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

Signaller · Feb 24, 2024

Were there any lingering effects when OL first visited Erebos and encountered Ahklys?

Silveraith · Feb 24, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Atalanta is kneeling, leaking dull grey fluid from he wounds as Akhlys strokes her head

Her.

Venustoise · Feb 24, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
Every second they're in the ring is a second where they aren't protecting Paul, which is important in combat, especially when he's unable to use his ring to defend himself.

Ooh. Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks!

Mr Zoat · Feb 24, 2024

Duke Long said:
Shouldn't this last chapter have given him hydra memories, or is the 'Agh!' the memory? Just doesn't seem consistent with this chapter.

The 'agh' is the SI getting hit with the thoughts and memories. It wasn't as much of a problem because the construct wasn't thinking about much other than doing what it was told, and the SI wasn't thinking about something else.

'than a'
'her wounds'

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch said:
That depends on her placement on the human-furry spectrum...
Hey, some people still would. Even if she bites. Especially if she bites, in some loonies' cases.

Reminded me of the webcomic Least I Could Do, where the main character mentioned that he once had sex with a Disney princess.

It was Nala.

Bud-E said:
Random question how is Canis Minor doing now that he knows Darkseid isn't training him like he thought?

He's not sure if he only believed that because he wasn't ready for the Anti-Life, or if was true. Barda's keeping an eye on him, having gone through the same thing herself.

Ngamer11 · Feb 24, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
He's not sure if he only believed that because he wasn't ready for the Anti-Life, or if was true. Barda's keeping an eye on him, having gone through the same thing herself.

It's good to know that Barda is at least safe. Hopefully she can help Canis through this difficult time so that he will truly be with Earth and against Apokolips the next time Apokoliptian forces invade.

Someguy Somewhere · Feb 24, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
Recoil is a motherfucker, especially in high-caliber rounds.That wrist is gonna be hurting, if nor broken...

If it's OL's standard revolver, it's just a Smith & Wesson Model 63 in .22 LR. Not exactly 'high-caliber' but it gets some work in anyway.

iamnuff · Feb 24, 2024

Many things are natural, sweetheart.
Wine is just grapes, belladonna is just a herb.
It doesn't mean that one should overindulge.

Ardy · Feb 24, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
It's good to know that Barda is at least safe. Hopefully she can help Canis through this difficult time so that he will truly be with Earth and against Apokolips the next time Apokoliptian forces invade.

Yeah, we haven't heard of her since she got abducted at the very beginning of the anti life arc, I wonder what happened

Prince Charon · Feb 25, 2024

Someguy Somewhere said:
If it's OL's standard revolver, it's just a Smith & Wesson Model 63 in .22 LR. Not exactly 'high-caliber' but it gets some work in anyway.

I think he may have replaced it at some point, given his reaction to the recoil (or Mr Zoat is overestimating how much recoil .22lr gives through a gun that size).

Ardy · Feb 25, 2024

Prince Charon said:
I think he may have replaced it at some point, given his reaction to the recoil (or Mr Zoat is overestimating how much recoil .22lr gives through a gun that size).

Or the SI is a wimp

Someguy Somewhere · Feb 25, 2024

If I had an arrow go through my hand, I'd be more then a little shocked by recoil too, no matter the size.

Mr Zoat · Feb 25, 2024

30th March 2013
01:39 GMT +2?

"A little misery is a good motivator, but mortals aren't meant-" I back up, trying to keep out of her lunge-range. Or rather, to give me enough space to dodge, because Hephaestaean went all-out with that body and her lunge-range is probably about the horizon. "-to experience it all of the time."

"Mine are."

Prep one dose-. Can't do that, ring's not working.

"Is that your aim? Share it with everyone?"

"Then we can all be alike. All together."

"Why would we want to all be alike?"

She shakes her head. "It's not about wanting. It's about the comprehension of the underlying nature of existence. I want to bring people the same enlightenment that I experienced."

"What are you talking about? You hated your own suffering."

She smiles in a strangely… Unfocused sort of way. "I did. Until I no longer suffered, and could only look upon the suffering of others."

"Tell you what. If you break your link to the Anti-Life, give yourself a… While to recover, and still want it, I'll agree to join you. How about that?"

"Oh… Paul." She smiles in a slightly more… Well, slightly less unnatural way. "There is no going back."

I tried. I feel along my harness. Do I have any..? No, I stopped bothering with revolver-compatible mageslayer rounds a couple of my-equipment-has-been-completely-destroyed-agains ago. Her Anti-Life infection doesn't matter. She could kill me by pulling me apart.

"Construct lanterns, get her and tell the others to get her!"

"Another fight. They always fight."

No way to hurt her, no way to deprive her of resources, and… Ah. Limited ability to evacuate. The Gate of Dawn should be that way, on the other side of the Elysian Fields, and that would take me to Olympus proper.

I back up a little more, but she's walking towards me faster now.

If I can get there.

"Does the name 'Darkseid' mean anything to you?"

"A dilettante. He uses the Anti-Life but he doesn't understand it. He tries to puzzle it out from outside." She shakes her head sadly. "That doesn't work. You need to feel it to understand-."

A hydra head dives onto her, completely enveloping her with its mouth and shaking her around. I don't wait, I take a bearing and run, holstering my gun and tearing a smoke grenade off my harness as I go. Toss that, don't-. Don't have a magic disruptor of any kind but my tattoos might prevent her from sensing me.

"It."

Didn't make it that far before she got out and I'm not getting any sensory feedback from my construct lanterns. I need to get out of line of sight from her last location before I even think of doing anything else. I-.

Prey that fights back don't want to attack but must.

Another head gone back to the ring. Perhaps if time allows I should try and hunt down stronger things to assimilate? Not.. intelligent things, but there have to be some demons or feral monsters that no one will miss.

Keep running.

"…pleased to see you, Prince Zagreus."

I.. stop running.

Ah.

Turn around and start running again, gun out, and-. Ugh, don't shout, because if she caught Zagreus then there's a good chance that Bellerophon is still mobile. I could try hamstringing him, but I assume that a Greek hero who fought with sword and spear is probably better in melee than me.

So, plan is, get Zagreus on a hydra head and then get back to running. Though… As the god of hunting he's probably faster than me so maybe I should get on the head?

"No, you're not. I am sorry for what you have become-."

"Why? I'm so much more at one with my-"

Slow down, gun up, take aim and fire-.

BANG! BANG!

Hit to the chest does nothing, hit to the face… Doesn't do anything either. That's the Anti-Life at work, instinct suppressed in favour of more fatalism.

"I told you that I only offer suffering, and yet you came running back to me."

Zagreus is on his feet, but he's lost his bow and is down to a short sword. I don't know exactly how powerful he is, but I'd bet on Akhlys. No sign of Bellerophon, though Zagreus's clothes have a few feathers on them.

"Suffering for a cause isn't the same as suffering for its own sake. Zagreus, ideas?"

"This is the closest I've been to her. Usually I'd have fled already."

"And you haven't because..?"

"Broke my ankle. If I was further away from her it would have healed, but her connection to Erebos prevents it."

Akhlys starts walking towards him. I shoot her-

BANG!

-in the back of the head, but she doesn't react. Okay, stronger than me, probably not all that skilled. Holster the gun, take out another knife and-.

A golden mass slams into Akhlys and sends her tumbling across the countryside before righting herself. The golden figure-.
Truth
"The first time we met I really was staring at your muscles."

Well. I was.

Diana is wearing an upgraded version of the armour Ted Kord and Io made, the most notable improvement being the extended coverage granted by the helmet. She's still carrying the lasso, but it's augmented by a shield and sword.

"Orange Lantern. What brings you here?"

"The Earth is liberated, and you rather delayed your return."

"You see why."

"Yes. And-." Wait, I'm not actually dead. And her truth-related abilities have been boosted. "Could you lasso me for a moment?"

"I can. Do you have a solut..."

She trails off as warriors of ancient Greece approach us from all directions.

Bloodalchemy · Feb 25, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Yes. And-." Wait, I'm not actually dead. And her truth-related abilities have been boosted. "Could you lasso me for a moment?"

Are you trying to use her boosted truth forcing ability to focus your greed enlightenment into creating a bit of ring charge? Which then let's you open your subspace pocket and pull out your lantern?

Duke Long · Feb 25, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"It"

Missing punctuation?

Mr Zoat said:
Another head gone back to the ring. Perhaps if time allows I should try and hunt down stronger things to assimilate? Not.. intelligent things, but here have to be some demons or feral monsters than no one will miss.

'but there'
'that no one'
Hunting down strong things to assimilate? Is it secretly my birthday?

Mr Zoat said:
So, plan is, get Zagreus on a hydra head and then get back to running. Thought… As the god of hunting he's probably faster than me so maybe I should get on the head?

'Though…'?

Mr Zoat said:
Diana is wearing an upgraded version of the armour Ted Kord and Io, the most notable improvement being the extended coverage granted by the helmet.

'Io made,'?

Chojin Patriarch · Feb 25, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
30th March 2013
01:39 GMT +2?

"A little misery is a good motivator, but mortals aren't meant-" I back up, trying to keep out of her lunge-range. Or rather, to give me enough space to dodge, because Hephaestaean went all-out with that body and her lunge-range is probably about the horizon. "-to experience it all of the time."

"Mine are."

True, misery can encourage industry to escape it, but sinking into it is bad for the soul. And then you seek any sort of escape. Drugs, legal or not. Self-harm. Suicidal tendencies... Humans are just not built to deal with deep sorrow. Which is why others can help to pull you out of it...

Prep one dose-. Can't do that, ring's not working.

"Is that your aim? Share it with everyone?"

Honestly, the whole 'soaked in death-magic, disabling the Ring' aspect really does feel like a spiteful 'added difficulty for high-level players' sort of debuff. Still, a clever player can work around that limitation...

"Then we can all be alike. All together."

"Why would we want to all be alike?"

Variety is the spice of life, and that applies to people as much as experiences.

She shakes her head. "It's not about wanting. It's about the comprehension of the underlying nature of existence. I want to bring people the same enlightenment that I experienced."

"What are you talking about? You hated your own suffering."

She did until she got Anti-Life-pilled...

Makes it sound like some super-skeezy depression medication... Except it makes it worse, not better.

She smiles in a strangely… Unfocused sort of way. "I did. Until I no longer suffered, and could only look upon the suffering of others."

"Tell you what. If you break your link to the Anti-Life, give yourself a… While to recover, and still want it, I'll agree to join you. How about that?"

Good, don't specify an exact time-frame, Loopholes for the win.

"Oh… Paul." She smiles in a slightly more… Well, slightly less unnatural way. "There is no going back."

I tried. I feel along my harness. Do I have any..? No, I stopped bothering with revolver-compatible mageslayer rounds a couple of my-equipment-has-been-completely-destroyed-agains ago. Her Anti-Life infection doesn't matter. She could kill me by pulling me apart.

I suppose keeping his really expensive ammunition outside of his subspace inventory added up after a while.

"Construct lanterns, get her and tell the others to get her!"

"Another fight. They always fight."

Because no-one wants to suffer. Those that think they do simply can't see any alternative on their own...

No way to hurt her, no way to deprive her of resources, and… Ah. Limited ability to evacuate. The Gate of Dawn should be that way, on the other side of the Elysian Fields, and that would take me to Olympus proper.

I back up a little more, but she's walking towards me faster now.

And who knows who else she's been mind-whammying while she's been here? There could be dozens, hundreds of mighty warriors between you and the gates...

If I can get there.

"Does the name 'Darkseid' mean anything to you?"

Oh, where you going with this angle, OL?

"A dilettante. He uses the Anti-Life but he doesn't understand it. He tries to puzzle it out from outside." She shakes her head sadly. "That doesn't work. You need to feel it to understand-."

A hydra head dives onto her, completely enveloping her with its mouth and shaking her around. I don't wait, I take a bearing and run, holstering my gun and tearing a smoke grenade off my harness as I go. Toss that, don't-. Don't have a magic disruptor of any kind but my tattoos might prevent her from sensing me.

Honestly, she does have a point. He uses it, analyses it... But rarely has He ever experienced it from within. But that would mean giving up control, and no tyrant as He is would do that.

"It"

Didn't make it that far before she got out and I'm not getting any sensory feedback from my construct lanterns. I need to get out of line of sight from her last location before I even think of doing anything else. I-.

Hoo-boy. Hephestean's upgrades are just a little too good, huh? She can go full Terminator on you. Relentless and inexhaustible...

Prey that fights back don't want to attack but must.

Another head gone back to the ring. Perhaps if time allows I should try and hunt down stronger things to assimilate? Not.. intelligent things, but here have to be some demons or feral monsters than no one will miss.

As long as you can resist the mental contamination that might be induced when absorbing their memories.

Keep running.

"…pleased to see you, Prince Zagreus."

Uh-oh! I don't think he's got enough muscle for this fight.

I.. stop running.

Ah.

Dang NPC allies, aggroing enemies you'd rather avoid.

Just when OL had managed to ditch it. And sadly, his survival is a required win condition...

Turn around and start running again, gun out, and-. Ugh, don't shout, because if she caught Zagreus then there's a good chance that Bellerophon is still mobile. I could try hamstringing him, but I assume that a Greek hero who fought with sword and spear is probably better in melee than me.

So, plan is, get Zagreus on a hydra head and then get back to running. Thought… As the god of hunting he's probably faster than me so maybe I should get on the head?

At least take a second to recall your lost Construct Lanterns, OL. It can't take that long, right?

"No, you're not. I am sorry for what you have become-."

"Why? I'm so much more at one with my-"

The problem with seeing someone you like in a good place, only to come crashing down. You want to help them, even if it hurts you.

Slow down, gun up, take aim and fire-.

BANG! BANG!

Hardly a flinch this time. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

Hit to the chest does nothing, hit to the face… Doesn't do anything either. That's the Anti-Life at work, instinct suppressed in favour of more fatalism.

"I told you that I only offer suffering, and yet you came running back to me."

She sounds disappointed, despite wanting them to come to her...

Zagreus is on his feet, but he's lost his bow and is down to a short sword. I don't know exactly how powerful he is, but I'd bet on Akhlys. No sign of Bellerophon, though Zagreus's clothes have a few feathers on them.

"Suffering for a cause isn't the same as suffering for its own sake. Zagreus, ideas?"

Sounds like Zagreus won that boss fight, but not without taking a few hits. Boss rushes are such a pain that way.

"This is the closest I've been to her. Usually I'd have fled already."

"And you haven't because..?"

If he isn't running, there's got to be a good reason for it.

"Broke my ankle. If I was further away from her it would have healed, but her connection to Erebos prevents it."

Akhlys starts walking towards him. I shoot her-

Yeah, that'll do it. And she's producing an anti-healing effect? Even nastier.

BANG!

-in the back of the head, but she doesn't react. Okay, stronger than me, probably not all that skilled. Holster the gun, take out another knife and-.

Yeah, this is going to suck, especially since OL is not a melee-specced build...

A golden mass slams into Akhlys and sends her tumbling across the countryside before righting herself. The golden figure-.
Truth
"The first time we met I really was staring at your muscles."

Diana! After all, who else would get that sort of reaction thanks to an unfocused aura?

Well. I was.

Diana is wearing an upgraded version of the armour Ted Kord and Io, the most notable improvement being the extended coverage granted by the helmet. She's still carrying the lasso, but it's augmented by a shield and sword.

So something a bit closer to fully-sealed power armour, then. Or her iconic 'eagle armour' designs.

"Orange Lantern. What brings you here?"

"The Earth is liberated, and you rather delayed your return."

Just a little bit overdue, yes. People are getting worried.

"You see why."

"Yes. And-." Wait, I'm not actually dead. And her truth-related abilities have been boosted. "Could you lasso me for a moment?"

Interesting plan. Not sure how it'll help, unless you want to try and force your Rings to recognise that you're still alive...

"I can. Do you have a solut..."

She trails off as warriors of ancient Greece approach us from all directions.

Ah, here come the Boss Adds. Looks like a new phase has begun.

One thing after another, isn't it? Hopefully whatever OL is planning with the Lasso doesn't distract Diana from holding off the Ancient Hellenic hero hall-of-fame parade. Assuming that they're being driven by Ahklys' control, anyway. This could well be the cavalry coming to assist Diana and Zagreus in defeating the 'interloper'.

But given OL's luck, that seems less likely.

webxro · Feb 25, 2024

This makes me think of something, I think boss smiley is winning. If his primary goal is to keep earth just going, not building anything that could break the world then just luring apocalypse after apocalypse at it while knowing that the good guys will barely be able to win does seem like a way to level the ground.

Look at the image I stole from the wiki, that's him in an official comic, I can almost imagine the plan being that heroes can only focus on the next crisis in front of them, the next big evil. So just pour them at Paul to keep him preoccupied, sure tens of millions will die, hundreds of millions but he cannot focus on uplifting when he is just running from issue to issue.

Darko · Feb 25, 2024

webxro said:
This makes me think of something, I think boss smiley is winning. If his primary goal is to keep earth just going, not building anything that could break the world then just luring apocalypse after apocalypse at it while knowing that the good guys will barely be able to win does seem like a way to level the ground.

Look at the image I stole from the wiki, that's him in an official comic, I can almost imagine the plan being that heroes can only focus on the next crisis in front of them, the next big evil. So just pour them at Paul to keep him preoccupied, sure tens of millions will die, hundreds of millions but he cannot focus on uplifting when he is just running from issue to issue.

Kinda makes sense.

If super geniuses like Reed Richards are so busy fighting off Galactus or dealing with Doom's petty whining then they'll be too tired at the end of the day to actually spread their tech.

Or in the DC universes case, dealing with Darkseid and dealing with Luthor's petty whining.

Silverias · Feb 25, 2024

Bloodalchemy said:
Are you trying to use her boosted truth forcing ability to focus your greed enlightenment into creating a bit of ring charge? Which then let's you open your subspace pocket and pull out your lantern?

Pretty sure he's teting to look harmless.

Mr Zoat · Feb 25, 2024

Duke Long said:
Missing punctuation?
'but there'
'that no one'
'Though…'?
'Io made,'?

Thank you, corrected.

Hunting down strong things to assimilate? Is it secretly my birthday?

The CIA don't like it when I reveal things they've told me.

BartlettMagic · Feb 25, 2024

i do look forward to some assimilation. i can't remember, when Grayven assimilated Vandal Savage and R'as al'Ghul, and their age made them too much information to process, how did Gravy dispose of them? was it as simple as releasing, was there a concerted effort to 'delete' them?

Mr Zoat said:
"Yes. And-." Wait, I'm not actually dead. And her truth-related abilities have been boosted. "Could you lasso me for a moment?"

"I can. Do you have a solut..."

i always get excited when OL requests the lasso to deliver a truth-bomb

Duke Long · Feb 25, 2024

BartlettMagic said:
i can't remember, when Grayven assimilated Vandal Savage and R'as al'Ghul, and their age made them too much information to process, how did Gravy dispose of them? was it as simple as releasing, was there a concerted effort to 'delete' them?

I think he used the Sword of the Fallen, and then maybe hunted them down afterwards, or maybe he forgot and they're still around somewhere.

NightmareWarden · Feb 25, 2024

So is Paul going to give a Lasso-enforced, Orange new god-boosted monologue about Life? The White emotion? That could do something to Akhlys.

Alternatively the lasso will help break the metaphysical weirdness that declares him dead.

Honestly, I predict that the interrupted revelation Canis had about the purple healing ray is going to be relevant here. It is a tool that could affect Akhlys's wounds and her anti-life infection. I'm not suggesting the ray is useful for normal carriers, but rather individuals who emit the anti life.

Finagle007 · Feb 25, 2024

BartlettMagic said:
i always get excited when OL requests the lasso to deliver a truth-bomb

In this case, it'd likely be the truth of the Anti-Life: It's nothing but a lie. The Anti-Life Equation is mathematically correct, but that doesn't make it true. If it was, free will wouldn't exist in the first place.

Lord Ernest · Feb 25, 2024

Bloodalchemy said:
Are you trying to use her boosted truth forcing ability to focus your greed enlightenment into creating a bit of ring charge? Which then let's you open your subspace pocket and pull out your lantern?

Unless I'm awfully mistaken, he has charge in his rings. The problem is that, at the moment, they consider him dead and are not responding to him, due to weird death magic that he absorbed. They still work, which is why he can call his Construct Lanterns and order those he assimilated. I think he can't order the Hydra heads because those got Assimilated by his Construct Lanterns and without his connection to the rings, the new Construct Lanterns can't acknowledge him as their master.

NightmareWarden said:
Alternatively the lasso will help break the metaphysical weirdness that declares him dead.

Probably this. There was a bit of New God Speech after Diana showed up, which made the Illustres blurt out a truth from their first encounter. Since the death magic has him in some weird Schrodinger state, a powerful hit of Truth should clear that up with the answer of "Yes, he's alive" and get him back in business with his rings.

Wivk · Feb 25, 2024

Finagle007 said:
In this case, it'd likely be the truth of the Anti-Life: It's nothing but a lie. The Anti-Life Equation is mathematically correct, but that doesn't make it true. If it was, free will wouldn't exist in the first place.

If you want to make a play like that against akhlys then you probably need to target them with the lasso and force them to confront the lies they are telling themselves. I don't think hearing the truth from Paul or anyone else has worked or will work.

I think Paul wants to get himself hit with the lasso to force his ring to acknowledge that he is alive so it will turn back on.

Mr Zoat · Feb 26, 2024

30th March 2013
01:42 GMT +2?

"Work in progress."

"So many of our heroes died ignoble deaths. Gnawing at them, rotting them all from inside even as they ate the fruits those who killed them granted them as a pity-prize."

Diana tosses the lasso loop at me, and I grasp it in my left hand.

"Now ask me if I'm alive."

"Are you alive?"
Truth
"Yes!"

And suddenly I breathe-. It's like it's a little easier, though I don't know because my rings just fixed my minor injuries or if the death magic was suppressing my vitality.

Ring.

All functions available.

Yes!

Nineteen percent power remaining.

No-!

That's what I get for spamming construct lanterns and assimilation. But I couldn't have known that Diana would respond so fast.

Okay. Accelerate.

Take a small healing potion out of my harness and send it towards Zagreus. I don't know how fast it would heal a god, but it won't do harm and it might let him move. Next, call all construct lanterns not currently fighting something here but don't tell them to feed because I don't want to turn the greatest heroes of the Greek mythical era into constructs. As for removing Akhlys' Anti-Life connection… Truth doesn't help because the Anti-Life is true, and even if it wasn't true for the rest of us it's definitely true for her.

How to change that?

Break the lasso, reset the universe-. No.

Assimilate her. I'd rather not, and I don't think I have the power, and I don't want the Ophidian -or the entire Orange Lantern Corps- exposed to the Anti-Life.

Find the healing ray and shoot her with it.

Healing ray located.

Better than nothing, and doesn't risk erasing the universe. Start moving.

The original plan of opening the gate to the Dream-. I remember Dream's fight with… I don't remember his name, some demon who had one of his tools. 'I am hope' beat the 'I am Anti-Life', but that was a contest in Hell and we need to be a bit more literal.

Normal speed.

Zagreus gags as-.

"Swallow it. Diana, can you get to Earth?"

"Yes."

"Find Alan, get him to Sandman, have them enter the Dream and head for the gate to Erebos. Stay on that side of the gate."

An uncomfortable number of those dead and empty-eyed heroes have bows-.

Armour.

I'm not all that much safer, but power armour provides such a wonderful illusion. I raise my right arm, kinetic barrier triggering as the first archer get his head in the game enough to loose at me. A couple of the melee-armed heroes charge us, while the rest form up into a circular shield wall.

"And the dream of hope will be sufficient?"
Truth
"It's my best guess."

Akhlys looks at me curiously. "Dreams are not so powerful. They are fragile, ephemeral things."

First hero, look for wounds. Puncture to the back of the leg. Achilles, probably, though I suppose there could be hundreds of Greek heroes known to their contemporaries but lost to history who had wounds like that. I use a construct to knock his arm aside as he slashes at me, then slam my right palm into his face in an armour-boosted shove. His face feels.. harder than it should, his nose bending slightly but not breaking as he goes flying back into the throng. Invulnerability. In other circumstances I'd see how he measures up to Haroldson, see what magic let him survive touching the Styx as an infant. But we've all got bigger concerns at the moment.

Hydra heads and serfs appear from the skies and I send them after the shield wall. The heads slam into the shields and force them back, breaking their formation. Spears and swords seek them out, but the constructs are tough enough to hold out against mere mortal strength.

Diana is charged by an older shade with.. smashed ribs. Don't know who that is. I release the lasso and she swings it, loop slipping over his neck and pulling tight.

"Remember your glory, warrior!"
Truth

"I don't want to!" He raises his hands to the lasso and frantically tries to pull it off. "That makes it worse!"

"It is the only way it will ever stop!"

"I died alone and in exile, killed by my own ship! All of my friends and warriors slain due to my actions! That is the truth!"

The lasso loosens as Diana realises that it isn't going to work.

"Diana, seriously, just go. Get Alan."

She hesitates, then nods, flying over the shield wall and back towards the gateway. I just have to -appropriately enough- hope that she can get him on time.

Akhlys starts walking towards Zagreus, who hobbles a step back. I walk closer to her, again trying to keep out of lunging distance, but… I don't know, she's not hostile-hostile. She genuinely believes that Anti-Lifeing us is doing us some kind of favour. It might be possible to talk her around.

Maybe.

"Akhlys." She turns her head and… It's not that her expression is all that different from expressions Anti-Lifed humans had… But there's something about that combined with the cybernetics and the fact that she actually seems happier like this than she was when I first met her. "How would you like to visit the Dream?"

"I will visit all, in time. And I am not so deaf that I did not hear your plotting."

"Sure, I want you to stop, to go back to being a controller and not a customer. And you don't. But we both believe different things about the Anti-Life. Do you want to prove me wrong? Because if I'm wrong, you get access to the collective unconscious of all life without fighting. You can just walk through the gates. I'll open them for you."

"You don't understand. You-."

"Can't because I haven't felt it? Firstly, I have, and secondly…. Alright. I'll stand right next to you as we go through the gates. I can be the first person you Anti-Life. And it's the Dream; there's no better medium to show me exactly what you mean than the chaos of sentient imaginings."

"I am sure that you have some scheme in mind. But you are right. It would make things… Simpler."

"Zagreus told me that you tried to force the gates before. So you want to get through them. It's not going to get easier than walking in with someone holding them open. So why fight when what you want is yours for the taking?"

She smiles the same pained smile she had when I first failed to help her.

"You will be an excellent advisor when you come to terms with the Anti-Life. Come, let us depart."

RichardWhereat · Feb 26, 2024

I hope she gets hugs when this is done.

Rebu · Feb 26, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"You will be an excellent advisor when you come to terms with the Anti-Life. Come, let us depart."

"I know you're playing me, but you're right."

Chojin Patriarch · Feb 26, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
30th March 2013
01:42 GMT +2?

"Work in progress."

"So many of our heroes died ignoble deaths. Gnawing at them, rotting them all from inside even as they ate the fruits those to killed them granted them as a pity-prize."

And yes, some of them did die deaths full of suck. Jason, crushed by the corpse of his rotting ship. Bellerephon, cast down and left broken after trying to reach Olympus. Theseus, fell off a cliff, old and alone. And many, many more, often borne of their own hubris. No wonder they're so affected by the Anti-Life...

Diana tosses the lasso loop at me, and I grasp it in my left hand.

"Now ask me if I'm alive."

...It'd really be that simple, you think?

"Are you alive?"
Truth
"Yes!"

Well, guess we're gonna see in a second.

And suddenly I breathe-. It's like it's a little easier, though I don't know because my rings just fixed my minor injuries or if the death magic was suppressing my vitality.

Ring.

It might well have. Maybe that's why the Rings were glitching. Your vital signs were below the minimum for a living being, but not completely gone.

All functions available.

Yes!

Okay, time to kick some...

Nineteen percent power remaining.

No-!

...kick your Lantern out of subspace and recharge ASAP!

That's what I get for spamming construct lanterns and assimilation. But I couldn't have known that Diana would respond so fast.

Okay. Accelerate.

Ooh, haven't seen that consciously triggered in a while.

Take a small healing potion out of my harness and send it towards Zagreus. I don't know how fast it would heal a god, but it won't do harm and it might let him move. Next, call all construct lanterns not currently fighting something here but don't tell them to feed because I don't want to turn the greatest heroes of the Greek mythical era into constructs. As for removing Akhys' Anti-Life connection… Truth doesn't help because the Anti-Life is true, and even if it wasn't true for the rest of us it's definitely true for her.

Yeah, Hades might want words with you for messing with the census like that. Can you imagine the paperwork?

How to change that?

Break the lasso, reset the universe-. No.

Universal resets are never a plan. Not unless the whole place is going bye-bye anyway. And you aren't there yet.

Assimilate her. I'd rather not, and I don't think I have the power, and I don't want the Ophidian -or the entire Orange Lantern Corps- exposed to the Anti-Life.

Find the healing ray and shoot her with it.

Hephestean would probably have words with you if you assimilated her. Mostly words between his hammer and your head. Probably consisting of 'thump' and 'ow'.

Healing ray located.

Better than nothing, and doesn't risk erasing the universe. Start moving.

What she needs is a purge and reboot of her cybernetics, get the Anti-Life out of it...

The original plan of opening the get to the Dream-. I remember Dream's fight with… I don't remember his name, some demon who had one of his tools. 'I am hope' beat the 'I am Anti-Life', but that was a contest in Hell and we need to be a bit more literal.

Normal speed.

Yes, probably a good idea, your hair might be smoking after that long at hyperspeed..

Zagreus gags as-.

"Swallow it. Diana, can you get to Earth?"

Hmm... Healing energy into a death-related god. Fascinating to watch the results. Pity he doesn't have time.

"Yes."

"Find Alan, get him to Sandman, have them enter the Dream and head for the gate to Erebos. Stay on that side of the gate."

And if a tall, pale bloke show up asking what's going on, give him a quick rundown and ask forgiveness in advance?

An uncomfortable number of those dead and empty-eyed heroes have bows-.

Armour.

And given many of them are reputedly super-humanly strong or amazingly good archers, that's still not a guarantee of safety.

I'm not all that much safer, but power armour provides such a wonderful illusion. I raise my right arm, kinetic barrier triggering as the first archer get his head in the game enough to loose at me. A couple of the melee-armed heroes charge us, while the rest form up into a circular shield wall.

"And the dream of hope will be sufficient?"

Heh. Interesting that they think forming any kind of phalanx will help against two lone warriors. On the other hand, if they can encircle them...

Truth
"It's my best guess."

Akhys looks at me curiously. "Dreams are not so powerful. They are fragile, ephemeral things."

Don't make him give you the Dreams speech from that 'Superman' story.

First hero, look for wounds. Puncture to the back of the leg. Achilles, probably, though I suppose there could be hundreds of Greek heroes known to their contemporaries but lost to history who had wounds like that. I use a construct to knock his arm aside as he slashes at me, then slam my right palm into his face in a armour-boosted shove. His face feels.. harder than it should, his nose bending slightly but not breaking as he goes flying back into the throng. Invulnerability. In other circumstances I'd see how he measures up to Haroldson, see what magic let him survive touching the Styx as an infant. But we've all got bigger concerns at the moment.

Now that would be an interesting exchange program.

Hydra heads and serfs appear from the skies and I send them after the shield wall. The heads slam into the shields and force them back, breaking their formation. Spears and swords seek them out, but the constructs are tough enough to hold out against mere mortal strength.

Diana is charged by an older shade with.. smashed ribs. Don't know who that is. I release the lasso and she swings it, loop slipping over his neck and pulling tight.

One of those ignoble deaths, then. Or a very nasty monster fight.

"Remember your glory, warrior!"
Truth

"I don't want to!" He raises his hands to the lasso and frantically tries to pull it off. "That makes it worse!"

Ah, one who lived to see his glory days become memory... That narrows it down.

"It is the only way it will ever stop!"

"I died alone and in exile, killed by my own ship! All of my friends and warriors slain due to my actions! That is the truth!"

Why, hello, Jason of Thessaly.

The lasso loosens as Diana realises that it isn't going to work.

"Diana, seriously, just go. Get Alan."

Hopefully she has an easier time leaving than they did getting here.

She hesitates, then nods, flying over the shield wall and back towards the gateway. I just have to -appropriately enough- hope that she can get him on time.

Akhys starts walking towards Zagreus, who hobbles a step back. I walk closer to her, again trying to keep out of lunging distance, but… I don't know, she's not hostile-hostile. She genuinely believes that Anti-Lifeing us is doing us some kind of favour. It might be possible to talk her around.

Ah, good, the healing potion worked. Mostly? And this isn't going to be a punching fight, is it?

Maybe.

"Akhys." She turns her head and… It's not that her expression is all that different from expressions Anti-Lifed humans had… But there's something about that combined with the cybernetics and the fact that she actually seems happier like this than she was when I first met her. "How would you like to visit the Dream?"

I'm guessing a part of the cybernetics involves wires that pull the flesh of her face into normal proportions rather than sagging and peeling.

"I will visit all, in time. And I am not so deaf that I did not hear your plotting."

"Sure, I want you to stop, to go back to being an controller and not a customer. And you don't. But we both believe different things about the Anti-Life. Do you want to prove me wrong? Because if I'm wrong, you get access to the collective unconscious of all life without fighting. You can just walk through the gates. I'll open them for you."

And with any luck, Dream will be there to pluck it out of the little goddess and stuff it into a jar in his chest of horrors.

"You don't understand. You-."

"Can't because I haven't felt it? Firstly, I have, and secondly…. Alright. I'll stand right next to you as we go through the gates. I can be the first person you Anti-Life. And it's the Dream; there's not better medium to show me exactly what you mean than the chaos of sentient imaginings."

Especially if it responds to their thoughts and forms images. Perhaps she'll see what it really is.

"I am sure that you have some scheme in mind. But you are right. It would make things… Simpler."

"Zagreus told me that you tried to force the gates before. So you want to get through them. It's not going to get easier than walking in with someone holding them open. So why fight when what you want is yours for the taking?"

And wanting something more easily is a mighty want indeed.

She smiles the same pained smile she had when I first failed to help her.

"You will be an excellent advisor when you come to terms with the Anti-Life. Come, let us depart."

Ah, hubris. Let's hope her downfall isn't fatal.

Well, looks like the cavalry did the job well. Hopefully Diana makes it to where she needs to be before they reach the gate to the Dream. Perhaps this little plan will finally see OL meet Dream face to face. I doubt he'll play the part of Deus ex Machine, though he'll have to clean up after the humans either way. And there's still the matter of the arrayed heroes...

...ate the fruits those to killed them granted them as a pity-prize."

...ate the fruits those who killed them granted them as a pity-prize."

The original plan of opening the get to the Dream-.

The original plan of opening the gate to the Dream-.

"Sure, I want you to stop, to go back to being an controller and not a customer.

"Sure, I want you to stop, to go back to being a controller and not a customer.

And it's the Dream; there's not better medium...

And it's the Dream; there's not a better medium...

Ngamer11 · Feb 26, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
First hero, look for wounds. Puncture to the back of the leg. Achilles, probably, though I suppose there could be hundreds of Greek heroes known to their contemporaries but lost to history who had wounds like that. I use a construct to knock his arm aside as he slashes at me, then slam my right palm into his face in a armour-boosted shove. His face feels.. harder than it should, his nose bending slightly but not breaking as he goes flying back into the throng. Invulnerability. In other circumstances I'd see how he measures up to Haroldson, see what magic let him survive touching the Styx as an infant. But we've all got bigger concerns at the moment.

That should say 'an'.

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

Know what you're doing yet?

Argent Phantasm

Getting sticky.

Dedicated ragequitter

Experienced.

The Critical Fumbler

Connoisseur.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Just zis guy, you know?

I trust you know where the happy button is?

The Critical Fumbler

Dedicated ragequitter

Versed in the lewd.

Glomerulus

Veteran Lurker

Benevolent Bystander

Connoisseur.

Know what you're doing yet?

Dedicated ragequitter

peekaboo, you fucks you!

Glomerulus

Versed in the lewd.

[Verified Great Old One]

At the End...

Know what you're doing yet?

Dedicated ragequitter

Aia airëa Fëanáro.

hey, little Anna, you're the one

Veteran Lurker

Experienced.

Users who are viewing this thread