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

Mighty Morphin' Lantern Rangers (part 7)
1st April 1995
20:30 GMT


"You're back!"

The short blue person who was responsible for creating me shouts in surprise the moment he sees me approaching Rita Repulsa's throne. His jaw drops and his hands come up to cover his mouth. Then he throws his arms out to the sides in excitement.

"You're back, my Orange… Warlord! Are-?"

"Warmaster."

The winged ape next to him rolls his eyes.

Squatt just blinks. "Huh?"

"The name you picked for me was Orange Warmaster. You clearly put no thought at all into it and made it up on the spur of the moment in an attempt to encourage them to attack me after accidentally dropping whatever potion that was onto my comic."

"Ah…" Ms. Repulsa looks at him with an arched left eyebrow, so he decides to double down. "Don't worry about that right now. Are the Power Rangers dead?"

"Probably not."

"You came back here without doing your job?!" Ms. Repulsa gestures to me with her staff. "Tell me why I shouldn't destroy you where you stand!"

"I don't remember accepting a job. The short nitwit dropped whatever that potion was on a superhero comic. I had no reason to fight them and no reason to follow his orders." I smile cruelly. "Not that he actually remembered to give me any; he told them I was supposed to kill them, not me."

She glares at him and he cringes back. "Ah-aaa…"

"How can you be so stupid that you don't even tell your monster to attack?"

"Uh, I was-. Surprised! Yeah!"

"With the greatest respect, ma'am, there's very little point in blaming a moron for being stupid. He's working at the limits of his competence."

The ape-man snorts, raising his right fist to his mouth as the short blue one glares at him for his lack of support.

Ms. Repulsa gives me a grudging smile. "So! Why are you here?"

"The poorly brewed potion that granted me life only gave me a limited amount of power. When I run out, I stop existing."

"That's not a bug." Ape man wiggles his right forefinger at me. "That's a deliberate feature. The potion is only designed for creating short term minions."

"Ah. Then I apologise. The potion worked exactly as intended, which is a problem for me."

"Oh." Ms. Repulsa smiles cruelly. "So you want to live?"

"Just so. I already asked Zordon, and apparently I'm out of luck. If you can make me a 'real boy', I'm your man."

"I can make a new monster any day I want." She waves her left hand dismissively. "What's so special about you?"

"The dullard dropped the potion on a superhero comic. It brought me to life with all of the skills and memories of the character I'm based on. Years of fighting against supernaturally powerful opponents in all sorts of exotic locations. And I'm fairly powerful…" I glare at Baboo. "When I'm not having to worry about spontaneously snapping out of existence."

"Oh, that's not how it works. You'll be able to do… Ah… Nearly everything you could do in your comic. Not things that required other things to work properly, but everything else. And you should be able to do most of them as much as you want! Un… Til… You run out of power."

"Ah. In that case, why not accept? You'll want me to fight the Power Rangers anyway, and from the sounds of it I can do that without anything extra from you. If I win, I want you to extend my life. Is that something you can do?"

"Baboo! Bring me the potion recipe!"

"At once, mistress!" He bows and scurries off into one of the other rooms.

"Thank you. I do rather like being alive."

She gives me a hard look. "How do you plan on fighting them when all of my other minions and monsters have failed?"

I know that there are more zords buried in various places. I doubt that Ms. Repulsa whipped up the Dragonzord herself, but 'somewhere underwater' doesn't really narrow it down. Titanus is 'somewhere in the mountains in California', which narrows it down a bit, but a quick scan earlier didn't reveal it and I'm not sure how reliable my more exotic scans are at the moment anyway. She's in a better place to track the location of the main dinozord hangar than I am.

Other than just flying into Angel Grove and tearing apart a few buildings… Which I'd rather not do because I'm sure that insurance rates there are already ridiculously high. I could just snipe each of the Rangers from a few miles away, but…

I'm negotiating with Team Evil here. Just killing the only people who can effectively fight them is just asking to get backstabbed, and leave the Earth completely vulnerable to them. Making it look like I've killed them is similarly problematic: I have no idea what sort of sensors they've got up here, so I don't know if I could fake it convincingly. And if I did, I don't know what Rita Repulsa actually wants to do with Earth. She might just see that as a sign that it's fine to let her people go on a rampage.

"Is there any device or artefact that you particularly want to recover from Earth?"

"You said that you had extensive experience. If you want to impress me, kill the Power Rangers!"

"Show me the potion and I'll get right on it."

She pouts frustratedly, then turns to Baboo as he hurries back in, book in hand.

"It's this one, your-."

She grabs the book from him and plants it on a nearby lectern, peering at it intensely.

"Hhmmmm. Yes, that's easy! You just need more magic power!"

"Just an infusion of magic power? Nothing… Special about it?"

"No. But I'm the only person in this entire star system who could do it, so don't forget who's in charge!"

"Certainly. I assume that my continued existence will be dependant on my continued service?"

I hear Goldar snort behind me. "You should be grateful for the privilege."

"I'm not complaining, I just want to know where I stand. I mean, if you're constantly having to recharge me I imagine that you'd find that annoying."

"Hm. Yes. I would."

Ms. Repulsa bangs the butt of her staff on the ground, the orange crystal in the head shimmering for a moment… Before a necklace with a smaller but similar crystal pendant appears around my neck.

"Once you've completed your mission, that will allow you to retain more than enough power to keep yourself alive… For a few months. And in the mean time, the glow will tell you how long you've got to live."

It's not glowing very brightly at the moment.

"Very practical. I don't suppose I could trouble you for a top-up now, could I?"

"No."

"Alright. Then I'm going to need some putties, and the use of your teleporter."
 
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1st April 1995
20:30 GMT


"You're back!"

The short blue person who was responsible for creating me shouts in surprise the moment he sees me approaching Rita Repulsa's throne. His jaw drops and his hands come up to cover his mouth. Then he throws his arms out side in excitement.
Ah, said something he maybe shouldn't have, eh? But he's too foolish to be too worried, I see. Now, will we find out if this plan had Rita's blessing, or if the foolish duo were acting out of turn... Either way, someone is going to have a headache.

"You're back, my Orange… Warlord! Are-?"

"Warmaster."
Hey, he came up with the title in a flash of panic. can you blame him for forgetting it? :p

The winged ape next to him rolls his eyes.

Squatt just blinks. "Huh?"
...Boy, not proving himself the sharpest knife in the drawer, is he?

"The name you picked for me was Orange Warmaster. You clearly put no thought at all into it and made it up on the spur of the moment in an attempt to encourage them to attack me after accidentally dropping whatever potion that was onto my comic."

"Ah…" Ms. Repulsa looks at him with an arched left eyebrow, so he decides to double down. "Don't worry about that right now. Are the Power Rangers dead?"
Ah. :rolleyes: This explains so much. They probably wanted some ultra-violent 90's comic, probably one printed by Image with a bloodthirsty anti-hero.

"Probably not."

"You came back here without doing you job?!" Ms. Repulsa gestures to me with her staff. "Tell me why I shouldn't destroy you where you stand!"
Gee, victim-blaming much? Talk to your goons. He didn't ask to be summoned.

"I don't remember accepting a job. The short nitwit dropped whatever that potion was on a superhero comic. I had no reason to fight them and no reason to follow his orders." I smile cruelly. "Not that he actually remembered to give me any; he told them I was supposed to kill them, not me."

She glares at him and he cringes back. "Ah-aaa…"
Which makes me wonder if there might have been a compulsion that, if told to attack the Rangers, he would have.

"How can you be so stupid that you don't even tell your monster to attack?"

"Uh, I was-. Surprised! Yeah!"
Presumably the first thing he did once he got back was change his pants, too. :p

"With the greatest respect, ma'am, there's very little point in blaming a moron for being stupid. He's working at the limits of his competence."

The ape-man snorts, raising his right fist to his mouth as the short blue one glares at him for his lack of support.
Well, it's true. They can't help that it's also funny.

Ms. Repulsa gives me a grudging smile. "So! Why are you here?"

"The poorly brewed potion that granted me life only gave me a limited amount of power. When I run out, I stop existing."
Oof, that weakens your bargaining position considerably, OL. Knowing you almost certainly want something from her is going to make her very eager to put a leash on you...

"That's not a bug." Ape man wiggles his right forefinger at me. "That's a deliberate feature. The potion is only designed for creating short term minions."

"Ah. Then I apologise. The potion worked exactly as intended, which is a problem for me."
Again, a simple addition that makes the summoned entity or entities aggressive might have helped.

"Oh." Ms. Repulsa smiles cruely. "So you want to live?"

"Just so. I already asked Zordon, and apparently I'm out of luck. If you can make me a 'real boy', I'm your man."
Oh, boy. Just what she needs. A competent, powerful and genre-savvy flunky.

"I can make a new monster any day I want." She waves her left hand dismissively. "What's so special about you?"

"The dullard dropped the potion on a superhero comic. It brought me to life with all of the skills and memories of the character I'm based on. Years of fighting against supernaturally powerful opponents in all sorts of exotic locations. And I'm fairly powerful…" I glare at Baboo. "When I'm not having to worry about spontaneously snapping out of existence."
He's also smart enough to not be afraid of a half-dozen-odd teenagers in spandex power armour.

"Oh, that's not how it works. You'll be able to do… Ah… Nearly everything you could do in your comic. Not things that required other things to work properly, but everything else. And you should be able to do most of them as much as you want! Un… Til… You run out of power."

"Ah. In that case, why not accept? You'll want me to fight the Power Rangers anyway, and from the sounds of it I can do that without anything extra from you. If I win, I want you to extend my life. Is that something you can do?"
Thankfully, Rita and company aren't sensible enough to want anything other than a beatstick...

"Baboo! Bring me the potion recipe!"

"At once, mistress!" He bows and scurries off into one of the other rooms.
A pity he can't snatch it and run the second it's in sight, then go back to Zordon...

"Thank you. I do rather like being alive."

She gives me a hard look. "How do you plan on fighting them when all of my other minions and monsters have failed?"
Simple. He's not an idiot, who charges in face-first. :p

I know that there are more zords buried in various places. I doubt that Ms. Repulsa whipped up the Dragonzord herself, but 'somewhere underwater' doesn't really narrow it down. Titanus is 'somewhere in the mountains in California', which narrows it down a bit, but a quick scan earlier didn't reveal it and I'm not sure how reliable my more exotic scans are at the moment anyway. She's in a better place to track the location of the main dinozord hangar than I am.
Most likely Zordon has them hidden using magical concealment alongside technological methods. Never mind all the other ancient super robots hidden away.

Other than just flying into Angel Grove and tearing apart a few buildings… Which I'd rather not do because I'm sure that insurance rates there are already ridiculously high. I could just snipe each of the Rangers from a few miles away, but…
Do you really want to win that way? Would Rita want that? After all, what's to stop Zordon recalling the devices and giving them to a new team?

I'm negotiating with Team Evil here. Just killing the only people who can effectively fight them is just asking to get backstabbed, and leave the Earth completely vulnerable to them. Making it look like I've killed them is similarly problematic: I have no idea what sort of sensors they've got up here, so I don't know if I could fake it convincingly. And if I did, I don't know what Rita Repulsa actually wants to do with Earth. She might just see that as a sign that it's fine to let her people go on a rampage.
So your best option is to create a standoff of some kind. The Rangers can't act, but neither can Rita. The trick would be making that situation. Failing that, upset the balance, and set it swinging, so that each advantage one gains is quickly countered by the other...

"Is there any device or artefact that you particularly want to recover from Earth?"

"You said that you had extensive experience. If you want to impress me, kill the Power Rangers!"
Ugh, that's a pretty definite order, then. Blunt as she is short-tempered.

"Show me the potion and I'll get right on it."

She pouts frustratedly, then turns to Baboo as he hurries back in, book in hand.
Perfect chance to yoink it and run... Just saying, that's an option. No way can they keep up with you, even if they teleport.

"It's this one, your-."

She grabs the book from him and plants it on a nearby lectern, peering at it intensely.
Ugh, missed your chance. That close to her, she'd zap you before you could move.

"Hhmmmm. Yes, that's easy! You just need more magic power!"

"Just an infusion of magic power? Nothing… Special about it?"
...Perfect time to try a little experiment. See if your FEED ability made the jump.

"No. But I'm the only person in this entire star system who could do it, so don't forget who's in charge!"

"Certainly. I assume that my continued existence will be dependant on my continued service?"
Buying extra days with every successful task completed, eh?

I hear Goldar snort behind me. "You should be grateful for the privilege."

"I'm not complaining, I just want to know where I stand. I mean, if you're constantly having to recharge me I imagine that you'd find that annoying."
Yes, might be a bit of a headache, eh, Rita? :p

"Hm. Yes. I would."

Ms. Repulsa bangs the butt of her staff on the ground, the orange crystal in the head shimmering for a moment… Before a necklace with a smaller but similar crystal pendant appears around my neck.
And there's the leash. Let's hope she doesn't use it like a choke chain.

"Once you've completed your mission, that will allow you to retain more than enough power to keep yourself alive… For a few months. And in the mean time, the glow will tell you how long you've got to live."

It's not glowing very brightly at the moment.
Mean is right. Talk about cheaping out. :rolleyes:

"Very practical. I don't suppose I could trouble you for a top-up now, could I?"

"No."

"Alright. Then I'm going to need some putties, and the use of your teleporter."
Oh, dear. he's not actually going for the kill, is he?

And so the deal is made. Is it worse that he went into this willingly? I assume he's not going to just go kill them, though. After all, there's not a lot of wiggle room in an order like 'Kill the Power Rangers', but you know OL would find a way around using lethal force on five teenagers. So, I have the feeling this deal will make for one hell of a headache when he's done. :sneaky:


"You came back here without doing you job?!"
"You came back here without doing your job?!"
"Oh." Ms. Repulsa smiles cruely. "So you want to live?"
"Oh." Ms. Repulsa smiles cruelly. "So you want to live?"
 
Ah, said something he maybe shouldn't have, eh? But he's too foolish to be too worried, I see. Now, will we find out if this plan had Rita's blessing, or if the foolish duo were acting out of turn... Either way, someone is going to have a headache.

Hey, he came up with the title in a flash of panic. can you blame him for forgetting it? :p


...Boy, not proving himself the sharpest knife in the drawer, is he?


Ah. :rolleyes: This explains so much. They probably wanted some ultra-violent 90's comic, probably one printed by Image with a bloodthirsty anti-hero.


Gee, victim-blaming much? Talk to your goons. He didn't ask to be summoned.


Which makes me wonder if there might have been a compulsion that, if told to attack the Rangers, he would have.


Presumably the first thing he did once he got back was change his pants, too. :p


Well, it's true. They can't help that it's also funny.


Oof, that weakens your bargaining position considerably, OL. Knowing you almost certainly want something from her is going to make her very eager to put a leash on you...


Again, a simple addition that makes the summoned entity or entities aggressive might have helped.


Oh, boy. Just what she needs. A competent, powerful and genre-savvy flunky.


He's also smart enough to not be afraid of a half-dozen-odd teenagers in spandex power armour.


Thankfully, Rita and company aren't sensible enough to want anything other than a beatstick...


A pity he can't snatch it and run the second it's in sight, then go back to Zordon...


Simple. He's not an idiot, who charges in face-first. :p


Most likely Zordon has them hidden using magical concealment alongside technological methods. Never mind all the other ancient super robots hidden away.


Do you really want to win that way? Would Rita want that? After all, what's to stop Zordon recalling the devices and giving them to a new team?


So your best option is to create a standoff of some kind. The Rangers can't act, but neither can Rita. The trick would be making that situation. Failing that, upset the balance, and set it swinging, so that each advantage one gains is quickly countered by the other...


Ugh, that's a pretty definite order, then. Blunt as she is short-tempered.


Perfect chance to yoink it and run... Just saying, that's an option. No way can they keep up with you, even if they teleport.


Ugh, missed your chance. That close to her, she'd zap you before you could move.


...Perfect time to try a little experiment. See if your FEED ability made the jump.


Buying extra days with every successful task completed, eh?


Yes, might be a bit of a headache, eh, Rita? :p


And there's the leash. Let's hope she doesn't use it like a choke chain.


Mean is right. Talk about cheaping out. :rolleyes:


Oh, dear. he's not actually going for the kill, is he?

And so the deal is made. Is it worse that he went into this willingly? I assume he's not going to just go kill them, though. After all, there's not a lot of wiggle room in an order like 'Kill the Power Rangers', but you know OL would find a way around using lethal force on five teenagers. So, I have the feeling this deal will make for one hell of a headache when he's done. :sneaky:



"You came back here without doing your job?!"

"Oh." Ms. Repulsa smiles cruelly. "So you want to live?"

We're talking about the guy who rules lawyered his way into legally justifiable homicide against a member of the Justice League.

Even assuming he is 100% sincere in the deal he made, he will find a way to get around it and eventually get out. He just needs transfusions of magic now. So it only lasts until he gets a new source.
 
I'm surprised that he didn't even consider assimilating her, but… eh. Time for a villain arc, I suppose!
 
Completely understandable in regards to not trying it, but I was genuinely surprised that he didn't consider it 'on-screen,' as it was.
 
Wait, does this mean he's cut off from the Ophidian? Since she's still in the comic book?

... Actually, didn't she give him a piece of her soul? Does he still have that or...?
 
Wait, does this mean he's cut off from the Ophidian? Since she's still in the comic book?

... Actually, didn't she give him a piece of her soul? Does he still have that or...?
The Ophidian is a fictional character. The potion makes that part of him still work for him, but it's a replica with no original.
 
Justice Segue (part 6)
17th November 2017
00:17 GMT -7


Subjekt-17-.

"I've been meaning to ask." He doesn't look around, staring blankly at the American west coast beneath us. Ring scans show that the telepathic portions of his brain are highly active, so I imagine that he's focusing on that sense. "Do you..? Want a different name?"

"I am Subjekt Seventeen."

"Yes, I know that's what the people who experimented on you called you, but… That's not the sort of thing that members of your species are usually called."

"I am what I have been made. I see no point in pretending otherwise. Whatever else I could have been was cut away and this scar is all that is left."

I find myself looking at Hippolyta for ideas, because I've never dealt with someone with as much justification to hate everything as he has. Lynne had moments where her caretakers treated her decently and the succupires were neglected but no one was going out of their way to hurt them. Even father granted Lowlies moments of respite so that he could more thoroughly crush them. Subjekt Seventeen has literally no experience of joy, of happiness-.

"No. I saw. People in the butcher-shop."

Wait, what? I didn't feel him pressure my barriers-.

He turns his neck to look at Hippolyta. "Sometimes they used new drugs. Drugs that didn't stop me seeing their minds. Sometimes they thought about other things."

"Seeing such things vicariously is not the same as living it yourself. Have you considered… Putting aside-."

"I will not forgive these monsters. Do not ask."

"Putting it aside, not abandon it. You do not know what it is to live. Try… Anything, rather than-."

"I have listened enough. When do we attack?"

"No time like the present. One moment." Sinestro, blanket radio frequencies andPut me through on the base's intercom, would you?

Done and done, Lantern Grayven.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Grayven, and I'm the superpowered alien about to take control of your base. I'm sure that by now you've all seen the footage from General Zod's attack on Smallville. You know exactly how effective conventional weapons are likely to be on me. I won't resent you testing my resilience one or twice, but I can't guarantee your safety if you don't evacuate promptly. I'll be seeing you shortly."

I look at Subjekt-17 as the soldiers below us try to work out if what they just heard was a joke.

"Remember what I said: retribution is for the Subject we're here to recruit. Scare them off if you like, but don't maim or kill."

"I hear."

And down we go. Hippolyta is looking down with concern, and I suppose that this is her first time seeing an actual military base. I don't know if Diana ever told her about what modern armies are like, but-

Shield.

-it should be interesting. The guns in the guard towers can't elevate enough to hit us but some of the soldiers -or airmen or whatever, I forget what it is Americans call soldiers who aren't part of the army- aim with their assault rifles and give it a college try.

Or given their likely highest level of education, a high school try. No, wait, Air Force, they might actually have college degrees.

Darn, ruined it.

The air ripples as Subjekt-17 uses a-. Ah, he did listen. A relatively weak but nonetheless painful sonic attack. Most of the soldiers work through it, but their fire discipline gets worse. I move the shield so that it's just covering Hippolyta and dive.

I punch through the ground, concrete and rock exploding in all directions! Down,-

CRUNCH.

-down-

CRUNCH.

-and down again through three levels before reaching my destination; the storeroom containing what's left of the silver starship that they partially cannibalised to destabilise Nathaniel Adam's quantum field. Quick check

Yes. Good. The guard who was on the outside bursts in through the door with his weapon raised, but I ignore him while bringing the system online.

"Halt! Down on your knees!"

Even better! I half-turn towards him with a smirk.

"But I'm not your mother last night!"

He raises his gun to his shoulder and aims at my head. "My Mom died two years ago, asshole."

I shrug. "I never said I wasn't a necrophile."

He fires, and I tune him out as I bring the quantum drive online. Check the last used coordinates… Wait, that was Clifford Zmeck? No, no, the one before that-. Actually, shove him in further. Good. Set the retrieval point and pull the lever.

The guard throws a grenade and I transmute eighty percent of the explosive into cotton wool and the outer casing into streamers.

"Hey." I give him a half-glare. "Don't throw explosives-" It detonates weakly in a shower of coloured paper strips. "-around expensive government property."

"Motherfucker!"

He reloads as quickly as he can and empties another clip into my shield.

"As I already said, yes."

Hippolyta winces. "Have you truly performed unclean acts with his mother's remains?"

Ancient Greek only. "No, of course not. I'm just insulting him to rile him up. I have been-"

A… Spot appears next to the silver ship, as it forces an interface between conventional space and the quantum field. To a human it would probably look like a hole. To me, it's like a fold in cloth which is pulled to show a differently coloured piece of cloth that was beneath the fold.

"-been entirely faithful to Luna since we met."

"Oh shit, that thing's-!"

The guard dashes off, hopefully to inform someone important what I'm doing, while-.

While something pierces the fold, though 'pierces' is the wrong word. It's more like…. A twist moves from beneath and becomes foreground and then emerges. It doesn't have defined shape or texture, and I'm not sure that it's really aware-.

The ship reacts, extruding a silver film at the… Thing. The silver film appears to give it an epidermis, giving it into the shape of a man regardless of its previous indefinability.

The silver man-shape staggers as it completes its work, hands going to his head.

"Wha-?"

I smile warmly. "Captain Adam?"

"I-." He straightens up, plain silver face focusing on me. "Who the hell are you? What the hell-?" He raises his arms, taking them in for the first time. "What the hell am I?"

"That's a long story, and it's pretty unpleasant. I'd suggest that you sit down…" I shake my head. "But I don't think that would do anything."
 
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Halt! Down on your knees!"

Even better! I half-turn towards him with a smirk.

"But I'm not your mother last night!"

He raises his gun to his shoulder and aims at my head. "My Mom died two years ago, asshole."

I shrug. "I never said I wasn't a necrophile."

Grayven: taking Alucard quotes, and making them worse.

Not that anyone is surprised. Indigo was also willing to shatter propriety, and Grayven's committed to the Apokoliptan imagery.
 
This chapter now given me the song equivalent is of 'imagery' of that internet is for porn song only the word internet is replaced with necromancy..
Thanks for that I guess.
 
17th November 2017
00:17 GMT -7


Subjekt-17-.

"I've been meaning to ask." He doesn't look around, staring blankly at the American west coast beneath us. Ring scans show that the telepathic portions of his brain are highly active, so I imagine that he's focusing on that sense. "Do you..? Want a different name?"
It might well be the first time he's really been able to use his telepathy without punishment. So it's quite reasonable for him to be stretching his muscles, so to speak. Though the aerial approach seems a bit foolhardy. They'll know you're coming... Which is exactly what you want, isn't it?

"I am Subjekt Seventeen."

"Yes, I know that's what the people who experimented on you called you, but… That's not the sort of thing that members of your species are usually called."
Though I doubt the writers of the comic gave any thought to their names, did they? What with them being Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Story.

"I am what I have been made. I see no point in pretending otherwise. Whatever else I could have been was cut away and this scar is all that is left."

I find myself looking at Hippolyta for ideas, because I've never dealt with someone with as much justification to hate everything as he has. Lynne had moments where her caretakers treated her decently and the succupires were neglected but no one was going out of their way to hurt them. Even father granted Lowlies moments of respite so that he could more thoroughly crush them. Subjekt Seventeen has literally no experience of joy, of happiness-.
After all, He understands that Despair is worthless without the light of Joy to contrast it.

"No. I saw. People in the butcher-shop."

Wait, what? I didn't feel him pressure my barriers-.
...You do realise there's another person here without a mind-fortress, Renegade? And it's not impossible that you might have similar thoughts about his comments

He turns his neck to look at Hippolyta. "Sometimes they used new drugs. Drugs that didn't stop me seeing their minds. Sometimes they thought about other things."

"Seeing such things vicariously is not the same as living it yourself. Have you considered… Putting aside-."
Now there's a kink for you: Second-hand sexual gratification. Voyeurism Plus.

"I will not forgive these monsters. Do not ask."

"Putting it aside, not abandon it. You do not know what it is to live. Try… Anything, rather than-."
He's not going to give up on vengeance, folks. It's all he's known, after all: Pain and Rage.

"I have listened enough. When do we attack?"

"No time like the present. One moment." Sinestro, blanket radio andPut me through on the base's intercom, would you?
Ah, time to sow some fear in the foe? Min-maxing the battle ahead.

Done and done, Lantern Grayven.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Grayven, and I'm the superpowered alien about to take control of your base. I'm sure that by now you've all seen the footage from General Zod's attack on Smallville. You know exactly how effective conventional weapons are likely to be on me. I won't resent you testing my resilience one or twice, but I can't guarantee your safety if you don't evacuate promptly. I'll be seeing you shortly."
And if they had any sense, they'd be leaving all the automatic defences on and have the self-destruct at the ready.

I look at Subjekt-17 as the soldiers below us try to work out if what they just heard was a joke.

"Remember what I said: retribution is for the Subject we're here to recruit. Scare them off if you like, but don't maim or kill."
And of course, them hearing that will just make the fear even stronger. So that they're basting in it... Like a turkey. :p

"I hear."

And down we go. Hippolyta is looking down with concern, and I suppose that this is her first time seeing an actual military base. I don't know if Diana ever told her about what modern armies are like, but-
...I'm pretty sure Diana never had contact with Themyscira after leaving in the DCEU, did she? Still, he wouldn't know that.

Shield.

-it should be interesting. The guns in the guard towers can't elevate enough to hit us but some of the soldiers -or airmen or whatever, I forget what it is Americans call soldiers who aren't part of the army- aim with their assault rifles and give it a college try.
That's one shot... The second will probably be heavier weaponry.

Or given their likely highest level of education, a high school try. No, wait, Air Force, they might actually have college degrees.

Darn, ruined it.
Aw, stepping on your joke. Still, at least you didn't embarrass yourself by saying it out loud.

The air ripples as Subjekt-17 uses a-. Ah, he did listen. A relatively weak but nonetheless painful sonic attack. Most of the soldiers work through it, but their fire discipline gets worse. I move the shield so that it's just covering Hippolyta and dive.

I punch through the ground, concrete and rock exploding in all directions! Down,-
Since she's the squishiest one, with only some basic armour, an aspis shield and her trick bracers for protection. heck, she may not even have the shield, since she was carrying the Mother Box and the reins of her horse...

CRUNCH.

-down-

CRUNCH.
The joy of being tougher than concrete.

-and down again through three levels before reaching my destination; the storeroom containing what's left of the silver starship that they partially cannibalised to destabilise Nathaniel Adam's quantum field. Quick check

Yes. Good. The guard who was on the outside bursts in through the door with his weapon raised, but I ignore him while bringing the system online.
Ah, hoping to nudge the quantum fish into being angry at Earth? Or is there someone else her who's more useful?

"Halt! Down on your knees!"

Even better! I half-turn towards him with a smirk.
Man, perfect feed for...

"But I'm not your mother last night!"

He raises his gun to his shoulder and aims at my head. "My Mom died two years ago, asshole."
...Damn, soldier boy dropping a gold-tier Anti.

I shrug. "I never said I wasn't a necrophile."

He fires, and I tune him out as I bring the quantum drive online. Check the last used coordinates… Wait, that was Clifford Zmeck? No, no, the one before that-. Actually, shove him in further. Good. Set the retrieval point and pull the lever.
Yeah, that guy doesn't deserve the help. And now I see what you're going for. Cue up the 'Pruit Igoe and Prophecies'!

The guard throws a grenade and I transmute eighty percent of the explosive into cotton wool and the outer casing into streamers.

"Hey." I give him a half-glare. "Don't throw explosives-" It detonates weakly in a shower of coloured paper strips. "-around expensive government property."
Especially the giant shiny alien 'spaceship'! You want to create a planet-devouring singularity?

"Motherfucker!"

He reloads as quickly as he can and empties another clip into my shield.
...Points for determination, at least.

"As I already said, yes."

Hippolyta winces. "Have you truly performed unclean acts with his mother's remains?"
Which should make him sound even nastier, as the desecration of corpses was a major taboo in ancient Greece.

Ancient Greek only. "No, of course not. I'm just insulting him to rile him up. I have been-"

A… Spot appears next to the silver ship, as it forces an interface between conventional space and the quantum field. To a human it would probably look like a hole. To me, it's like a fold in cloth which is pulled to show a differently coloured piece of cloth that was beneath the fold.
Which is an apt metaphor for a miniature Negative Space Wedgie.

"-been entirely faithful to Luna since we met."

"Oh shit, that thing's-!"
And he has. :p Even gave up the Japanese Ogre Sex Cults.

The guard dashes off, hopefully to inform someone important what I'm doing, while-.

While something pierces the fold, though 'pierces' is the wrong word. It's more like…. A twist moves from beneath and becomes foreground and then emerges. It doesn't have defined shape or texture, and I'm not sure that it's really aware-.
That comes with basically being fused with a nuclear explosion and stuffed into a time-warp for decades.

The ship reacts, extruding a silver film at the… Thing. The silver film appears to give it an epidermis, giving it into the shape of a man regardless of its previous indefinability.

The silver man-shape staggers as it completes its work, hands going to his head.
And containment shell in place. Welcome back, Captain Adam.

"Wha-?"

I smile warmly. "Captain Adam?"
Minus his signature logo, which was always paint applied to his casing. At least in the versions with said casing.

"I-." He straightens up, plain silver face focusing on me. "Who the hell are you? What the hell-?" He raises his arms, taking them in for the first time. "What the hell am I?"

"That's a long story, and it's pretty unpleasant. I'd suggest that you sit down…" I shake my head. "But I don't think that would do anything."
Given that gravity only applies to him when he thinks about it, that's truer than you think.

An interesting choice. Though Nate here is more of a hero than a villain. But perhaps he'll play the 'reluctant ally' card to make a heel-fact turn and join the League when it forms. I suppose it depends on how he reacts to what he's about to be told. And given the tendencies of 'super-heroes' in this world anyway... A maddened rampage isn't off the cards yet.
 
Zoat might be taking inspiration from Silver Shield and Captain Atom's Extreme Justice storyline.

Silver Shield- The "ship" the dilustel was removed from was not a space ship, it was basically a Quantum Field Whale.

And in Extreme Justice, they revealed that Captain Adam hadn't left the Quantum Field and Captain Atom is the dilustel reproducing by copying Captain Adam.
 

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