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

Unless the locals are just so different that it doesn't happen with them.

And the locals may still just not know how to do it.
You would basically have to be dealing with an entire planet of silicon life, which we already know it isn't.

To be honest it's barely even chemistry, it's just literal shit breaking down in the normal process that would be required for a planet full of carbon based life to have a working nutrient cycle.
 
You would basically have to be dealing with an entire planet of silicon life, which we already know it isn't.

To be honest it's barely even chemistry, it's just literal shit breaking down in the normal process that would be required for a planet full of carbon based life to have a working nutrient cycle.
It's not like species in comic book universes always make sense.
 
Motivations (part 18) New
12th August 2013
22:19 GMT

"Yes?" He steps aside of some of the other prisoners follow the directions of the robot Jor-El has recalled to lead them towards the exterior shelters. "Do you know me-?" He frowns at me. "Are you a-? An orange Lantern?"

"Yes, yes I-." Scan. Okay, the gallery is cleared out already. "One moment."

I tether him and transition us to the gallery.

"I realise that this is a shocking transition and I promise to answer all of your questions later, but-."

"Something's happening, I understand. What do you need to know?"

"Please confirm: you are Non-Du, and you worked under Jor-El?"

He nods. "Yes."

"You are aware that Krypton was scheduled to explode to due the transmutation of the core?"

"Yes. That's.. happ-?" He bites his lip. "Sorry. Carry on."

"You were in communication with Dru-Zod about Jor-El's discovery?"

"Yes."

"What action had he taken at the point you were sent to the Phantom Zone?"

"He…" He considers for a moment, looking around and then.. staring at my sigil. "He wasn't arresting us. I think he was trying to get Jor-El's findings confirmed."

"That's all?"

"Yes."

The alley. That wasn't him. So what did I-? I did brain chirurgy… Didn't I? Or was that just… I wasn't wearing a mindshield at the time, and I… I haven't… Seen Non since I started. But psychics can create illusions, and not just-. False sensory impressions, it's just usually they don't because it's inefficient. Or did I find Lyla and then… She erased my memory of it?

Damn it. I scan him just in case, but aside from a little… Cut in his arm-.

"How did you end up in the Phantom Zone?"

"I don't know. I was cross-referencing some seismic data, and…" He shakes his head. "The next thing I knew, I was there. I did not even know it was the Phantom Zone to begin with."

"Ring, contact Lantern Jordan."

My ring blinks once, and then his face appears.

"What you got?"

"The Non-Du on Xudar is a fake. The real one was still in the Phantom Zone. You need to locate him as quickly as possible."

He smiles wryly. "I got one better. Looks like Lyla was a dominator asset."



"Kan-Z wasn't an engineer or physicist. He couldn't-. Gods, how long were they-?"

"Who?"

"Kan-Z was the leader of Black Zero. The people who-."

His eyes widen. "Bombed Krypton."

"Kryptonian society was easily advanced enough to build a bomb like that, I didn't think to ask how he got it. The city-states just used conventional nukes…"

"How long ago was that?"

"Pre-Empire. They had to rebuild from almost nothing."

"Why the change in strategy?"

"The Dominion's been around for a while, but it's hardly a total monolith. Individual high-caste dominators come and go. Or maybe they considered slowing down Kryptonian development to be a success, even if the planet wasn't destroyed." I shake my head. "Or maybe I'm just speculating. Have you found the fake Non?"

He shakes his head. "The starports are in lockdown, the prisoners are secure and we've got people out looking."

"Secure how?"

"Security robots. I figure, they've got no brains, so-."

"She was directly observed by both Har-Zod and Jor-El's sensors. I think she's got better illusions than that."

"The telepath's got better illusions than-. Fine, fine. I'll-. Call Miss Marvel back."

"I thought she was just going with Mary-?" Not the point, focus. "Superboy should have a mind ward-."

"He's not back from her homeworld yet. Not everyone's as fast as you. Actually, how come you haven't just appeared already?"

"I wanted to check that Lyla wasn't in the Phantom Zone-. Long story short, all of the prisoners got released and I'm on guard duty."

"What? How did-?" He stares at me. "Have you called in the League?"

I shake my head. "They're not empowered. I'll call in the Karas when you hang up."

"Get your team, too. It'll be good experience."

"My t-?" Oh, he means… The team, not-. "Will do. Is Superman or Karsta Wor-Ul on the Doomsday?"

"No, Ak-Var's in command. Why?"

"Well, Lyla might want to get away, but equally she might be trying to send a message to her handlers. Dominators can go to ground for a long time if it's useful to them to do so, and I haven't checked the entire Sector for them."

He nods. "They might wanna pick up the Doomsday."

"They do want to pick up the Doomsday. The only question is how highly they prioritise it."

"I'll get Carol to pick up Karsta. Send me anything else you find out. Green Lantern out."

His face vanishes.

Okay.

I look at the somewhat lost-looking Non-Du. "I don't suppose that you know how to use the theta wave state, do you?" He shakes his head. "Does the name Lyla mean anything to you?"

"No. Who is she?"

I point to one of the seats. "It's easier if I explain the whole thing. But first I need to talk to some people. Orange Lantern to Aqualad."
 
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The alley. That wasn't him. So what did I-? I did brain chirurgy… Didn't I? Or was that just… I wasn't wearing a mindshield at the time, and I… I haven't… Seen Non since I started. But psychics can create illusions, and not just-. False sensory impressions, it's just usually they don't because it's inefficient. Or did I find Lyla and then… She erased my memory of it?
I'd point out that at that level of fuckery its also possible she just overpowered your mindshield and is making you think its active and working.
 
12th August 2013
22:19 GMT


"Yes?" He steps aside of some of the other prisoners follow the directions of the robot Jor-El has recalled to lead them towards the exterior shelters. "Do you know me-?" He frowns at me. "Are you a-? An orange Lantern?"

"Yes, yes I-." Scan. Okay, the gallery is cleared out already. "One moment."
Oh hell. I can already see where this is going. One of the Nons is a fake and almost certainly Lyla in disguise. The question is which one. And if it's the one running loose, how much damage can they do before they get caught.

I tether him and transition us to the gallery.

"I realise that this is a shocking transition and I promise to answer all of your questions later, but-."
More urgent matters than comforting a confused kryptonian, yes.

"Something's happening, I understand. What do you need to know?"

"Please confirm: you are Non-Du, and you worked under Jor-El?"
At least he's quick on the uptake, and willing to help. I suspect Lyla would be a little more... Combative.

He nods. "Yes."

"You are aware that Krypton was scheduled to explode to due the transmutation of the core?"

"Yes. That's.. happ-?" He bites his lip. "Sorry. Carry on."
Yes, yes, entire world gone, everyone you knew is dead. But on more time-critical matters...

"You were in communication with Dru-Zod about Jor-El's discovery?"

"Yes."

"What action had he taken at the point you were sent to the Phantom Zone?"
More important, was he sent as a prisoner, or in a more spontaneously informal fashion?

"He…" He considers for a moment, looking around and then.. staring at my sigil. "He wasn't arresting us. I think he was trying to get Jor-El's findings confirmed."

"That's all?"

"Yes."
But he doesn't remember any sort of dark alley or head injury or anything like that. I think i can see what happened: Lyla nobbled him and Zoned him, then replaced him only to be the one who got lobotomised. And then OL fixed 'his' brain...

The alley. That wasn't him. So what did I-? I did brain chirurgy… Didn't I? Or was that just… I wasn't wearing a mindshield at the time, and I… I haven't… Seen Non since I started. But psychics can create illusions, and not just-. False sensory impressions, it's just usually they don't because it's inefficient. Or did I find Lyla and then… She erased my memory of it?
Argh, psychic illusionists are always such paranoia fuel. More worryingly, what happened to her when you fixed her brain? Is she running around with a hodge-podge of empireth and kryptonian brain matter, or did the Ring correct it based on the genetic model it saw, which would have been empireth in nature, even if OL saw kryptonian...

Damn it. I scan him just in case, but aside from a little… Cut in his arm-.

"How did you end up in the Phantom Zone?"
I'm guessing she took a blood sample or something, presumably to copy his DNA for the illusion so that it would fool biological scanners...

"I don't know. I was cross-referencing some seismic data, and…" He shakes his head. "The next thing I knew, I was there. I did not even know it was the Phantom Zone to begin with."

"Ring, contact Lantern Jordan."
That would be when he got swapped out, then. And the last time we saw Other Non on-screen was... Aboard the Doomsday?

My ring blinks once, and then his face appears.

"What you got?"
Damn, he was waiting for you to call, it looks like. Or he was about to call you.

"The Non-Du on Xudar is a fake. The real one was still in the Phantom Zone. You need to locate him as quickly as possible."

He smiles wryly. "I got one better. Looks like Lyla was a dominator asset."
I'm betting they gave her whatever shapeshifting ability she may have used to pose as Non-Du. Whether a potent psychic illusion or physical restructuring...



"Kan-Z wasn't an engineer or physicist. He couldn't-. Gods, how long were they-?"

"Who?"
Kan-Z. And boy, is that art of him 80's or what?

"Kan-Z was the leader of Black Zero. The people who-."

His eyes widen. "Bombed Krypton."
And since he wasn't a bomb-maker, someone else had to have made it.

"Kryptonian society was easily advanced enough to build a bomb like that, I didn't think to ask how he got it. The city-states just used conventional nukes…"

"How long ago was that?"
I suspect the average kryptonian scientist or engineer wouldn't have gone along with making a bomb capable of killing their world anyway.

"Pre-Empire. They had to rebuild from almost nothing."

"Why the change in strategy?"
That is a pertinent question. This would have been something like ten thousand kryptonian years ago... Some Dominator may have been playing a long game.

"The Dominion's been around for a while, but it's hardly a total monolith. Individual high-caste dominators come and go. Or maybe they considered slowing down Kryptonian development to be a success, even if the planet wasn't destroyed." I shake my head. "Or maybe I'm just speculating. Have you found the fake Non?"
...OL, you barely told them about it a couple of minutes ago. I know Lanterns can work fast, but there are limits.

He shakes his head. "The starports are in lockdown, the prisoners are secure and we've got people out looking."

"
Secure how?"
In other words, Lyla has probably already mind-whammied someone and is just waiting for a chance to flee...

"Security robots. I figure, they've got no brains, so-."

"
She was directly observed by both Har-Zod and Jor-El's sensors. I think she's got better illusions than that."
Could well have physical shapeshifting, given her posing as Non. Unless that was a very good illusion too. Was 'he' even actually brain-damaged or did she just make that play for an advantage?

"The telepath's got better illusions than-. Fine, fine. I'll-. Call Miss Marvel back."

"
I thought she was just going with Mary-?" Not the point, focus. "Superboy should have a mind ward-."
For a second, I wondered if you meant Miss Martian, but I remembered Mary Marvel was there too because if you have one Kryptonian-level combatant in Osiris, another one is better..

"He's not back from her homeworld yet. Not everyone's as fast as you. Actually, how come you haven't just appeared already?"

"
I wanted to check that Lyla wasn't in the Phantom Zone-. Long story short, all of the prisoners got released and I'm on guard duty."
And that is going to take some explaining later.

"What? How did-?" He stares at me. "Have you called in the League?"

I shake my head. "They're not empowered. I'll call in the Karas when you hang up."
Good plan. Especially Kara-One, who is probably stronger than any local kryptonian from the get go.

"Get your team, too. It'll be good experience."

"
My t-?" Oh, he means… The team, not-. "Will do. Is Superman or Karsta Wor-Ul on the Doomsday?"
Really, they need a catchier team name to avoid that sort of confusion...

"No, Ak-Var's in command. Why?"

"
Well, Lyla might want to get away, but equally she might be trying to send a message to her handlers. Dominators can go to ground for a long time if it's useful to them to do so, and I haven't checked the entire Sector for them."
Ah, good, he realised that possibility. And the last thing they need is a Dominator fleet turning up and trying to steal kryptonian stuff again.

He nods. "They might wanna pick up the Doomsday."

"
They do want to pick up the Doomsday. The only question is how highly they prioritise it."
And would living kryptonians also be highly prized for genetic research, or considered a threat to said acquisition...

"I'll get Carol to pick up Karsta. Send me anything else you find out. Green Lantern out."

His face vanishes.
Man, this day is just getting worse and worse, isn't it...

Okay.

I look at the somewhat lost-looking Non-Du. "I don't suppose that you know how to use the theta wave state, do you?" He shakes his head. "Does the name Lyla mean anything to you?"
Damn, OL needs to invest in developing compact mental-influence protection for allies now... One more thing for the to-do list.

"No. Who is she?"

I point to one of the seats. "It's easier if I explain the whole thing. But first I need to talk to some people. Orange Lantern to Aqualad."
I'm guessing OL is confident this isn't a fake, not only because of their willing assistance, but also thanks to his own mental protections. No illusions here!

So Lyla replaced Non-Du, possibly faked the brain damage and made sure she was in close proximity to Zod to pull off the Timaron thing, I'm guessing. Now she's on the loose and may well have changed her look. 😒 Joy... She's probably looking to try and get in touch with her Dominator boss for new orders, depending on how strong their control is. All while OL is stuck on Earth babysitting the former Zone inmates.
 
I'd point out that at that level of fuckery its also possible she just overpowered your mindshield and is making you think its active and working.
This is the point where you want to call M'gann. If there's anyone on the planet that Paul can be sure about picking Lyla up, it's her.
 
Non-Du stopped Zod from escaping when the werewolf freaked out, then walked away. Is it possible she escaped then?
 
Please read this and help me fix it, it took some work.
Timeline
  1. Phantom Zone (Aethyr's mind-realm) is used by Krypton government for prisoners. Eradicator tech used by Krypton is snuck away by Amish-equivalent colonists to Daxam.
  2. Timaron and other worlds with aliens become protectorate worlds under Kryptonian Empire's control and lose autonomy due to Faora Hu-Ul and others.
  3. Dominators return Lyla (species Empireth) telepath to Krypton post-enhancement. A plot to bomb Krypton's core is stopped, but a terrible decay begins (possible Despair involvement, possible Dominator involvement). Decay causes Kryptonite. Lar-On is cursed by Red Kryptonite to murder and wreak havoc as a lycanthrope, triggered by light (presumably from inhaling particulates while seeing Krypton's Gold Volcano); he killed his wife, Shal-On. Har-Zod is the head of Krypton's Military Council and High Councillor, chief authority of Krypton (note the surname).
  4. Karsta Wor-Ul joins the Navy. Dru-Zod joins the Kryptonian Navy and gets promoted. Fan of military council. Ursa Dou-Ka is under his command.
  5. Military council loses control, Science Council orders all citizens back to Krypton. Dru-Zod hates this, believes it is backwards. Har-Zod dies at some point before Krypton explodes.
  6. Dru-Zod learns about Krypton's possible doom via Jor-El, and gets it verified with less than one year remaining. Dru-Zod's uprising begins (Karsta is not present). Most of the populace and government ignores the warnings. Dru-Zod impregnates Ursa. Dru-Zod's message reaches Sub-Commander Karsta and she deserts. Either Fake Non-Du (Lyla) or real Non-Du works for Jor-El, hence why Lyla states it. Jor-El computerises his consciousness as a neural imprint. Lyla changes the memories of the imprint.
  7. Lyla begins mildly manipulating Dru-Zod (forty years after the bomb plan fails). Pooka and Lusca confirm that the decision to destroy a world (but not Timaron specially) was General Zod's.
  8. Dru-Zod (being a genuinely desperate bigot comparable to a 40k Eldar) destroys Amalak's homeworld of Timaron. His plan was to make the Science Council realize that the future of Kryptonians' existence as a species was at risk if full isolation was enacted, with every Kryptonian on a single world. Amalak and others of his species escape its destruction.
  9. The Doomsday is broken up for parts and sealed away. Dru-Zod does not send the Doomsday to Dominators. Fake Non-Du (Lyla) received brain damage in such a way that she was permanently broadcasting to everyone "I am Non-Du, do not kill me, I am mute, I am Dru-Zod's muscle" amidst the Uprising.
  10. Dru-Zod, Fake Non-Du, Real Non-Du, and Ursa are rushed through trials and put in the Phantom Zone.
  11. Jor-El builds an escape rocket for Kal-El, includes the imprint (it has no knowledge of Lyla the Empireth due to alterations). Kara is also saved at the last minute. Krypton explodes.
  12. Kal-El grows up on Earth and the events of With This Ring occur. During the trip to Rao's system with Kon to see Krypton's remains, a satellite(?) near Xenon with Har-Zod's mental imprint is talked around by OL. Also Kara is recovered, but her pod didn't escape the Rao system before it was trapped in rubble and Kryptonite. Amalak learns about Dru-Zod's existence in the phantom Zone when OL makes a trade for a Yellow Light portable battery for his Yellow Ring, as part of the plot to save Earth from the Anti-Life. OL was talking to Lantern Gozzi near the security systems on one of Commodore Amalak's docks.
  13. Nallam of Xudar is selected as judge and neutral party on behalf of Xudar to adjudicate the trial of Dru-Zod and for the destruction of Timaron according to Timaron's laws (not Xudar's laws). Amalak's goal is to convict as many Kryptonians of the remaining Phantom Zone prisoners as possible. This whole trial is a condition OL set, otherwise summary execution would be on the table.
  14. Fake Non-Du (Lyla) is released and incorrectly recognized by the projector or other Krypronians due to telepathy tricking or torturing Aethyr? and learns about Krypton and the Timaron trial. Mental damage is fixed. She keeps up the disguise. Stupidity-aura flares up and Dru-Zod makes an escape attempt.
  15. Lantern Mother of Mercy is fixing the wreckage of Timaron.

Quote from Negotiations which could affect the fate of Dru-Zod, in spite of his willing role in Timaron's destruction: Timaron law was largely derived from the laws of the Kryptonian Empire in structure."
"Kryptonian law had substantial allowances for acts committed under orders. It may be helpful if she was able to explain the normal rules of engagement of the kryptonian military so that it can be demonstrated that he violated them."

Timaron is first discussed during OL's first meeting with Commodore Amalak way back here https://forum.questionablequesting....stice-si-story-only.8961/page-48#post-2523392 , shortly after the Spider Queen plotline, where OL saved Vran Gozzi (Amalak's Coluan employee) from Estrogina and others who would ruin the peace talks. Vran eventually joined the Corps as Lantern Gozzi. She is not dating Vril Dox II.

Fake Non-Du (Lyla) was released from the Phantom Zone in Negotiations 7 and 8. Real Non-Du was released in Motivations 17-18, with no obvious brain damage.

In the comics, Brainiac generally shrinks and bottles the city of Kandor and its Kryptonian residents before Krypton explodes. That is the bottled city sometimes shown in the Superman cartoon. In With This Ring, Brainiac has nothing to do with Krypton, and we have no confirmations on Kandor's fate.

"This is not good news. I knew that saving Krypton was a long shot. I missed, and I accepted that. Now I find that I might just have-! Just have been some mindworm's pawn?!"

**If it makes you FFeel better, the decision to destroy a world was entirely yours.**

He calms down a little. "Thank you. It does."

I see Arnus sigh a very shallow sigh. "Nowan-Lu? Do you have further questions?"

"I-." She thinks for a moment. "Why did you decide to destroy a world? Why not carry out a smaller strike?"

"I needed to ensure that there was no evidence to contradict my version of events. A limited strike might destroy evidence I claimed existed, but other records and witness testimonies might survive."

**True.**

"I needed the Science Council panicked and the population motivated."

**No.**

Dru-Zod doesn't make a noise this time, but he does flinch. "That's not what I remember deciding."

**I KKnow.**

"It-. It seems that I wanted them worried enough to follow my advice, but… Something made me think that I needed more than that. But that's-."

Arnus looks empathetic. "General?"

"I couldn't rely on-." Lesley's horns glow, and he twitches again. "I-. Something made me think I couldn't rely on them."

"And in reality?"

"I don't-. I don't know. Krypton under the Science Council was out of the habit of resisting their directives. If an order had come from them to build a larger fleet then it would have happened. My original plan was to manipulate them, not simply take over directly. I considered it, but then decided that the risk wasn't worth it. They would act to preserve their power as they did against Jor-El, whereas if I was merely an advisor advocating a course of action they… Would consider it based on the evidence available."

Right. Think. Someone was on Krypton, messing around with the minds of the people there. But Krypton was going to explode anyway. Jor-El's model wasn't based on mind control. I checked it myself. It accurately predicted the shape of Krypton post-explosion, the timeline, and there weren't any other residues that would suggest a planet busting weapon. So there wasn't any point in making things worse, because everyone was going to die anyway.
 
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This is an interesting angle. It does sound pretty in-characters and very smort of the Dominators to deal with the ticking time bomb that is Krypton by sending an uber-telepath to their midst and running covert ops constantly. They could also reliably control her even in that empowered state since they've shown pretty good mind control tech in the militant Justice Society timeline we've seen with the commander Alan Scott.
 

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