of a real powerful wizard. Or something bigger. Shit, I didn't think-. I mean, wizards on Earth can track me draining stuff but it's a lot harder. But if they haven't sent anything to where the drain's coming from… Maybe it's not that noticeable? Or maybe it wasn't M'gann's telepathy that let them pick up on us. Okay, just.. have to stop draining ambient power, easy enough. Didn't used to do it at all.

And… No more bricks. I'm inside. Nearly. Just have to stick my head out and then stop casting my earth spells. Deep breath.

And step.

Huh. No light. I guess the armour suits don't need lights. So there probably aren't any other people around here. Stealth spells are still going, and I can't hear any alarms.

So I'm in a pitch-black… Corridor? Room? So now what?

Can I hear anything?

Ah? No, not-. Yeah. It's quiet. Like a… Pumping noise. Did Aztecs have pumps? Or has someone imported something from Earth. Doesn't sound like a person walking, and I don't… I don't know enough about Aztec magic creatures to know what else it could be.

I need to see, but I don't want to mess things up by summoning light and showing everyone where I am. So… Heat vision. That's not impossible to detect, but since I'm mostly casting it on myself and just getting the ability to see things a bit differently it shouldn't have much chance of alerting anyone.

Quick check it won't interfere with my stealth spells… Yeah, should be fine.

Slight burning in my eyes… And… Okay. The walls are… Generating a little warmth. With dots along them generating more. Dots… Well, more like the size of my fist. Looks like I'm in a corridor about…

I take a step forwards to make sure that they're not embedded in the wall.

No, it's about two metres across and… Quite a lot longer. Can't tell if there are any turn-offs from here, but I'll see them when I get to them. The noise is… It's coming from a lot of places, and I think… I think there's a louder pumping noise coming from somewhere else. The quiet pumping is coming from all around, so I guess it's in the walls.

Weird that they've got heat sources lined up on the walls but nothing making light. Are there Aztec monsters that have infrared vision? If there are, there aren't any nearby. I walk over to the closest one and touch the wall next to-.

Damp, warm and slightly sticky. And it looks like the heat source is vibrating? Some sort of lightless fire? I reach out to touch it. Wouldn't be the strangest thing-.

Feels a bit rubbery. And it's moving, I think it's pumping-. Yeah, it's pumping, and it's sort of heart-.

Shaped.

RichardWhereat · Oct 16, 2023

First sentence made me think this was a different Paul with a new crossover.

Darko · Oct 16, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
But how to I get in? There

"how do"

Mr Zoat said:
Weird that they've got heat sources lined up on the walls but nothing making light. Are there Aztec monsters that have infrared vision? If there are, there aren't any nearby. I walk over to the closest one and touch the wall next to-.

Damp, warm and slightly sticky. And it looks like the heat source is vibrating? Some sort of lightless fire? I reach out to touch it. Wouldn't be the strangest thing-.

Feels a bit rubbery. And it's moving, I think it's pumping-. Yeah, it's pumping, and it's sort of heart-.

Shaped

Well...shut.

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 16, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
17th February 2013
18:29 GMT

At least I'm in one piece.

The power armour suits that didn't go after M'gann are on patrol, but it doesn't look like they've got any trace of me. I.. think I've got what Paul's tattoos look like copied right. The big power armour suits standing on guard duty in the main… Town? City? Base? I don't really know what this place is. All looks Aztec to me. They've gone back into standby, and no on has gone anywhere near the portal. Haven't seen any actual people, but I don't know if that's normal or not. Pretty normal for Otherworld, and the Aztec religion didn't go extinct all that much more recently.

Looks like Robert's at least trying to remain covert even as he goes poking his nose into places it might get lopped off. I'm impressed he's managing to copy OL's warding tattoos... Or at least he thinks he has. Let's hope he's right.

But someone built this armour, and I'm not going to find out who by hanging around outside here. This… Ziggurat is the biggest building in the place, and the best guarded, so this is probably where I can find answers. Can't risk trying to talk to M'gann, not with someone listening in like that. And I can't risk waiting in case something happens to Brian.

Right, the whole recently-kidnapped child thing. Puts a severe time-limit on the operation, and he might not even still be around here.

But how to I get in? There are doors, but there are more big power armour suits next to it and they're closed and probably sealed anyway. Taking that fight is a non-starter. Running past them? Same sort of problem. But the walls aren't guarded in the same way. The ziggurat is made of stone blocks, or something like that. My magic lets me move stone around, so in theory I can walk through it and into the ziggurat. Except the wall is obviously going to be warded with sensors to warn them if someone tries this.

Yes, good catch. Always expect alarms.

So as far as magic is concerned, I need to not be here. And the stones I move need to not be moved. The stones themselves need to think that they're in exactly the same place. Because if this is stone, that power armour will smash right through it to get to me faster than I can put the spell back up. Plus whatever they've got on the inside.

Don't fuck it up.

On threat of a messy, painful death. No pressure.

Kay, so the first thing is the natural state of the rock. I need to know that so that I can fake it convincingly. And I can't just probe it because that's a ward even I can cast. So I've got to create the idea of a rock that isn't there, switch the two around in the ward scheme without anyone noticing-. No, run them through the same attachments pretending to be one, then take the actual block out.

That… That should work, actually. I mean, it's pointless if there's a wizard actually watching me, but if that's what's happening then it's all pointless anyway. As long as they need the alarm signal…

OL would approve of your properly paranoid planning, Rob.

Try it. Form the earth magic into the spirit of a block but not the form of one because I'm not sure I could hide that. Volcanic rock's easy enough, just got to take into account the fact that this is more of a spiritual world than normal earth so that's going to be a bit more pronounced… Yeah, that should do it.

And the merge has to be instant, no fiddling around and no feeling the spells out. Tune my fake block to not send signals and…

He'd probably also approve of your unorthodox plan for sneaking around.

Quick check the giant suits of armour…

Merge.

Woo.

Sounds like it worked. For now...

That's a lot of spells. I think… I think that they're doing what Paul did to the mountain: running a whole lot of spells through the outer surface, rather than just setting it to detect things or be stronger. I dunno what this all is, but my fake block looks like it's copying it alright. 'kay. That's the warn-.

Yeah, like that.

Ah, damn. There's always one tripwire you miss, isn't there?

The warning spell, that triggered, but it isn't a complicated thing. Least, this bit of the spell isn't. Looks like it's just a low level alert. Which makes sense. That bit looks like the 'brick broken, send help' alert. And some of this stuff… Some of this I can't even tell what it does. But it doesn't look like its triggered from this block. Reset the warning spell, remove the actual brick from the network… Good. And cast Pass Through Rock.

...Well, that was easy enough. Surprised it was that easy to bollix the alarm spell. I guess the builders weren't paranoid enough.

I push into the rock wall of the ziggurat just as easy as I did in practice. The rock sends the alert, but since it's disconnected from the system it doesn't go anywhere. I'll have to reset it… No, that's not how it works. It constantly triggers while something's interfering with it, but once the interference is gone it stops transmitting.

That makes it a bit easier.

So once he's through and clear, it'll go quiet. While the next stone starts shrieking.

Okay, the stone doesn't go all the way through, and the next layer… Same thing. Create etheric stone, duplicate and look at the duplicate.

This one doesn't have the interference alert. Makes.. sort of sense. I guess they aren't worried about people messing about with it from the inside. Looks like the other spells get more complicated, but I can't even guess what they're supposed to do from here.

And since you're not trying to mess with them, best not to poke them.

Keep walking, then drop the spell replacing the first stone once I'm out of it. And cross my fingers… Ah, not seeing an alert. Looks like it worked.

Press on.

Crossing his fingers may not do much in actual mechanics, but it sure does help psychosomatically. And with magic, sometimes that's the last little bit needed.

And now it-. It's just rubble. Gravel. No spells on any of it, not that I can see. I'll have to remember this, because if I can just run along the inside without setting anything off that's a good way to get around.

And then it's another stone layer, same as before. And another, more like the outside. Normally I'd be getting tired by now, but with this place being more magical I guess I'm just…

Honestly, I'm amazed he isn't feeling overcharged.

I'm just charging off of the realm of a real powerful wizard. Or something bigger. Shit, I didn't think-. I mean, wizards on Earth can track me draining stuff but it's a lot harder. But if they haven't sent anything to where the drain's coming from… Maybe it's not that noticeable? Or maybe it wasn't M'gann's telepathy that let them pick up on us. Okay, just.. have to stop draining ambient power, easy enough. Didn't used to do it at all.

And… No more bricks. I'm inside. Nearly. Just have to stick my head out and then stop casting my earth spells. Deep breath.

So back down onto stored charge. Reduces his capacity a bit, but unless he gets into an actual fight, he won't need it.

And step.

Huh. No light. I guess the armour suits don't need lights. So there probably aren't any other people around here. Stealth spells are still going, and I can't hear any alarms.

Time for a night-vision spell, then. Infravision? Since a lot of low-light vision abilities require some amount of light.

So I'm in a pitch-black… Corridor? Room? So now what?

Can I hear anything?

Ooh, sonar, perhaps. Though that would be risky if anyone has enhanced hearing...

Ah? No, not-. Yeah. It's quiet. Like a… Pumping noise. Did Aztecs have pumps? Or has someone imported something from Earth. Doesn't sound like a person walking, and I don't… I don't know enough about Aztec magic creatures to know what else it could be.

I need to see, but I don't want to mess things up by summoning light and showing everyone where I am. So… Heat vision. That's not impossible to detect, but since I'm mostly casting it on myself and just getting the ability to see things a bit differently it shouldn't have much chance of alerting anyone.

Passive detection versus active sensing. Always critical in covert operations.

Quick check it won't interfere with my stealth spells… Yeah, should be fine.

Slight burning in my eyes… And… Okay. The walls are… Generating a little warmth. With dots along them generating more. Dots… Well, more like the size of my fist. Looks like I'm in a corridor about…

Hmm... Warm spots where someone walked recently? Sounds like a trail to follow.

No, wait, you said the walls.

I take a step forwards to make sure that they're not embedded in the wall.

No, it's about two metres across and… Quite a lot longer. Can't tell if there are any turn-offs from here, but I'll see them when I get to them. The noise is… It's coming from a lot of places, and I think… I think there's a louder pumping noise coming from somewhere else. The quiet pumping is coming from all around, so I guess it's in the walls.

...It isn't a quiet 'badum', is it? Since they have been collecting hearts and all...

Weird that they've got heat sources lined up on the walls but nothing making light. Are there Aztec monsters that have infrared vision? If there are, there aren't any nearby. I walk over to the closest one and touch the wall next to-.

Damp, warm and slightly sticky. And it looks like the heat source is vibrating? Some sort of lightless fire? I reach out to touch it. Wouldn't be the strangest thing-.

...Ah. I guess this is where they've been storing them.

Feels a bit rubbery. And it's moving, I think it's pumping-. Yeah, it's pumping, and it's sort of heart-.

Shaped.

Resist the urge to yelp in shock and spring back, Rob! Don't blow your stealth now!

Well, that got rather...

Disturbing. So, this place is just lined with hearts, all still beating? I guess this is where they've been keeping the ones they took. I shudder to imagine what it looks like, though. Probably like some kind of macabre display shelves. Rob's probably feeling very thankful he can't see properly right now. Probably red from floor to ceiling...

moralrelativity · Oct 16, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
and no on has gone

no on -> no one

BR549 · Oct 16, 2023

Chojin Patriarch said:
So, this place is just lined with hearts, all still beating? I guess this is where they've been keeping the ones they took. I shudder to imagine what it looks like, though. Probably like some kind of macabre display shelves. Rob's probably feeling very thankful he can't see properly right now. Probably red from floor to ceiling...

...

...so, Sleep Deprived 4am Wild Theory Time.

- There's hearts. Lots of hearts. Lots of blood.

- Lots of magic

- Blood magic, even.

- OL is in the vicinity. Both a known nexus for weird things, and active Emotional Spectrum use on site.

- The Aztecobots were using phrasing oddly similar to Black Ring voices.

- I'm pretty sure if they wake up some of these hearts/their owners they're gonna be feeling a whole lot of rage...

I'm just saying if this ends with the creation of the Red Lanterns, I'm reserving the chance to tell y'all to pick up that phone.

Old Knife · Oct 16, 2023

Time to eat a God heart.

Mr Zoat · Oct 16, 2023

Darko said:
"how do"

Thank you, corrected.

Well...shut.

...

moralrelativity said:
no on -> no one

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · Oct 17, 2023

17th February 2013
18:38 GMT

"Okay, that's it: I'm ripping my own feet off."

Kon jerks his head around from peering at what is supposed to be the Aztec afterlife for women who die in childbirth.

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"The obsidian is embedded too deeply for normal tweezers. I can't grab it properly with construct tweezers. My wounds have sort of scabbed over but they won't heal because I've got shards of magic death glass in them."

Kon lifts up his own right foot, revealing a mildly scabbed but basically healthy sole. "Maybe you shoulda tried being nicer to the gods?"

…

Apollo you fuck.

"I'm sure that Lord Apollo has a better sense of priorities than to deny healing to someone trying to save the world."

Kon doesn't look convinced.

I don't feel convinced.

I-. Wait.

"No, no. If Tlazolteotl has done something to take over this region, she might pick up on it. I-."

"What about-" M'gann swoops down. "-if I open up the armour and you get inside?"

"Possible. Tezumak obviously took his on and off. I should be able to rip the internal bracing out."

Kon frowns. "Doesn't it need a heart?"

"I can use the orange light, it's fine. That's basically what I'm doing at the moment. I won't be fighting at full effectiveness, but at least I'll be able to walk." I turn to M'gann. "See anything?"

"Big suits and little suits. It doesn't look like they're chasing anyone."

Kon nods. "Think we could sneak in?"

She looks dubious. "Can you turn invisible?"

"Can you adopt an irregular shape that could extend around him and keep him invisible?"

She thinks for a moment. "Yes. It wouldn't be a lot of fun, though. I'm not Plastic Man. I need to keep my internal organs in one piece."

Kon looks a little blank. "Okay, so..?"

"I'll.. need to swallow you."

"Oh. Ah…"

Kon looks at me. I look at the armour.

"So will I be in your stomach..?"

I extend a construct into the armour and start sucking the blood into a storage flask. Then I open latches and carefully remove components.

"No, I can make a rumen. That's like a special pouch in my throat. It's perfectly safe."

It's interesting how obvious it is that the parts needed to allow the armour to operate on its own are additions to the original design. Whatever Tlazolteotl's skills, thaumic engineering isn't amongst them. I.. recognise some parts of the runic control system, but only the obvious parts. There's a lot of complexity here I'm… I'm going to try and find someone to go over at some point.

"Do I..? Should I take my clothes off..?"

M'gann blushes.

Skeleton removed, I can get in. I can see where the gap for the wearer is. Tezumak was a big man, but the armour is far larger. Okay, clamber in, stick some gold-coloured metal to the interior where the holes are so that they're not immediately obvious, and… Yes, it's even obvious where the blood reservoirs are supposed to go. Add replacements, because I don't know what they actually looked like, and fill them with blood from my flask. Strap myself in and then connect the arcane systems to my etheric heart, the heartbeat of avarice.

BaBUM.

The armour comes… Not 'alive', not literally. But the blood lets it feign being alive for the purpose of control. That makes sense: there's no way a civilisation that old would have understood an electronic control system like what my power armours use.

"Alright, I'm ready to go. Have you come to terms yet?"

It projects my voice, which is useful.

"Uh, yeah." Kon lays on the ground on his chest and raises his legs. "Let's just… Do this."

M'gann… Assumes the form of a large…

I'm just going to look away and spare Kon the embarrassment. And hum, because that sound-.

"Okay. Ah. He's… Inside."

"Okay. Make yourself invisible and I'll head in."

"What if they attack you?"

"I know where the heart latch is, and I can drain their power. But if they didn't send reinforcements then I imagine that they're semi-autonomous. The regular robots probably won't recognise that I'm out of the ordinary."

M'gann's skin shimmers and then she vanishes, and Kon along with her. Quick check…

"Yes, this armour's visual systems can't detect you. Stick around until we're somewhere safe, communication to a minimum."

"Understood."

I walk through the forest edge and into the clear area around the outer wall. I can feel how to operate the wings, but I don't really want to fiddle around with systems like that and the visible damage this armour has taken means that not flying shouldn't look all that odd to any observers. The armour units on the walls don't react, and neither do the larger ones standing on the outside. I march towards the main doors, and they open without any special action from me. Okay… That is where the portal to Otherworld is, so if I march around for a moment then Robert-.

BaBUM.

What?

The Anti-Lifed heart is beating a frenzied rhythm in its compartment on my back. Why? There's nothing around-.

Justifiers start marching out of the portal, Apokoliptian weapons at the ready. A moment passed, and then Mannheim himself follows them. He doesn't waste time looking around at the scenery. Instead, he strides forwards, down the steps, the armour suits on guard duty there collapsing to the ground in his wake.

What's..? Going on?

kaneki tenebraes · Oct 17, 2023

I think M'gann just vored Connor.

Ngamer11 · Oct 17, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
The Anti-Lifed heart is beating a frenzied rhythm in its compartment on my back. Why? There's nothing around-.

Justifiers start marching out of the portal, Apokoliptian weapons at the ready. A moment passed, and then Mannheim himself follows them. He doesn't waste time looking around at the scenery. Instead, he strides forwards, down the steps, the armour suits on guard duty there collapsing to the ground in his wake.

What's..? Going on?

I'm guessing the Aztec gods have just outlived their usefulness and Mannheim is here to personally take care of them.

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

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