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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
- Start date
-
- Tags
- self insert young justice
Siskulous
Know what you're doing yet?
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Heh, gotta say I'm looking forward to the next few days then. Whether or not I'll actually have time to catch up on the story before the middle of next week is questionable though.
Jirachi
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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I mean, there is only so far he can go with making super tech widely available without like actually involving the modern super community.
Still, I wouldn't be that suprised if in this verse Adam Blake's spacetech was still around somewhere, and it's entirely possible that he could use thinking cap tech to do space stuff, so it's entirely possible he left Earth a long long time ago, and just didn't ever come back.
He could also pretty easily have a 'rocks fall you die' moment, though I doubt Zoat will go for that, though he might get conscripted by a supervillain or something like that.
Still, I wouldn't be that suprised if in this verse Adam Blake's spacetech was still around somewhere, and it's entirely possible that he could use thinking cap tech to do space stuff, so it's entirely possible he left Earth a long long time ago, and just didn't ever come back.
He could also pretty easily have a 'rocks fall you die' moment, though I doubt Zoat will go for that, though he might get conscripted by a supervillain or something like that.
nick012000
Gone for Good
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He's totally going to be one of the main guys responsible for Gotham turning into the cyperpunk dystopia it was in Batman Beyond, with flying forklift trucks and laser guns easily available on the street.
Pinklestia
Well worn.
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Yeah, he is not Mad Science Paul.
Still, while someone using common sence in a comic superhero world might be fun to read, it kinda gets boring after a while.
hance1986
A pitiful excuse for a man.
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Might be interesting in a few years to see business magnate Paul at Earth-12 Buckingham Palace knighted by the Queen for services rendered to the United Kingdom if his company manages to propel Britain forward technologically and economically over Europe or the US.
Mr Zoat
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Civilian firearms? Do you think he's a colonial or something?
He's on Tamaran, which the SI is much less involved with than his renegade-aligned counterpart.
Vaermina
Well worn.
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He could gain Victor's service simply by offering him funding and then upholding whatever deal he makes with the guy.
HereforZooat
Getting out there.
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"Mister Wynne" that's actually a fairly clever name for this Paul. Took me a second to get.
DAT_NOOB
Accused of writing in a far away land
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wasn't he physicist?
Zig
Not too sore, are you?
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Didn't Gods and Monsters have Sivanna die before he had the chance to snap?
A little later on Earth 12
Mr Zoat
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Earth 12
21st March 1996
18:11 GMT
The phone rings.
And keeps ringing.
While it's true that I don't really have to worry about the cost, I'm still used to e-mails. Their speed, convenience and ubiquity. As it is I had to phone around just to get this number, and getting anyone there to-.
"Opal City Observatory."
Yes!
"Good afternoon. My name is-" Slight hesitation. "-Peter Wynne. Would it be possible for me to speak with Doctor Theodore Knight?"
"Ah, probably? Hold on, I'll go find out for you."
"Thank you."
"Dad? Some English guy wants to talk to you."
…
That was either Jack Knight or David Knight. And what little I read about David suggested to me that he would make a point of actually going to where his father was before speaking. And then there's the fact that he died early in his career. I.. don't know if that's true here because I have no internet access and there's no reason for anywhere I have ready access to to have detailed records on an American superhero who hasn't been active for decades. The Justice Society didn't exist here, with various iterations of the All-Star Squadron being the nearest equivalent. Which means that quite a lot of what I remember from the comic can't have happened.
There's also no Justice League, no Superman and no Wonder Woman. I've got no idea whether or not Batman exists and while there is a local Green Lantern they don't appear to be spending much time on Earth. No sign of Aquaman or Atlantis generally. Not sure about Flash or Martian Manhunter, but the first wouldn't be that big a deal on a global scale and the latter can shapeshift. And… I don't really see what finding out more about that aspect of things really gets me. The Guardians aren't going to want another orange ring user around the place and I doubt that anyone would pick a fight with Larfleeze for my convenience and win. So… Unless I start to recognise specific events of global significance there's really no point in-.
"Knight here."
"Good afternoon. My name is Peter Wynne, and I'm very glad to have reached you."
"Happy to be of service. What exactly can I do for you?"
"I've recently come into rather a lot of money, and while I was trying to work out what I could productively do with it, I… Remembered reading Arnold Munro's biography, the bit about his time with you in the All-Star Squadron. In particular, his description of your cosmic rod and the way it turned background radiation into… All of the things you could do with it."
"The rod's not for sale."
"Oh, gosh, no, I'm… Not brave enough for something like that. I'm really more interested in adapting the… Cosmic..? Converter..? Component? For civil power generation."
"Oh yeah?"
I can hear his uncertainty.
"I'm.. no expert, but a device the size of a baton which can enable a man to fly must be generating quite a lot of power, to say nothing of the force the force field mode was able to withstand. I don't know if you've given any thought to the idea, but I'd very much like to explore the possibility."
"Just civilian power generation?"
"Ah… Well, I'm not averse to exploring other possibilities as well, but that seemed to be to be the most obvious application we could bring to market quickly. The power distribution network is already there, and most places we'd be setting up are already used to having lots of different generator types feeding into the system."
The British energy market only stopped being a series of regional monopolies six years ago. I never really thought that having different people 'supply' the energy to customers when it all went into the same grid made any sense, but it works to my advantage here.
"And that's it?"
"Doctor Knight, I'm not sure what you're getting at?"
"It's been a while since I read Iron's book. Did he happen to mention what happened to me after the war?"
"You.. spent some time in a psychiatric hospital."
"I helped design, test and build the first atomic bombs. After they dropped, they showed us the pictures. The military guys wanted to congratulate us because we'd ended the war. I looked at all the burned out buildings and imagined… All of the people who died. I'll be straight with you, Mister Wynne: I like what you're saying. I'd like my work to be used for peaceful civilian projects. My son Jack was kvetching at me about that very thing only a little while ago. But I'm worried all the same. I don't want another Nagasaki or Hiroshima on my conscience."
"Doctor Knight, the world has many weapons, big and small. I don't really see the benefit in adding another, slightly better one."
"Money's a good reason, for a lot of people."
"Doctor Knight, I've already got more money than I know what to do with. I could buy an island, stick a villa on it and live the rest of my life there without worrying about money ever again. I don't want to do that. I want to improve the world. I don't want to… See something on the news about some hospital in Africa not being able to power their heart monitors or.. premature baby incubators, because their power supplies are rubbish and they can't get fuel for generators. I don't want to keep hearing about fixable problems when it's in my power to fix them. I want to know I fixed them. This isn't going to be a not for profit thing, but-. Money… Is the tool I intend to use for.. finding solutions. Making those solutions work. For encouraging the next-. Ah, begging your pardon, 'mad scientist'-"
"Heh."
"-to work for me rather than someone who might go with weapons manufacturing. And… You can't take it with you."
"Oh. Ah, are you ill?"
"Life is a terminal disease, Doctor Knight. None of us are getting out alive."
"Hehhahah. That's, ah… That's an interesting way to look at it."
"So while I could buy a yacht that I don't know how to sail, a high performance sports car I'd probably write off the first time I tried to drive it or… I don't know, negotiable female companionship of a sort that I like to think I'm deep enough not to enjoy for too long, I'd rather do something actually worthwhile."
"Okay. So… Say I'm interested. How do you want to work this?"
"We should probably meet up, so you can make sure that I'm on the up and up. I'm happy to fly you and whoever else you want to bring over to England, or I can come to Opal?"
"It would be nice to see England again, but all my equipment is over here."
"Okay, I'll come to you then. Assuming that we get along, we'll probably need to talk to some lawyers. I mean, I genuinely don't want to make weapons, but I completely understand if you want that on paper. And… Depending on where we start first, we're probably going to need to talk to someone in government because this is going to be a very disruptive technology."
"That's not actually something I know much about."
"Me neither, but I know people who do." Vicariously. Uh, what are the requirements for visiting America? Do I need a visa, or do I just flash my passport? Do I need any injections? "I'll telephone you again once I've finalised my travel plans."
"I'll look forward to it. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
I return the handset to its cradle. The handset is connected by a wire. That takes me back.
That phone call went as well as it could have done. And my new life is on track. Metal converted into money, the least mad mad scientist I could get hold of sounds like he's interested and SGN are being very helpful.
My only real worry at this point is Lex Luthor. I know that LexCorp exists but I don't know exactly what areas it has interests in. It could be that they aren't involved in the energy market, in which case all I really have to worry about is how to politely say 'no thank you' to any partnership offers. If they are… Well, it's not like he kills every competitor. Unless I do what Superman.. might do at some point and challenge him in his own manse I doubt he'll resort to extreme measures.
I reach for the Thompson Directory and flick through for 'travel agents'.
Now let's put my Business Studies GCSE to use.
21st March 1996
18:11 GMT
The phone rings.
And keeps ringing.
While it's true that I don't really have to worry about the cost, I'm still used to e-mails. Their speed, convenience and ubiquity. As it is I had to phone around just to get this number, and getting anyone there to-.
"Opal City Observatory."
Yes!
"Good afternoon. My name is-" Slight hesitation. "-Peter Wynne. Would it be possible for me to speak with Doctor Theodore Knight?"
"Ah, probably? Hold on, I'll go find out for you."
"Thank you."
"Dad? Some English guy wants to talk to you."
…
That was either Jack Knight or David Knight. And what little I read about David suggested to me that he would make a point of actually going to where his father was before speaking. And then there's the fact that he died early in his career. I.. don't know if that's true here because I have no internet access and there's no reason for anywhere I have ready access to to have detailed records on an American superhero who hasn't been active for decades. The Justice Society didn't exist here, with various iterations of the All-Star Squadron being the nearest equivalent. Which means that quite a lot of what I remember from the comic can't have happened.
There's also no Justice League, no Superman and no Wonder Woman. I've got no idea whether or not Batman exists and while there is a local Green Lantern they don't appear to be spending much time on Earth. No sign of Aquaman or Atlantis generally. Not sure about Flash or Martian Manhunter, but the first wouldn't be that big a deal on a global scale and the latter can shapeshift. And… I don't really see what finding out more about that aspect of things really gets me. The Guardians aren't going to want another orange ring user around the place and I doubt that anyone would pick a fight with Larfleeze for my convenience and win. So… Unless I start to recognise specific events of global significance there's really no point in-.
"Knight here."
"Good afternoon. My name is Peter Wynne, and I'm very glad to have reached you."
"Happy to be of service. What exactly can I do for you?"
"I've recently come into rather a lot of money, and while I was trying to work out what I could productively do with it, I… Remembered reading Arnold Munro's biography, the bit about his time with you in the All-Star Squadron. In particular, his description of your cosmic rod and the way it turned background radiation into… All of the things you could do with it."
"The rod's not for sale."
"Oh, gosh, no, I'm… Not brave enough for something like that. I'm really more interested in adapting the… Cosmic..? Converter..? Component? For civil power generation."
"Oh yeah?"
I can hear his uncertainty.
"I'm.. no expert, but a device the size of a baton which can enable a man to fly must be generating quite a lot of power, to say nothing of the force the force field mode was able to withstand. I don't know if you've given any thought to the idea, but I'd very much like to explore the possibility."
"Just civilian power generation?"
"Ah… Well, I'm not averse to exploring other possibilities as well, but that seemed to be to be the most obvious application we could bring to market quickly. The power distribution network is already there, and most places we'd be setting up are already used to having lots of different generator types feeding into the system."
The British energy market only stopped being a series of regional monopolies six years ago. I never really thought that having different people 'supply' the energy to customers when it all went into the same grid made any sense, but it works to my advantage here.
"And that's it?"
"Doctor Knight, I'm not sure what you're getting at?"
"It's been a while since I read Iron's book. Did he happen to mention what happened to me after the war?"
"You.. spent some time in a psychiatric hospital."
"I helped design, test and build the first atomic bombs. After they dropped, they showed us the pictures. The military guys wanted to congratulate us because we'd ended the war. I looked at all the burned out buildings and imagined… All of the people who died. I'll be straight with you, Mister Wynne: I like what you're saying. I'd like my work to be used for peaceful civilian projects. My son Jack was kvetching at me about that very thing only a little while ago. But I'm worried all the same. I don't want another Nagasaki or Hiroshima on my conscience."
"Doctor Knight, the world has many weapons, big and small. I don't really see the benefit in adding another, slightly better one."
"Money's a good reason, for a lot of people."
"Doctor Knight, I've already got more money than I know what to do with. I could buy an island, stick a villa on it and live the rest of my life there without worrying about money ever again. I don't want to do that. I want to improve the world. I don't want to… See something on the news about some hospital in Africa not being able to power their heart monitors or.. premature baby incubators, because their power supplies are rubbish and they can't get fuel for generators. I don't want to keep hearing about fixable problems when it's in my power to fix them. I want to know I fixed them. This isn't going to be a not for profit thing, but-. Money… Is the tool I intend to use for.. finding solutions. Making those solutions work. For encouraging the next-. Ah, begging your pardon, 'mad scientist'-"
"Heh."
"-to work for me rather than someone who might go with weapons manufacturing. And… You can't take it with you."
"Oh. Ah, are you ill?"
"Life is a terminal disease, Doctor Knight. None of us are getting out alive."
"Hehhahah. That's, ah… That's an interesting way to look at it."
"So while I could buy a yacht that I don't know how to sail, a high performance sports car I'd probably write off the first time I tried to drive it or… I don't know, negotiable female companionship of a sort that I like to think I'm deep enough not to enjoy for too long, I'd rather do something actually worthwhile."
"Okay. So… Say I'm interested. How do you want to work this?"
"We should probably meet up, so you can make sure that I'm on the up and up. I'm happy to fly you and whoever else you want to bring over to England, or I can come to Opal?"
"It would be nice to see England again, but all my equipment is over here."
"Okay, I'll come to you then. Assuming that we get along, we'll probably need to talk to some lawyers. I mean, I genuinely don't want to make weapons, but I completely understand if you want that on paper. And… Depending on where we start first, we're probably going to need to talk to someone in government because this is going to be a very disruptive technology."
"That's not actually something I know much about."
"Me neither, but I know people who do." Vicariously. Uh, what are the requirements for visiting America? Do I need a visa, or do I just flash my passport? Do I need any injections? "I'll telephone you again once I've finalised my travel plans."
"I'll look forward to it. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
I return the handset to its cradle. The handset is connected by a wire. That takes me back.
That phone call went as well as it could have done. And my new life is on track. Metal converted into money, the least mad mad scientist I could get hold of sounds like he's interested and SGN are being very helpful.
My only real worry at this point is Lex Luthor. I know that LexCorp exists but I don't know exactly what areas it has interests in. It could be that they aren't involved in the energy market, in which case all I really have to worry about is how to politely say 'no thank you' to any partnership offers. If they are… Well, it's not like he kills every competitor. Unless I do what Superman.. might do at some point and challenge him in his own manse I doubt he'll resort to extreme measures.
I reach for the Thompson Directory and flick through for 'travel agents'.
Now let's put my Business Studies GCSE to use.
Last edited:
RichardWhereat
Aia airëa Fëanáro.
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May
Neat, ouu, if he's early enough on he could hire Quinzel on to tell him when he's being stupid.
Ganurath
Apologizes For Nothing
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Well that- Wait. Lemme- Huh.
You got the punctuation on the last sentence here, but not in the Story Only Thread.
Vaermina
Well worn.
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Can this be the new main story? I really really like this version of Paul.
Chojin Patriarch
Veteran Lurker
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It's like living in medieval times. When you wanted to communicate, you actually had to talk to them.
"Dad? Some English guy wants to talk to you."
So, he got mind-whammied on the DCAU here. Par for the course.
Almost as powerful as a power ring, really.
...which can enable a man to fly may be generating...
Who would? Besides a psychopath like the Joker.
And this is why we read this story. Rational uplift, by hook or by crook.
Too true. Unless you have a power ring.
That's putting it mildly.
Like a caveman.
Hmm... Could be a worry. I doubt Lex could get any progress by flashing money at someone richer than he is.
Looking good so far. I wonder how much part he'll play in the JL's support structure...
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Handlewithcare
Versed in the lewd.
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Help me out: does an Orange Ring recharge from ambient greed? If so, this Paul could probably staff of his death for a very long time.
Also, if he proves himself to be a good guy for long enough he might be able to persuade the Guardians to gift him a Lantern.
Also, if he proves himself to be a good guy for long enough he might be able to persuade the Guardians to gift him a Lantern.
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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Ganurath
Apologizes For Nothing
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These Guardians still use Manhunters.
EvenMaster80
Shredder of Opposition -x-
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It would be an interesting story on its own. I've only seen a business uplift SI a couple times before this, but it honestly doesn't really fit with the whole ring aspect of With This Ring.
Otherwise, 'Peter' is doing some great stuff, Paragon Paul should be taking notes and upping his uplifting game.
DrThoth
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Every Paul should still be thanatophobic, I believe, so it would make sense this version would try to find a way to prolong his lifespan ethically. I can't think of anything in the DCAU that fits the description off the top of my head; possibly Lazarus Pits, but that would require technical expertise (if Nyssa is around, that could help).
The Philosopher's stone might do the trick- I was always annoyed that J'onn destroyed it stating the price was too high, when they'd shown the Hugh Hefner stand-in profiting quite well from it with no explicit drawbacks (and J'onn was probably referring more to Morgaine's help being the high price rather than using the Stone, but again the Hefner character seemed to use it without any mystic knowledge or assistance that the audience saw).
Unfortunately Hades is kind of an asshole in this setting, though he's marginally better in JLU compared to Justice League (my headcanon was always that the Abrahamic Hell was expanding into other nether-realms and annexing them, so Hades-both person and place-had been demonically corrupted). The Greek afterlife here might not be the best one to connect to, at least compared to Earth-16Z.
Odin and Germanic paganism might be a better prospect; he and Paul both value knowledge, though Paul prefers to spread it while Odin is self-interested in an unenlightened way. Tora/Ice and the invulnerable Viking prince are the only indications of Norse magic in the setting I remember, and he can probably track the former down fairly easily.
Dark Heart nano-tech could possibly help, as long as he uses the ring to alter its programming first.
Paul is probably conserving ring charge but he may decide to use it once every few years to maintain his youth (I'm assuming he did instinctively alter his appearance in space like Paragon and Renegade, since that should have been consistent across universes, though the SGN banker doesn't comment on his apparent youth so maybe he didn't). It'll be a few years till things really kick off with Justice League Unlimited after all.
The Philosopher's stone might do the trick- I was always annoyed that J'onn destroyed it stating the price was too high, when they'd shown the Hugh Hefner stand-in profiting quite well from it with no explicit drawbacks (and J'onn was probably referring more to Morgaine's help being the high price rather than using the Stone, but again the Hefner character seemed to use it without any mystic knowledge or assistance that the audience saw).
Unfortunately Hades is kind of an asshole in this setting, though he's marginally better in JLU compared to Justice League (my headcanon was always that the Abrahamic Hell was expanding into other nether-realms and annexing them, so Hades-both person and place-had been demonically corrupted). The Greek afterlife here might not be the best one to connect to, at least compared to Earth-16Z.
Odin and Germanic paganism might be a better prospect; he and Paul both value knowledge, though Paul prefers to spread it while Odin is self-interested in an unenlightened way. Tora/Ice and the invulnerable Viking prince are the only indications of Norse magic in the setting I remember, and he can probably track the former down fairly easily.
Dark Heart nano-tech could possibly help, as long as he uses the ring to alter its programming first.
Paul is probably conserving ring charge but he may decide to use it once every few years to maintain his youth (I'm assuming he did instinctively alter his appearance in space like Paragon and Renegade, since that should have been consistent across universes, though the SGN banker doesn't comment on his apparent youth so maybe he didn't). It'll be a few years till things really kick off with Justice League Unlimited after all.
Ngamer11
Experienced.
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Just read an old post from Mr Zoat which described Paul 12 as a billionaire industrialist. I wonder if the majority of his contributions are centered more in Europe, hence the lack of change in JL 12, which is mostly seen in America before their expansion.
BR549
This is filth! FILTH!!
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I'm pretty sure the only canon ring to charge off ambiant emotion is the yellow one, which apparently doesn't have a canonical link to the fact they originated in the antimatter universe (but it should).
Buggy123
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Wait, I just realized, this Paul doesn't have a lantern (and isn't interested in superhero work), but is generally working towards the same goals as Earth-16 Paul and has resources that Paul-16 does not.
If the League's recent activities become public knowledge, then Paul-12 could get in touch with Paul-16, and make a deal along the lines of "I'll give you the latest version of Doctor Knight's clean-energy machine and some other uplift tech, if you let me stop by every few months and top off my ring from your lantern."
The main issue being, he has to figure out how to get there. Paul-16 doesn't have reality-shifting tech, and Paul-12 might not either.
If the League's recent activities become public knowledge, then Paul-12 could get in touch with Paul-16, and make a deal along the lines of "I'll give you the latest version of Doctor Knight's clean-energy machine and some other uplift tech, if you let me stop by every few months and top off my ring from your lantern."
The main issue being, he has to figure out how to get there. Paul-16 doesn't have reality-shifting tech, and Paul-12 might not either.