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

Why couldn't I have been this good with fifteen year old girls when I was fifteen?

Seriously don't know why the various Paul's don't just tell their true age.

And it occurs to me that I could use this to remove Artemis's affection. Just dial it down-.

240px-Paragon_Interrupt.png


No.

Not sure that's really a good thing given everything.

I mean nice for not mind controlling her, but this is still really creepy.

Okaaay... I think it's official.

We've been bamboozled. Either this is an alternate Tangseid, or not Tangseid at all.

The Tangseid we first saw was in 2012 in universe.

This is taking place in 2010, so a lot of things could have happened.
 
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Artemis finding out about Tang's actual age, and it going poorly, is still on the table and potentially being foreshadowed. If she was going to tell everyone else... a renegade interrupt for a quick bit of mind control would avert that issue. But if Tang actually gets attached... re-dosing himself with the Evil Formula would be a surefire way to get rid of that guilt/stop himself from accidentally reversing the mind control by wanting it a little too hard.

Nice to see the paragon interrupt - that's been a while

Artemis and I hold up our right fists. "I copied Booster Gold's flight ring. Don't tell the Legion of Super Heroes.""

Double close quotation marks

Also I'm guessing this isn't one of the versions of the Legion flight ring that was made out of Nth metal or Valorium, given OL's expressed difficulty in creating the stuff. Legion continuity is a mess of retcons.
 
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5th November 2010
09:02 GMT -5


Artemis and I walk towards the training room zeta tube. Normally we'd have a team training-.

There's a gust of displaced air as Wallace appears. "Ah, hey, where you guys off to?"
Lucky encounter, or has he been discreetly keeping an eye on them for safety's sake? :sneaky: Not that it'd be easy for him to do so, between the bright yellow-and-red costume and his own personality. But I get the feeling there's always at least one teammate hanging around these days.

Artemis smiles. "Bolivia."

"Are you..? Blowing off class?"

I shake my head. "I'm signed off for another couple of days while my brain fixes itself. Artemis is coming along as my minder."
...Though I suspect there's some worry of collusion amongst the others, given her emotional connection to him right now.

"Okay, I guess. Does the League even have a zeta tube in Bolivia?"

I shake my head again. "No. We've going to Lima and then flying there."
The joy of a limited budget for global transit devices. And in some cases, governmental reluctance to allow them entry...

"You mean on a plane, or are you using your ring? Because if your brain's still acting up that's probably not a good idea."

Artemis and I hold up our right fists. "I copied Booster Gold's flight ring. Don't tell the Legion of Super Heroes.""
Well, if you gotta steal, steal the good stuff. Legion Flight Rings have basically all of what I consider 'bare minimum' Power Ring-style functions of flight, life support aura/shielding and translation.

"Who are-?" He nods. "Time travel, right." He shrugs. "Have fun, I guess."

"We will, thanks." Artemis nods, then turns to the zeta tube opening. "See you later."
Probably knows Booster Gold better than anything he's heard about the Legion.

"Recognized, Orange Lantern, B zero five, Artemis, B zero six."

5th November 2010
10:04 GMT -4


We step out inside an empty corridor in a WayneTech-owned factory, whose sole purpose is to conceal the zeta tube.
I wouldn't be surprised if the zeta tube array wasn't tucked away in a section of the building not listed on its blueprints. Easy way to set up a 'hidden' exit, certainly.

"So how good are these flight-rings?"

"The force field is pretty good, but the flight is fairly slow." Which fits with what I remember of the League's fight with Doomsday in the comics. Booster Gold got punched in the face, and while the force field soaked the hit perfectly it overcame the flight system and he went hurtling over the horizon with no way to stop himself. "It would be better to fly-" We both start walking towards the exit. "-using my ring."
And inadvertently came up with the fellow's name in the process.

She nods. "And just use these rings if you have an-. Issue. So how would that work?"

"I can just carry you along." I pause, smirking as she glances at me. "Or I could just bridal carry you. I'm still strong enough to-" She looks away. "-do that."
...Dangit, wish I could find it, but I remember seeing a comic strip or gag infographic of various superhero tandem flying positions. :D I always liked the 'hang ten' pose (rider standing on flying teammate's back like a surfboard.)

"Really?"

"Sure. You don't weigh that much, and I'm still in peak human condition. Or I could give you a piggy-."
Honestly, I don't know why you can't be happy with being merely peak human. That's pretty damn powerful in comics, you know.

"Alright." She pushes the door open and I just stop for a moment. She hear that and turns back. "What?"

"Oh, I just didn't think you'd-."
Huh. Well, 'bridal carry' is one of the simplest tandem flying poses. Surprised she's feeling that comfortable being seen doing it with him, though.

"You don't have t-."

"No no. I offered." She hesitates, then carries on outside. I follow her out of the building and into the rear area of the factory. A few large bins and a lot of discarded cigarette remains. I take a step closer, the stop as I try and work out how to do this. Okay, so I can-. I half-crouch, and-. Left arm holding her legs is easy, but her quiver is sort of in the way and there's no obvious place to move it. "So…"
Ah, right. the downside of being a tool-using superhero: Awkward equipment. Seriously, some of the quiver designs I've seen for archer types... Like several Green Arrow designs where he's wearing a double-wide quiver that look like a solid plate across his shoulders... :confused:

She holds out her left arm to put it around my back, then realises my problem. "Y-eah, how do you-?"

"If I put your bow and quiver into subspace?"
Well, there's a test of trust, if nothing else.

She nods, and I carefully focus on storing them, causing them to disappear in a ripple of orange light. Then I lean in, right arm going around her back.

"Okay, grab on."
Hopefully you can get them back out quickly if there's trouble.

"Uh-huh." She grabs on, and-. And our faces are really quite close together, and-. She's noticed it too.

Damn it.
Yes, it's called 'bridal carry' for a reason.

I shift down a little and push my left arm into her houghs, which apparently is the proper name for 'knee pits', and lift.

Okay. Faces aren't so close together anymore, but I'm not sure this is better.
Huh. Well, I guess we learned a new word today!

"Comfortable?"

"Uuuh, yeah."
Awkward. And now I picture him holding her slightly away from him.

"Nice deltoids."

She snorts and lightly slaps my back with her left hand as we take off and head east.
I'm sure his are just as impressive. And as an archer, she's definitely got some muscle up top.

And what the heck am I going to do about that?

Because I remember doing a pretty good job of hitting on her, despite having no capacity for empathy and barely being able to read human expression. I worry what that means for humanity more generally, but… Aside from the Evil Formula… I'm someone she likes, and I got rid of that while a psychopath because she asked me to.
Because before, it was a challenge, a game, with no emotional connection beyond annoyance at rejection. Now? Now you can be hurt, and the human mind doesn't like to be hurt.

I'm trying not to look at her desires, but I can feel how relaxed she is like this, looking down and the Bolivian panorama beneath us. And I'm pretty sure she was blushing under her foundation a couple of times there.

Why couldn't I have been this good with fifteen year old girls when I was fifteen?
Because at fifteen, you don't have nearly the emotional experience or maturity to handle it this sensibly. All those hormones buzzing about, making boys dreadfully conscious of their masculinity, and girls suddenly being all mysterious and attractive instead of icky... Honestly, it's a wonder people get anything done between the ages of twelve and twenty! :V

I mean… Ugh. Between her mother being in prison and her father being busy being a supervillain, Artemis basically raised herself for half of her life. She's a heck of a lot mature than I was at fifteen, ignoring the fact that the adults in her life are fine with her bring a vigilante. A bow-armed vigilante.

And my mouth outran my brain and told everyone that I'm sixteen. Which means that as far as she's concerned everything's great now. And… I'm rather.. fond of her too.
Surprised he didn't get stuck in school by the League, but I guess he went the emancipated minor route.

Alright, in practical terms… I don't have to worry about becoming physically old while she's still young. I won't age as long as I have the ring, and I've rejuvenated my tissues and telomeres so even without it I'd probably be younger longer than she will. No need to worry about sperm quality decay, for example.

Uh.
Not something you should be thinking about with a teenage girl in your arms, old bean.

I can… Oh. I don't know-. I can remember how it felt, to not… Care about… 'rightness'. The form of my own thoughts, and… I'm pretty sure I could just decide not to care. Ring, check my brain?

Still working normally, sport. Teenage girls don't stop being attractive just because you've got morals again. You could always say you aren't interested in having a relationship for professional reasons.
Which would be reasonable. And the drawback of an Orange Ring...

You've remembered that you're an orange ring, right?

Yes, and while you do want the hot girl, you also want to be a moral person.
...Is that it's a lot harder to be reasonable than most other colours.

Can I just take a bunt? Chances are that this relationship won't work anyway.

You shouldn't, but I'll take what I can get.
But I expect that discussion will continue in future...

Great. Thank you.

We're here, by the way.
Oh, right, the search for the magic mind-control gemstone.

"Going down."

I swoop down into the jungle, hovering in front of an overgrown tank.
Well, that's convenient. Also possibly gross, depending on whether there was any attempt at cleanup by those involved.

Artemis stares. "Is that..?"

Scan.

"Yeah." I land, set her down and return her weapon. "His body's over there. We should-. We should probably get.. someone to recover the bodies. Bury them."
...Guess not. :oops:

She nods sombrely. "And what about the Left Eye?"

I've seen pictures of the Right Eye, and descriptions in the memoirs, but I don't know for certain what it looks like. Assuming it looks the same… Ring?
Safe bet, since magical gems that come in pairs are rarely distinct. ...Kind of makes you wonder how they could tell the difference. What if someone put them back in the wrong eye-slots? :p Unless they're literally carved with obvious 'left' and 'right' labels or designs.

Orange light runs across the ground in a wave, then bits of crystal begin flying out of the ground to hover in front of me. Gradually, the broken parts of the gem stick themselves back together, and I catch it just as the glow cuts out.

And it occurs to me that I could use this to remove Artemis's affection. Just dial it down-.
No. Nononono! Bad Tang! No messing with other people's minds, for good or ill!

...Phew. Close one there, you nearly missed the timing.

"That was easy."

I nod. "Mission accomplished. But I think it would be worth looking at the Temple of Zoltec while we're here. Interested in some sightseeing?"
Document it for posterity, and all that, huh?

Okay, well. There's a sight not seen in a while: An Interrupt, and in an unusual alt!Paul. And it's one that most definitely needed taking. Still, as pointed out, Tangseid's 'bad end' debut is dated some time after these. And a lot can happen in two years. Consider what's happened in the two main timelines that could screw all this up if they occur here... Never mind possibilities unique to this variant like a Brainiac event.
 
"You mean on a plane, or are you suing your ring? Because if your brain's still acting up that's probably not a good idea."
I'm aware that the above error has been pointed out, but surprised that the lack of threadmark hasn't. Has it been eaten by the system again?
 
Missing threadmark.
That should say 'using'.
Thank you, corrected.
Double close quotation marks
Thank you, corrected.
Also I'm guessing this isn't one of the versions of the Legion flight ring that was made out of Nth metal or Valorium, given OL's expressed difficulty in creating the stuff. Legion continuity is a mess of retcons.
It has tiny amount of at least one of those. But you can actually get tiny amounts of both on Earth.
 
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Guess people didn't bother checking up on the Left Eye of Zoltek, judging by this unwarranted optimism.

The Left Eye of Zoltek is otherwise known as the Eye of Evil. It corrupts the person using it. Because I guess someone decided, "Man, this magic gem that makes you invulnerable with no downsides is pretty cool. But you know what would be even cooler? A Left Eye that mind controls people, while also making you evil enough to not give a shit about mind controlling people."

This Paul is jumping from an Evil Formula to an Evil Eye. Because for some reason most forms of self-enhancement don't work on him, but the explicitly evil ones work just fine.
 
Seriously don't know why the various Paul's don't just tell their true age.
Because he wants to be on The Team and he's under the impression that it's explicitly a youth team. If he came out and said "I'm actually 30, the ring just de-aged me because I'm pathologically afraid of being old" then there's the possibility he'd get gently removed.
 
Guess people didn't bother checking up on the Left Eye of Zoltek, judging by this unwarranted optimism.

The Left Eye of Zoltek is otherwise known as the Eye of Evil. It corrupts the person using it. Because I guess someone decided, "Man, this magic gem that makes you invulnerable with no downsides is pretty cool. But you know what would be even cooler? A Left Eye that mind controls people, while also making you evil enough to not give a shit about mind controlling people."

This Paul is jumping from an Evil Formula to an Evil Eye. Because for some reason most forms of self-enhancement don't work on him, but the explicitly evil ones work just fine.

Diablo was a crook before he got the Left Eye of Zoltec, so where are you getting the idea that it's innately corruptive?

However, I do believe it was established in Kelly's Eye that Zoltec was in fact an evil god.

Tangsied, being soulless, would therefore be more vulnerable than normal to having evil god energy influencing him, just like Gaia's magic made Paul as giddy as a school girl.


Zoat, Booster's forcefield doesn't come from his ring, it comes from him also helping himself to Brainiac 5's forcefield belt when he raided the superhero museum, as shown in Booster Gold 6, which he integrated into his suit.

Now if you want the Booster Gold from this universe to have a forcefield ring, author's prerogative of course, but I just wanted to make sure you were doing that as a conscious decision.
 
There have been some versions of the Legion flight ring that included an environmental shield. That's not where Booster Gold's shield in the Doomsday fight came from, but... I wasn't going to comment on it because of just how many different versions of the flight ring there have been.
 
Orange light runs across the ground in a wave, then bits of crystal begin flying out of the ground to hover in front of me. Gradually, the broken parts of the gem stick themselves back together, and I catch it just as the glow cuts out.
So not only is he going for a very obviously evil magical artifact.

But a broken very obviously evil magical artifact that he stuck back together with his power ring.

Just how dumb is he?
 
I think this misses the point that Tangseid was going to mind control her into *not* loving him which is kinda the opposite of his MO.

It's still mind control dude.

Violating the sanctity of someone's mind and consciousness is still a horrible, horrible thing to do regardless of your intentions.

Free will is a fundamental right, and what Tangseid is doing (even if it's 'right') would be the worst desecration of it than is humanly possible (literally - Orange light be bullshit like that)
 
It's still mind control dude.



Violating the sanctity of someone's mind and consciousness is still a horrible, horrible thing to do regardless of your intentions.



Free will is a fundamental right, and what Tangseid is doing (even if it's 'right') would be the worst desecration of it than is humanly possible (literally - Orange light be bullshit like that)

Yeah, that's where it starts. Mind control for a good reason.



I think we saw where that path ends.

I think you're assuming he's not doing it because "mind control bad" rather than "she should be free to love me" as a paragon choice.
 
I think Zoat is just going to keep cycling between mind-affecting serums, artifacts, attacks, and each time we're going to be like "Oh, so it was actually the <thing> that pushed this version of Paul over the edge," and each time it'll be a red herring.

It'll be hint after hint, tease after tease of Paul getting his mind toyed with or stumbling over evil juju, and then one day he's going to find out that someone ruined the Cadbury Eggs while he was busy trying to keep M'gann's psychic powers or some evil amulet from shredding his mind, and then he'll snap.
 
So not only is he going for a very obviously evil magical artifact.

But a broken very obviously evil magical artifact that he stuck back together with his power ring.

Just how dumb is he?

Well, he took the Evil Serum without telling anyone, so.....
 
From what I have seen online he dose not fit the diagnostic criteria for psychopathy. (as in the person in the linked article)
That may mean that the criteria on the internet are not quite right, or it may mean that the linked article, also on the internet, is off to some degree... or both.
 
Unreal (part 1)
Unreal

29th March 2013
07:00 GMT


Jade watches her mother carefully as she stares at the city surrounding us. This is Paula's first look at an alien city, and she seems to be coping.

The 'capital' of Maltus has grown a little since I first arrived, but… L.E.G.I.O.N. is commanded from Ranx or from regional command centres closer to the extremely loosely defined 'front line'. Orange Lanterns are powerful, but the whole Corps numbers in the thousands and it would be unusual for there to be more than a few hundred on Maltus at once. Darkstar numbers have increased a great deal, but unlike before when this was the only true safe harbour for them they can be posted on any one of hundreds of allied worlds.

The only real addition to the population are the diplomatic personnel, frustrating Hinon with their requests for a face to face meeting with one of the leaders of our movement. Controllers… Are… Not good diplomats, for the most part, and they certainly don't like people from civilisations younger than their current hairstyle acting as if they owe them something.

The people who have suggested that the ambassadors might form a legislative assembly and appoint their own representative to the N.E.M.O. council have been invited to read the treaty they signed.

"How many species live here?"

"How are we counting AIs?"

She looks around from the flying traffic flow, focusing on me.

"AIs?"

"Do you want to count all AIs as one species, or should I group them by type?"

"Type, I think? Do they find that rude?"

I smile. "I think they'd be more offended by the 'they' in that sentence than anything else. AIs can be far more different from each other than humanoid species can. Humanoids have similar basic drives to each other with fairly few exceptions. AIs can be programmed to prioritise just about anything."

"Ah… By type, then."

"There are members of six hundred and thirty seven species on Maltus right now. The majority of the population are-"

I gesture to a group of clickers who are walking nearby and then wave at them. The smaller ones rear up and waggle their forelimbs back at me.

"-clickers, like them."

And not so like them. We've actually expanded far enough that non-Maltusian-aligned clickers have worlds inside N.E.M.O.'s territory. I think Dox was planning on sending a diplomatic team, though that's not my responsibility unless he asks for my input.

Jade nods as her mother stares at them.

"Roughly half our military are clickers."

The smallest clicker makes eye contact with Paula, then sort of hops up and down before bending its head backwards and lifting its mid-section up. There's a slight delay and then it rolls backwards, rotating all the way around before landing flat on its feet.

It then looks at her expectantly.

Paula hesitates, and then smiles and nods, clapping in appreciation. The small clicker hops again and looks at its caregivers for their reaction.

The lesser A adult bows the forward part of its body, then leads the way along the street and into one of the buildings.

"That was.. cute?" She turns to Jade. "That was a child, wasn't it?"

"Yes Mom. About three years old."

Paula looks around at the city once more before walking over and sitting down at our table.

"Was that normal behavior for a three year old..? Clicker? Is that really their name?"

"No, their real name is something like-." I rap my knuckles and scrape my fingernails against the surface of our table. "But they know that humanoids can't say that. I haven't met one who objects to us calling them 'clickers'. One actually told me to."

Jade smiles. "The little ones can be pretty playful. They didn't used to have biological families, so their children needed to be able to bond with any adult they met."

"Oh. Then who raised them?"

"Any adult who wanted to. They learn a lot faster than human children, so it's like taking on an apprentice. Traditionally."

Paula nods slowly. "Not… Raising their own children…"

Jade doesn't react to that. I… Maybe there wasn't anything to react to, but I can't help but connect it to Paula's absence in most of her childhood.

"It wouldn't work. In their traditional hives, the fertile ones don't live long, and can have thousands of children. The Controllers changed how that works with the hives on Maltus, but they left the instinct to please adults. It was too much a part of how they expect their children to behave." She smiles. "Click-screech-clack used to live on my floor, and he was always having to chase down his kids when they started following some random adult."

"He should put reins on them. That is dangerous."

"Not around here. The crime rate is just about zero, and everyone in the building was a Darkstar. And most of them were clickers who'd gone through the same thing themselves."

"I see. It is very different to Gotham. Do you still live here?"

"No. We get barracked wherever we're stationed. I was just living here while I was training." She smiles faintly. "So many new Darkstars have joined since then that I've gained seniority over half the organisation." The smile fades as she looks more closely at her mother. "Mom, are you..? Okay?"

"Yes?"

"Paul told me you shut.. down to hold off the Anti-Life. I got taught that when I joined the League of Shadows. No one keeps it up for more than a few days."

"People can do surprising things when it becomes necessary. It was strange, but it was better than feeling… That."

"And you're okay now?"

"I am f-." Paula exhales and looks away for a moment. "I am mostly fine. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it is safe to feel things, now. Sometimes I forget for a moment that I can feel things, and I will feel something and for a moment it will surprise me. I am sure that will fade as I adjust."

I nod. "And… The Anti-Life itself? No lingering effects?"

"No. And I was fortunate that I did not do anything regrettable before you defeated it. Not everyone I know was so fortunate."

I nod. "It's a long list."

"The man who was responsible…"

"Mannheim?"

"No. You said that Mannheim was controlled by someone called 'Darkside'?"

"Yes."

"What does the Justice League plan to do to stop him?"

"H-chih. We don't." I shrug. "Try to look boring so he doesn't do it again? Apokolips is so far out of our league that it's decidedly not funny. Right now, we're focusing on restoring Earth's civilisation. Mannheim defeated everyone who fought him directly. Picking a fight with the full version is not on the agenda."
 
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"The man who was responsible…"

"Mannheim?"

"No. You said that Mannheim was controlled by someone called 'Darkside'?"

"Yes."

"What does the Justice League plan to do to stop him?"

"H-chih. We don't." I shrug. "Try to look boring so he doesn't do it again? Apokolips is so far out of our league that it's decidedly not funny. Right now, we're focusing on restoring Earth's civilisation. Mannheim defeated everyone who fought him directly. Picking a fight with the full version is not on the agenda."
This was funnier than you probably intended.
 

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