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

EgyptianDio · Monday at 4:27 PM

Kind of off topic but does anyone remember which chapters were the ones with Invincible?

Doccer · Monday at 5:24 PM

Chojin Patriarch said:
empowered humans, whatever their origins. Marvels, perhaps.

Oooooh nice!

Chojin Patriarch said:
the early Marvel era tended to rely on... Cyke's eyebeams aren't purely light, after all, so why would a piece of crystal impair the imparted force? Especially something that would probably be artificial in nature, as Quartz doesn't really come in Ruby. And this is why you don't think too hard about superhero stuff...

Or how the professor figured out that specific material is the sole thing that can do it.
I vaguely recall see a price tag stuck to his glasses at one point and that made me believe for a while that any shades will work.

Chojin Patriarch said:
they really want to go full mad-science experiment and see if blood transfusions from empowered people gives the non-empowered their abilities. I wouldn't put it past some nutter to do that.

That's basically how Deadpool got his powers I recall.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Phoenix Saga due to the M'kraan thing, eh?) She's

???

Mr Zoat said:
An x-gene mutant

Better

Darko · Monday at 5:50 PM

EgyptianDio said:
Kind of off topic but does anyone remember which chapters were the ones with Invincible?

Mr Zoat said:
4th April 2024

Sordid Snake · Monday at 7:05 PM

Chojin Patriarch said:
...Or they really want to go full mad-science experiment and see if blood transfusions from empowered people gives the non-empowered their abilities. I wouldn't put it past some nutter to do that.

She-Hulk's been there and got the, hopefully wet, t-shirt.

Sockmonkey · Monday at 8:43 PM

My personal headcannon is that people who got powers instead of dying from accidents and other science shenanigans are ones with a partial X-gene, or something analogous to it, that allowed them to be altered instead of exploding.

Mr Zoat · Monday at 10:15 PM

Sockmonkey said:
My personal headcannon is that people who got powers instead of dying from accidents and other science shenanigans are ones with a partial X-gene, or something analogous to it, that allowed them to be altered instead of exploding.

According to the Bulleteer parts of Seven Soldiers, it's more that most of them die but you hear more about the ones who live. Survivor bias, or something.

Megaolix · Tuesday at 3:03 AM

john doe 777 said:
Honestly this is probably the worst way to go about it. A better way would be to either establish friends of humanity as a terrorist group or go after them for "inciting violence" which is 100% illegal and not free speech like Reddit is currently learning.

I will ask you to not go and refer to RL on such. Or else.

Sockmonkey · Tuesday at 3:28 AM

Mr Zoat said:
According to the Bulleteer parts of Seven Soldiers, it's more that most of them die but you hear more about the ones who live. Survivor bias, or something.

The pseudo-x-gene would be the reason survivors exist at all.

Bud-E · Tuesday at 3:54 AM

Since Paul is getting close to Spider-Man does that mean he'll summon him for secret wars?

Stsword · Tuesday at 3:57 AM

Sockmonkey said:
The pseudo-x-gene would be the reason survivors exist at all.

Marvel has played with metaorigins a few times that I am aware of.

A Thunderbolts storyline had wellsprings of power, Buffy style Hellmouth type deals where the walls between realities is hella thin. They were supposed to be the source of superpowers.

A Future Foundation storyline had the kids realize that Pym particles actually come in three flavors- Size (hence Antman and Giant Man style transformations), Strength, and Mass (such as Vision's intangibility and Wonder Man's transformation into energy). Hulk gaining mass out of nowhere? Pym particles. Steve Roger's new muscles from the super-soldier serum? Pym particles. Silver Surfer's power cosmic? Pym Particles. Fantastic Four's powers? Pym particles. This could be linked to the Wellsprings of Power since Pym Particles work by extradimensional exchanges.

An X-Men storyline had the retcon that Earth's superhumans were the result of a Celestial barfing itself to death on Earth. So the Celestials made the Deviants to act as a living filtration system. So theoretically all the strains of superhuman transformation would have an origin with that.

And currently, something I find stupid but whatever, X-Men is going with the idea that there isn't any such thing as mutants and normal humans, but active mutants and latent mutants.

Mr Zoat · Tuesday at 6:09 AM

7th May 2013
12:44 GMT -2

"Are you sure that you're alright?"

We're… Very deep here. I'm not sure if this is an ocean trench or something the Atlanteans dug out, but it extends far below the normal seabed.

"With theh spell I em using, if I was not 'alright', you would know because of theh 'squish'."

"But you're not depending on just one spell, right? There's a good chance that any defensive spell here was made by an Atlantean-."

"I fear thet given your origin it would be in poor taste to ask if you ever taught your grandmother how to suck on eggs. Perhaps I should ask instead if you are relying on your ring?"

"No, my armour's rated for this depth, and I've got an emergency teleport system set up in Bir Tawil. I'm not trying to insult your knowledge or power, I'm just aware that you're not completely used to operating as a superhero. Or working with other people a lot. In a life as long as yours, a year really isn't all that long."

I pick my way around what was either a magma vent or a lump of rock designed to look like one.

"Most years are not so long. This year, and the one before it?" In the augmented vision my ring provides, I see him smile. "Even the days are memorable. I could tell you more about them then I could the last century."

"Really? I'd have thought that decolonisation would have left an impression."

"Not really."

"Two world wars?"

"Most of theh fighting was in Europe, or theh very north of Africa. Apart from eh few foolish attempts to gather objects of magic power, which I stopped."

"Foolish because Wolf Krieger wasn't on your level?"

"How many just objects do you think thet there are?"

"I don't know. A few? Adom's necklace and Isis's necklace would have been available back then, and Isis's necklace didn't have any protections other than big piles of rock."

"And eh lack of legends concerning its location."

"Nabu's helmet? I found their old burial chambers."

"Nabu could guard himself."

"No he couldn't."

"Theh people fighting had eh handful of wizards of note, and those were focused on fighting one another. Theh explorers were minor magicians or grave robbers. If they did not heff a clue, they would not find anything."

"Have you ever considered writing-?"

Dr. Balewa stops, studying a rock mound in front of us.

"I belief… We are here."

"Here being..?"

He raises his right hand, and… An illusion peels away from the rock, showing a… Giant glowing rune. I think it's a signature rune, a marker point for binding other spells, rather than one that does something itself. That doesn't really explain why it's here.

"Any ideas?"

"Mm."

Probing it, right. I do a slightly more detailed scan of our surroundings, but it's just rocks and deep sea creatures.

"Ah."

I roll my eyes.

"Yes, I belief thet I understand. It is eh part of the great spell which brought Poseidonis to theh surface."

"How did that work? I mean, I was never really clear how an entire continent 'sunk', but I'm even less sure how it went back up again. The amount of magma that would be required to support it must be huge."

"I was not there, though I deed feel it. I… Suspect that the bedrock it rested upon was moved to another realm. And theh land above could not float."

"But Atlantis was the biggest authority on magic in the world. I mean, wasn't it?"

"In terms of knowledge, certainly. In terms of power, their unwillingness to make pacts with spirits limited them in some ways. Eh trade they willingly made, but not one without drawbecks."

"Do you know who did it?"

"No. But… I know that thes was not made during the last six months. Thes is much older."

"If you had to guess..?"

"It is impossible to say with accuracy. Pe'haps five thousand years?"

"That's Queen Gamemnae's work, then."

"Thet would make sense. She is supposed to have raised theh city too."

"Did you ever meet her? You were around-."

"No. They seldom came so far south as I lived. And you know thet I do not care for demigods."

"So… Okay. Did someone use clay from here for the reanimations?" Rock scans suggest 'no', but, magic. "Were they using this magic to disguise their own? Is it some.. spell of hers?"

"I do not know." He waves his hands to reset the disguise, then turns back to me. "Do you know where we could go thet would heff records of her work?"

"Atlantis remembers her as a menace and a tyrant. I don't know if they have any written records and I doubt that they'll be super-eager to share. That leaves Mister Hall, Teth Adom and Rama Khan."

"And I suppose that only Rama Khan would have objects which she touched with her magic."

"Maybe. It's been five thousand years. He was a young man back then. I'm not sure how much of it he remembers but he might have some knickknacks lying around."

"We should speak with him first, then. But… First…"

He looks around for a moment, and the ground… Shimmers.

"Just in case someone comes back here."

"Right. India, then."

john doe 777 · Tuesday at 6:20 AM

Megaolix said:
I will ask you to not go and refer to RL on such. Or else.

Not even to make fun of the biggest cesspool on the internet?
Aww fine

Whenever Possible · Tuesday at 6:51 AM

Mr Zoat said:
In terms of knowledge, certainly. In terms of power, their unwillingness to make pacts with spirits limited them in some ways.

Little wonder Paul prefers dealing with Atlantis for magical support, in addition to being able to establish consistent contact with them, they have a similar attitude towards jumped up elementals.

Lord Ernest · Tuesday at 6:52 AM

I'm really liking this side of Dr. Mist and this investigation they're embarking on.

If the hidden rune is part of the network used to raise Atlantis and also linked to the spells animating and empowering the clay zombies, it all comes back to Ahri'ahn and the magical system or network he developed, no? For some reason I'm suspecting an Omelas situation or something similar on that system.

Also, with this new detail uncovered could it be someone using Queen Gamemnae's work or is there an actual possibility that she's around? I'm assuming she died but I don't recall if it was said how or if her nature or circumstances allow for her return. Oh, and did Balewa call her a demigod due to her power and association (that ancient league of champion) or does she actually have a divine parent?

Ardy · Tuesday at 7:01 AM

It's times like these I'd like to point out that Dr. Mist spoke English without any accent at all when we first met him, his accent only slipping out when stressed or upset.

Meaning he's been really stressed ever since.

Chojin Patriarch · Tuesday at 7:11 AM

Mr Zoat said:
7th May 2013
12:44 GMT -2

"Are you sure that you're alright?"

We're… Very deep here. I'm not sure if this is an ocean trench or something the Atlanteans dug out, but it extends far below the normal seabed.

You wouldn't want to be thalassophobic in this line of work, given the places you might have to go. And there are some deep, deep places in the ocean, too. Honestly, the Atlantic is fairly tame in that respect.

"With theh spell I em using, if I was not 'alright', you would know because of theh 'squish'."

"But you're not depending on just one spell, right? There's a good chance that any defensive spell here was made by an Atlantean-."

OL, remember who you're talking to. Your existence is a blip compared to his. He is not a newbie, even at this sort of thing.

"I fear thet given your origin it would be in poor taste to ask if you ever taught your grandmother how to suck on eggs. Perhaps I should ask instead if you are relying on your ring?"

"No, my armour's rated for this depth, and I've got an emergency teleport system set up in Bir Tawil. I'm not trying to insult your knowledge or power, I'm just aware that you're not completely used to operating as a superhero. Or working with other people a lot. In a life as long as yours, a year really isn't all that long."

And you've been one for less than four. Trust that he knows what he's doing.

I pick my way around what was either a magma vent or a lump of rock designed to look like one.

"Most years are not so long. This year, and the one before it?" In the augmented vision my ring provides, I see him smile. "Even the days are memorable. I could tell you more about them then I could the last century."

I imagine most of his memory blurs into a streak of dull moments occasionally broken up by brief excitements. Though he probably has to think a bit to remember anything more than a century or so, given the limitations of the human brain.

"Really? I'd have thought that decolonisation would have left an impression."

"Not really."

Rulers come, rulers go, the people continue on much the same, whatever language they are taught to speak or what god they are told to pray to...

"Two world wars?"

"Most of theh fighting was in Europe, or theh very north of Africa. Apart from eh few foolish attempts to gather objects of magic power, which I stopped."

He's not wrong.

"Foolish because Wolf Krieger wasn't on your level?"

"How many just objects do you think thet there are?"

I'm guessing not that many. The trick would be interpreting legend and myth into actual historical record and locations.

"I don't know. A few? Adom's necklace and Isis's necklace would have been available back then, and Isis's necklace didn't have any protections other than big piles of rock."

"And eh lack of legends concerning its location."

True, he knew about it mostly because of his metaknowledge.

"Nabu's helmet? I found their old burial chambers."

"Nabu could guard himself."

"No he couldn't."

Don't be petty, OL. It ill suits you.

"Theh people fighting had eh handful of wizards of note, and those were focused on fighting one another. Theh explorers were minor magicians or grave robbers. If they did not heff a clue, they would not find anything."

"Have you ever considered writing-?"

If he started writing memoirs, it'd probably take more volumes than an encyclopedia...

Dr. Balewa stops, studying a rock mound in front of us.

"I belief… We are here."

The joy of working underwater: Unless you have very exotic senses, everything looks the same...

"Here being..?"

He raises his right hand, and… An illusion peels away from the rock, showing a… Giant glowing rune. I think it's a signature rune, a marker point for binding other spells, rather than one that does something itself. That doesn't really explain why it's here.

So at some point, a wizard wrote some graffiti. Important graffiti, given the concealment. So what's it do, then?

"Any ideas?"

"Mm."

Probing it, right. I do a slightly more detailed scan of our surroundings, but it's just rocks and deep sea creatures.

And yes, there are living things all the way down that deep. Terrifying things that are incredibly fragile by comparison... Unless you count the Trench.

"Ah."

I roll my eyes.

"Yes, I belief thet I understand. It is eh part of the great spell which brought Poseidonis to theh surface."

Presumably part of a boundary marker they would have used to set the areas that could be raised or sunk.

"How did that work? I mean, I was never really clear how an entire continent 'sunk', but I'm even less sure how it went back up again. The amount of magma that would be required to support it must be huge."

"I was not there, though I deed feel it. I… Suspect that the bedrock it rested upon was moved to another realm. And theh land above could not float."

...That's such a prosaic method. And it would be fairly cataclysmic an upheaval, since landmasses that large aren't meant to be suspended for any length of time. They're lucky the cities didn't fold or snap apart as they sank... I hope they didn't.

"But Atlantis was the biggest authority on magic in the world. I mean, wasn't it?"

"In terms of knowledge, certainly. In terms of power, their unwillingness to make pacts with spirits limited them in some ways. Eh trade they willingly made, but not one without drawbecks."

The whole 'magic has a price' thing again.

"Do you know who did it?"

"No. But… I know that thes was not made during the last six months. Thes is much older."

So it dates back to the original Sinking.

"If you had to guess..?"

"It is impossible to say with accuracy. Pe'haps five thousand years?"

Contemporaneaous with things like the Bronze Age. An unimaginable span of time for many.

"That's Queen Gamemnae's work, then."

"Thet would make sense. She is supposed to have raised theh city too."

So that much is canon here. No time-displaced future atlantean population being made slaves to work on supports, though.

"Did you ever meet her? You were around-."

"No. They seldom came so far south as I lived. And you know thet I do not care for demigods."

Was she a demigod in truth, though, or just that powerful that most civilians would have thought of her as one. Is there even a difference at that level of power...

"So… Okay. Did someone use clay from here for the reanimations?" Rock scans suggest 'no', but, magic. "Were they using this magic to disguise their own? Is it some.. spell of hers?"

"I do not know." He waves his hands to reset the disguise, then turns back to me. "Do you know where we could go thet would heff records of her work?"

Since he just said he didn't know much about what happened here. People like to think immortals could revolutionise the study of history, but really, unless they were habitual nomads, most would only know the local history of their home region at any given time.

"Atlantis remembers her as a menace and a tyrant. I don't know if they have any written records and I doubt that they'll be super-eager to share. That leaves Mister Hall, Teth Adom and Rama Khan."

"And I suppose that only Rama Khan would have objects which she touched with her magic."

Those who knew her in life, so to speak. Two by way of serial reincarnation, and one through personal experience.

"Maybe. It's been five thousand years. He was a young man back then. I'm not sure how much of it he remembers but he might have some knickknacks lying around."

"We should speak with him first, then. But… First…"

Also, doesn't he do the overlapping serial reincarnation thing, passing the knowledge all the Khans who came before on to the successor they train? How easy would it be for the current Rama Khan to remember that far back?

He looks around for a moment, and the ground… Shimmers.

"Just in case someone comes back here."

"Right. India, then."

Covering his tracks with the mystical equivalent of brushing the ground with leaves. And perhaps leaving a hidden scrying spell set to trigger if someone else stops by, I wonder?

And the plot grows more and more tangled. Another hint towards Gamemnae, but the rune is so ancient that trying to unravel its history is as tricky as modern archaeology. At least we may see what's been happening in Jarhanpur. I expect it took much the same tack as Atlantis did during the Anti-Life, so it may well be in great shape... Or the Justifiers targetted it like they did other realms of Earth.

Ilphros · Tuesday at 7:12 AM

I am amused that Doctor Balewa was quite willing to discuss the experience of immortality - and of just how this past year rates - once Paul clarified that he is using his ring but even still has several backups. Probably feels a bit less amusingly disrespectful in the context of 'Paul thinks his ring is great, knows how to use it appropriately for this, and he still has more than one quite serious backup.'

Darko · Tuesday at 7:24 AM

Mr Zoat said:
Nabu could guard himself."

"No he couldn't."

I mean the first person that tried to abduct him was a Lord of Chaos.

And you had months to study him and how he works. And you had access to high-end magical resources.

The Nazis didn't have those.

I'm reminded of a DBZ/YJ where Godfrey puts on the Helmet and goes on a brief power trip aboyr his he's now all powerful.

Then Nabu takes over, does a brief review of Godfrey, finds him unworthy and lobotomizes him.

Mr Zoat said:
But Atlantis was the biggest authority on magic in the world. I mean, wasn't it?"

Yes, but that doesn't mean that they knew everything.

Mr Zoat said:
"In terms of knowledge, certainly. In terms of power, their unwillingness to make pacts with spirits limited them in some ways. Eh trade they willingly made, but not one without drawbecks

Like even if they didn't ask for raw power, they could have asked for knowledge.

Darko · Tuesday at 7:28 AM

Chojin Patriarch said:
I'm guessing not that many. The trick would be interpreting legend and myth into actual historical record and locations

And that's assuming the artifact still works.

I'm reminded of a Ben 10 episode where the villain got his hands on a powerful sword that would let him conquer the world, only for the sword to turn to dust.

Yeah, it's a powerful weapon, but it still required maintenance.

Coltsguy · Tuesday at 9:28 AM

Mr Zoat said:
"Right. India, then."

The road trip continues!

Neruz · Tuesday at 10:09 AM

Coltsguy said:
The road trip continues!

The ride never ends.

Mr Zoat · Tuesday at 11:38 AM

Neruz said:
The ride never ends.

[Looks at what he wrote yesterday]

Eh...

Mr Zoat · 2025-02-19T06:08:31+0000

7th May 2013
13:46 GMT -1

Jamie shakes his head. "So how rich is he, d'you reckon?"

Stevie snorts. "Rich enough."

"No, no, like… Seriously."

Richie frowns. "What, you think he can't pay us? Not very heroic?"

"No, I mean… Okay, it's not a massive amount of money-."

"It's not bad." Stevie shrugs. "Not for a few days work. More'n we made robbing places."

"Yeah, I know that. It's…" He knows that he's struggling to put it into words. A 'C' at G.C.S.E. means that you can read and write, not wax lyrical about matters of social philosophy. "He just agreed to pay it, right?"

Richie clearly isn't following. "You're the one who talked to him."

"Okay, yeah, he did. Enough I'd agree, but not enough to make me suspicious."

"He didn't know about the clay zombie things either. And all we did was sit there with the martian starfish and the hot fishgirl."

Stevie looks incredulous. "'Hot'?"

"You know what I mean. I'd do her."

"She probably spawns, weirdo."

"But if we can return to the point…" Jamie glares at the other two, particularly given that they're on the topic that made him decide to stay above the water. He might not be much of a scholar, but he can look up 'do sharks have penis' on a search engine. Might not be a problem if they turned into dolphinfolk or something… Robbie definitely kept his penis when he turned into a seal. "He didn't actually ask us any of the stuff he wanted us to find out."

Stevie isn't following. "Yeah?"

"So he's just paying us, and it's so little money to him that he doesn't care if we actually do the job or not."

Richie stops swimming. "So we can just go home?"

Jamie shakes his head, reaching out to grab Richie's dorsal fin as he passes and giving it a tug to get him moving again. "No, he's gunna remember eventually-. Or one of his friends will. Besides, I'd feel like a total prat if we turned around now. The point is, he didn't care."

"Right." / "Right?"

"So how rich is he?"

Stevie makes a show of giving it some thought. "One of them… Playboy millionaires with a secret identity?"

Jamie snorts. "Everyone knows his name."

"But what if he's got a different name?"

That-. Jamie blinks. "He can do that?"

Stevie shrugs. "If he's got a secret secret identity, why not? Not like Superman flies around telling everyone his name's 'Martin' or whatever. Or.. he.. would, if it wasn't Martin?"

Jamie could feel a headache coming on.

"The reason I'm wondering is, I'd rather do this for a living than be a binman. You two?"

Richie winces. "Dunno. This looks like something that could blow up in our faces, y'know?"

"And how is this-" Jamie angles his swim a little more towards the ocean floor as they approach an undersea cliff. "-going to blow up in.. our…"

Huh.

Stevie comes up along side him. "Our faces? We could find oooooooh."

Richie takes in the scene without speaking. Then he tries swimming backwards, then remembers that he can't, then he settles for quietly crawling backwards. Stevie and Jamie share a glance, then follow him.

"Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck."

The three take a moment, and then exchange looks, silently promising to leave this part out of their reports.

That was a lot of zombies.

Richie breathes in slowly. "So-."

The other two glare at him.

"So there's all wizards, right."

The other two try to peel pack the panic obscuring their memories.

Jamie… Yes. He saw them all working on a glowing… Thing? It wasn't one of the… Three? Runes that he actually knew, but they were all pretty intent…

"Yeah. So now we know where the bodies all went."

Stevie frowns. "So why didn't the priests spot them? Isn't that, like, their one job? 'Make sure the corpses don't walk away'."

Jamie shrugs. "Guess after a thousand years of them not walking away, they just thought it wasn't gunna happen."

Richie frowns. "Did they look..? Like, fresh to you?"

Jamie… Can't really see it. But… "No. But they smell a bit… You know."

They both nod. They did know. Turning into sharkmen changed a lot of things, including the sort of thing they instinctively thought of as being food. Rotting meat? No problem. But it smell/tasted different to fresh meat. And then it got older, and…

The clay zombies didn't smell old. Not completely fresh, but freshish. Jamie didn't know exactly how long that meant, especially not under water. But… Atlantis had magicians for ages. If they turned them all into clay zombies, they'd have…

Uh…

Way more than that, anyway.

So, freshish corpses, mixed with clay, swimming around and doing magic.

His pride -the same pride that got him repeatedly turned into a sharkman and sent to a young offender's institution for eight months- makes him… Hesitates to flee. Retreat. The shark in him smells something not unlike food, and he knows that the Sha'ark got… Something out of eating that telepath. But that's a hoard of magical zombies, plus whoever's controlling them.

Time to leave.

"Alright, I think we've earned our money, hey?" The other two give him an awkward nod. "Let's get back to Nanauve and tell the king. This is…"

Richie and Stevie nod. "Yeah." / "Yeah."

They opt to crawl away a little further, even thought there's no sign that the zombies noticed them. Then they hug the sea floor in an attempt to make themselves harder to spot.

Not a terrible idea in most situations. But as it turned out? Completely useless here.

Ngamer11 · 2025-02-19T06:12:52+0000

Wasn't expecting to see the POV of the Shark boys. Though their conversation has me wondering if Paul should start up his own operation independent from the League, the Team, and the OLC.

Chojin Patriarch · 2025-02-19T07:12:19+0000

Mr Zoat said:
7th May 2013
13:46 GMT -1

Jamie shakes his head. "So how rich is he, d'you reckon?"

Stevie snorts. "Rich enough."

OL? Try 'richest man on Earth' if he felt like it. Only reason he hasn't is a reluctance to crash the market for exotic materials, and making people dependant on him for it. I wouldn't try gouging him for more pay, though. You boys are already getting the equivalent of thousands of pounds.

"No, no, like… Seriously."

Richie frowns. "What, you think he can't pay us? Not very heroic?"

Be careful what you wish for. You might end up with more money than you know what to do with.

"No, I mean… Okay, it's not a massive amount of money-."

"It's not bad." Stevie shrugs. "Not for a few days work. More'n we made robbing places."

And the work isn't overly dangerous, so far. Other than tussling with a shark or two.

"Yeah, I know that. It's…" He knows that he's struggling to put it into words. A 'C' at G.C.S.E. means that you can read and write, not wax lyrical about matters of social philosophy. "He just agreed to pay it, right?"

Richie clearly isn't following. "You're the one who talked to him."

I feel that. I was not great at English in High School.

"Okay, yeah, he did. Enough I'd agree, but not enough to make me suspicious."

"He didn't know about the clay zombie things either. And all we did was sit there with the martian starfish and the hot fishgirl."

Stevie looks incredulous. "'Hot'?"

Hey, don't underestimate the appeal of a classic mermaid.

"You know what I mean. I'd do her."

"She probably spawns, weirdo."

Hey, don't make assumptions. she could have dolphin anatomy.

"But if we can return to the point…" Jamie glares at the other two, particularly given that they're on the topic that made him decide to stay above the water. He might not be much of a scholar, but he can look up 'do sharks have penis' on a search engine. Might not be a problem if they turned into dolphinfolk or something… Robbie definitely kept his penis when he turned into a seal. "He didn't actually ask us any of the stuff he wanted us to find out."

Yeah, shark anatomy has some odd elements that make them such good predators... But a mammalian form is probably much nicer.

Stevie isn't following. "Yeah?"

"So he's just paying us, and it's so little money to him that he doesn't care if we actually do the job or not."

That's no reason to skive off, you dummy.

Richie stops swimming. "So we can just go home?"

Jamie shakes his head, reaching out to grab Richie's dorsal fin as he passes and giving it a tug to get him moving again. "No, he's gunna remember eventually-. Or one of his friends will. Besides, I'd feel like a total prat if we turned around now. The point is, he didn't care."

It's called a work ethic. I suppose their criminal career didn't really prepare them for this stuff...

"Right." / "Right?"

"So how rich is he?"

Probably not on the high school history curriculum, but ever heard of Croesus?? Heck, the French invoke his name as a byword for wealth.

Stevie makes a show of giving it some thought. "One of them… Playboy millionaires with a secret identity?"

Jamie snorts. "Everyone knows his name."

As much as it's possible to know his name, anyway. i doubt the average person on the street would call him 'Paul'. 'The Cake Man', certainly.

"But what if he's got a different name?"

That-. Jamie blinks. "He can do that?"

That's the whole concept of an alias, after all.

Stevie shrugs. "If he's got a secret secret identity, why not? Not like Superman flies around telling everyone his name's 'Martin' or whatever. Or.. he.. would, if it wasn't Martin?"

Jamie could feel a headache coming on.

An amusing example, given Supes probably made his 'Kal-El' name public, but people assume he wouldn't have a secret identity anyway.

"The reason I'm wondering is, I'd rather do this for a living than be a binman. You two?"

Richie winces. "Dunno. This looks like something that could blow up in our faces, y'know?"

Very much so, given the kind of things OL gets into. And your uses as infiltrators are somewhat limited unless you can learn alternate forms.

"And how is this-" Jamie angles his swim a little more towards the ocean floor as they approach an undersea cliff. "-going to blow up in.. our…"

Huh.

Stevie comes up along side him. "Our faces? We could find oooooooh."

...Well, this must be good if they're going that quiet.

Richie takes in the scene without speaking. Then he tries swimming backwards, then remembers that he can't, then he settles for quietly crawling backwards. Stevie and Jamie share a glance, then follow him.

"Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck." / "Fuck."

Careful, don't want to use up all your fucks all at once.

The three take a moment, and then exchange looks, silently promising to leave this part out of their reports.

That was a lot of zombies.

...I kind of think they'd very much like to know about the zombies. Then again, I doubt they want to mention the pants-wetting terror.

Richie breathes in slowly. "So-."

The other two glare at him.

Careful, sound carries really well underwater, remember.

"So there's all wizards, right."

The other two try to peel pack the panic obscuring their memories.

Heh. One of those things the mind just wants to forget existed as soon as possible, eh?

Jamie… Yes. He saw them all working on a glowing… Thing? It wasn't one of the… Three? Runes that he actually knew, but they were all pretty intent…

"Yeah. So now we know where the bodies all went."

Oh, that's not a problem at all, nooo... /s

Stevie frowns. "So why didn't the priests spot them? Isn't that, like, their one job? 'Make sure the corpses don't walk away'."

Jamie shrugs. "Guess after a thousand years of them not walking away, they just thought it wasn't gunna happen."

Or the priests are in on this. Which is quite a bit more worrying.

Richie frowns. "Did they look..? Like, fresh to you?"

Jamie… Can't really see it. But… "No. But they smell a bit… You know."

Making his teeth tingle with hunger? ...You know, since his mouth can't water underwater?

They both nod. They did know. Turning into sharkmen changed a lot of things, including the sort of thing they instinctively thought of as being food. Rotting meat? No problem. But it smell/tasted different to fresh meat. And then it got older, and…

The clay zombies didn't smell old. Not completely fresh, but freshish. Jamie didn't know exactly how long that meant, especially not under water. But… Atlantis had magicians for ages. If they turned them all into clay zombies, they'd have…

I can't imagine that would be pleasant if they changed back before fully digesting. Imagine the bowel distress...

Or please don't.

Uh…

Way more than that, anyway.

So, freshish corpses, mixed with clay, swimming around and doing magic.

More than a little worrying, especially if they've been keeping up with the investigation.

His pride -the same pride that got him repeatedly turned into a sharkman and sent to a young offender's institution for eight months- makes him… Hesitates to flee. Retreat. The shark in him smells something not unlike food, and he knows that the Sha'ark got… Something out of eating that telepath. But that's a hoard of magical zombies, plus whoever's controlling them.

At least he's smart enough to know which instincts are coming from where, and keep a lid on them.

Time to leave.

"Alright, I think we've earned our money, hey?" The other two give him an awkward nod. "Let's get back to Nanauve and tell the king. This is…"

Yes, definitely a good idea. You three are probably not as stealthy as you think...

Richie and Stevie nod. "Yeah." / "Yeah."

They opt to crawl away a little further, even thought there's no sign that the zombies noticed them. Then they hug the sea floor in an attempt to make themselves harder to spot.

Not a terrible idea in most situations. But as it turned out? Completely useless here.

Ah, crap. They've already been spotted.

It figures these guys would blunder into a major threat. And how likely is it that at least some of these things are going to give chase, possibly all the way back to the city? Hopefully the Sharks can deal with whatever trouble might be headed their way. Because I get the feeling Ahri'ahn isn't going to be too quick with any aid given.

Darko · 2025-02-19T07:22:17+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Stevie makes a show of giving it some thought. "One of them… Playboy millionaires with a secret identity

I'm now wondering if there are internet conspiracy theories about Batman being Bruce Wayne.

Though Bruce us behind most of them and includes ridiculous information in order to discredit even legitimate theories.

Mr Zoat said:
Jamie snorts. "Everyone knows his name."

"But what if he's got a different name?"

That-. Jamie blinks. "He can do that

Well he turned into a humanoid manta, so it is possible for him to alter his face.

Rebu · 2025-02-19T07:32:56+0000

Is this the first time we've had third person POV?

Old Knife · 2025-02-19T07:51:03+0000

Jesus...This story has been around since forever.
And its still set 2013.

I can see why timeskips are necessary now.

Mr Zoat · 2025-02-19T08:30:31+0000

Chojin Patriarch said:
Hey, don't make assumptions. she could have dolphin anatomy.

Canonically? No.

An amusing example, given Supes probably made his 'Kal-El' name public, but people assume he wouldn't have a secret identity anyway.

In the original Young Justice comic, it's mentioned that there's an in-universe licensed Superman television series. Impulse was somewhat embarrassed to learn that the real name of the Superman character wasn't Superman's actual name, because he'd been calling real Superman that for months and no one had said anything.

Old Knife said:
Jesus...This story has been around since forever.
And its still set 2013.

I can see why timeskips are necessary now.

And now I feel old.

Thanks.

boo600 · 2025-02-19T08:32:42+0000

I'm happy with the solid content and the lack of timeskips.

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

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