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

Vaermina · 2026-03-13T06:55:39+0000

CrazyNoVa said:
Quite the opposite, actually. The First is not only older than Aztar, but he was also God's first created angel and right-hand man before he got cast out. And much like how Aztar is God's vengeance and Eclipso was God's wrath, The First of the Fallen was God's conscience. And even after his fall, he hasn't lost his power.

DC isn't a setting where age equels powers.

The First of the Fallen was a powerful fallen angel, the Spectre is a nigh-omnipotent cosmic being.

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-03-13T07:26:51+0000

Mr Zoat said:
10th December 2022
15:05 GMT

The four of us look up at the giant demonic tower.

Corporal Taggart snorts. "Think they've got elevators?"

Yeah, that's probably much taller than the usual vertical limits of the Doom engine. And no surprise, it's called the Tower of Babel. Well, time to take down the big boss of the Episode... No easy fight there.

Mazikeen narrows her eyes. "I can't perceive the flows of magic energy, but that looks like something that could act as an anchor.

Endymion shrugs. "It is a home of demons, and the only place remaining on this moon that we have not purged. Regardless of its purpose, it is our next destination."

So if they can work out how to break it, Deimos would snap back to mars orbit? Good luck bringing it down without Angelic powers.

I take a moment to consider the patched repairs I've been able to make to my armour. Armour repair kits, salvaged plates from local suits of marine combat armour and a brief manual repair in one of the research centre's workshops have left me with something that would embarrass a pirate gang, to say nothing of a professional military. I'm just glad I could remember the schematics.

It would be amusing if he looked something like the Praetor armour, but alas, his heavy armour isn't that stylish.

"I would not be comfortable carrying people up with my armour in this state. Anyone bring crampons?"

Taggart winces. "There should be some in the equipment locker."

And that would be a hell of a climb, given the tower is probably dreadfully tall. A rough eyeball calculation from the map screen suggests it's at least a couple of hundred meters? (It's the big black tower at the south.)

"Where's that?"

"About…" He half-turns. "Thirty miles thataway."

Yeah, how about no. That'll take hours each way, giving the demons time to add more ambushes or even set up a defensive line.

Mazikeen starts towards the tower. "The demons have shown no sign of being able to climb. If there's nothing at ground level, then whatever this place is for must be at the top, and their must be a way for them to reach the summit."

"Everyone, let's go and find the teleporters."

I seriously doubt Cacodemons would deign to give rides, either.

Taggart said that this place was doing teleportation research, but it was disturbing to see that literally all of the teleportation pads in the place were of the demonic variety. I don't know if the demons replaced them or redecorated the place, or if they were already like that because the people running the place were demonic cultists from the start. And the rest of the facility went along with it for some reason. At least there doesn't seem to be a negative effect to using them now.

Eh, it's a bit of a 'chicken and egg' situation. Maybe the pentagrams were there to begin with, but hidden under a much more palatable surface plate.

Wurble wurble schlurp.

The tower isn't solid at ground level. There's clearly an entrance, with more leering faced embossed on the stone blocks-.

Which suggests it's built more like a skyscraper than a simple monolith. Probably some demonic shenanigans going on with material strengths, though.

Mazikeen has stopped.

"What's the issue?"

Probably this. Which sends some sort of message about whoever resides there, doesn't it?

She nods forwards, and-. Ohhh.

Taggart follows our gaze. "Well, fuck me."

Fortunately, the big guy appears to lack the equipment and the motivation.

The chamber at the bottom does indeed have teleporters recessed into the sides of the interior wall. In design, they match the ones we've seen in dozens of places across the facility. It also has a hooping great oversized teleporter in the middle of the tower's ground floor. I'd say about 5 times as long and wide as the ones we've been using, giving it 25 times the area.

...That would probably be the big guy's personal transport. ...Though if it sent you up, it would have to send you onto the roof or the courtyard because there's no way he'd fit into the central chamber...

"So let's not take that one."

"Yes." / "Uh-huh." / "As you say."

Given it probably resembles the end-teleporter of the Phobos finale, that's a good plan.

"Mazikeen, did any side of the tower look more important than the others?"

"No."

"Right, I'm gong first. I pick…" I point at one at random. "That one. Wait ten seconds and then follow me through."

Because Doom teleporters have a pretty big drawback to them...

The teleportation is almost instant, but you can't teleport multiple people at once and there's a slight delay if you want to come back. Ten seconds is enough time for me to scope out my surroundings and then come back if there are too many enemies to deal with. Plus a margin for error, because it turns out that teleporting onto a pad that someone is standing on makes the person on the pad explode.

Never mind the telefrags, some teleporters are also one-way. These might be two-way, unless the demons go jumping off the side or something...

Double check that my shotgun is loaded, and-

Fziz-fziz!

And if you've played Doom, you instantly heard the sound.

-I'm.. through, into a small room, with… Dead Baron of Hells suspended from four of the walls, green blood still fresh and dripping onto the floor.

I wish Sandro was here. They must have seen something.

Have to wonder if they were willing sacrifices, or if the Cyberdemon had to beat their asses first...

Quick assessment as I step off the pad. Check up? Solid stone. Check around? Solid stone. Demons? Living demons, zero. Exits? The three-. The four walls with the Barons chained to them are concealed doors, designed to move… Upwards, when the correct block is pressed. How..? Haven't really worked that out yet. Most places still have actual human-build doors, or hidden doorways that slide sideways in nice Euclid-compliant ways. But at least this room is safe.

Yeah, those doors are sods. On this map, they will close behind you when you walk out through one. Smartest way is to open all four doors, and loop back through when you need to top up on supplies.

I take position forwards and left of the teleporter and wait the ten seconds.

Mazikeen is through next, and after confirming my good health and the absence of enemies she walks over to one of the dead Barons to study the corpse. Endymion is through next, with Taggart bringing up the rear-.

No telefragging here, thanks.

The teleport pad dims slightly as it shuts down.

I see Taggart smile through his visor. "Trapped again." He nods at Mazikeen. "He tellin' you anything?"

He/she/it isn't screaming, so that'd be a no.

"They were chained up by the horns, right arms, left hands and the lower part of their left legs… Removed. The throats aren't cut; that blood came from their mouths after their abdomens were pierced. The regularity of the damage pattern is consistent across all four, indicating that it was deliberate, but… I can't tell what did it. We've seen that the Barons are immune to one another's plasma, so it can't have been that. Each time an imp hit one, they immediately fought back and killed them."

One of those demonic ritual setups, most likely. probably not the depowering spell affecting the players. Maybe something to provide a holding point for Deimos?

Taggart nods. "Bitten off by pinkies?"

"They couldn't inflict the abdominal wound. And regardless of bite strength, they would struggle to bite off an entire leg. Their jaws aren't the right shape, and their throat isn't wide enough."

And trying to do it a bite at a time would leave different marks, I expect.

Endymion walks over to one of the activation buttons. "Does it matter? We must kill it in any case."

"Some forward guidance would be nice, but… We probably can't tell without more sophisticated equipment. Pick your loadouts."

Not much gear in the starting room, but through the doors, well...

While we did find a replacement plasma gun, Mazikeen has opted for a rocket launcher. Something that lets her engage at maximum range, where her lack of armour will matter less. Taggart considers his shotgun for a moment, then stows it in favour of the railgun I made him.

...Mazikeen is going to have a fun time... Each supply room also has Soul Spheres to supercharge heals.

"I'm touched."

"May as well use it, right?"

And if you've a steady hand and good eyesight, it's as effective a sniper weapon as you can get.

Endymion is happy with his sword, but he's fished a black medical kit out of his backpack.

Taggart winces. "Really? I didn't think you'd ever use that thing."

Ah, the Berserk pack. Let the punching commence!

"Does it not work as described?"

"No, five times your strength, guaranteed. But it's like you're tripping angry acid. Every time I use one I just start saying the stupidest bullshit. 'Rip and tear yours guts! You are huge! That means you have huge guts!'. Shit like that. The guys were playing recordings of it for weeks."

I wonder how Endymion will act with it? Or OL... That would be amusing.

"You lose your capacity for reason?"

"No, I'm still all there, know what I'm doing. I just can't stop my mouth."

Fortunately, the classic Doomguy is a near-silent protagonist. Grunts and pain sounds only...

Endymion takes out the injector. "I will use it when we see the enemy. I would be grateful if you did not make a recording."

We form up around a Baron of Hell door, Taggart shaking his head. "Sorry, man. Mission camera's hardwired."

At least they have the good sense to realise this is going to be a boss fight...

"Opening in two."

One.

Aw, going the basic way. Then again, it's not like they know in advance what's here, OL not having played more than the first episode.

I press the button.

"nretnaL egnarO, em llik tsum uoy, thgif eht niw oT"

Oh, that's a fun callback. For those wondering, that's a reference to the last level of Doom II: Icon of Sin, which opens with a line of backwards speech. Which is actually John Romero saying 'To win the game, you must kill me, John Romero.' The actual target to be destroyed is his head.

I get the feeling this will be a significant fight, although as I understand it, co-op bosses don't get additional health... Sadly, OL might be a little under-gunned for the Cyberdemon. Perhaps he can run interference on additional demons. Hopefully taking it down lifts the nullifying spell and they can speedrun Episode 3 to reclaim Angelica...

Neruz · 2026-03-13T07:36:29+0000

Quick look for an illusory wall hiding a hole that has OL's head impaled on a spike hidden inside it.

Mr Zoat · 2026-03-13T08:32:07+0000

NightmareWarden said:
Maybe "have TO get through"?
Yeah, now I see why you used "got," it works.

I was thinking about replacing it with 'gotten', but I think it's alright.

So are we going to get the prince boy ranting about a space princess witch's government? Or will he fume about these beasts?

I'm sorry, what?

Duke Long · 2026-03-13T08:37:28+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Mazikeen starts towards the tower. "The demons have shown no sign of being able to climb. If there's nothing at ground level, then whatever this place is for must be at the top, and their must be a way for them to reach the summit."

'there'

Didn't those demons on the boxes have to climb up there? Or are we to believe that they teleported there directly? Or does she just mean that the demons can't necessarily climb something as high and sheer as they tower?

Mr Zoat said:
"Right, I'm gong first. I pick…" I point at one at random. "That one. Wait ten seconds and then follow me through."

'going', unless they started arguing over who gets to be which musical instrument and I missed it.

Mr Zoat said:
-I'm.. through, into a small room, with… Dead Baron of Hells suspended from four of the walls, green blood still fresh and dripping onto the floor.

'Barons of Hell'?

Mr Zoat said:
"No, five times your strength, guaranteed. But it's like you're tripping angry acid. Every time I use one I just start saying the stupidest bullshit. 'Rip and tear yours guts! You are huge! That means you have huge guts!'. Shit like that. The guys were playing recordings of it for weeks."

'your'

Haha, good explanation.

Mr Zoat · 2026-03-13T10:18:08+0000

Duke Long said:
'there'
'going', unless they started arguing over who gets to be which musical instrument and I missed it.
'your'

Thank you, corrected.

'Barons of Hell'?

Yes, because I'm using it as a title and not as a species, in which case it would be baron of hells.

Didn't those demons on the boxes have to climb up there? Or are we to believe that they teleported there directly? Or does she just mean that the demons can't necessarily climb something as high and sheer as they tower?

Ain't no climbing in Doom, son. We use mini-lifts here. Those box-piles all have slopes leading up to them. I can only assume that the imps knocked stuff over and pushed them into shape.

But yes, basically.

Dur'id the Druid · 2026-03-13T10:27:07+0000

Mr Zoat said:
nretnaL egnarO, em llik tsum uoy, thgif eht niw oT

Lol, entire sentence being reversed trew me there! Got too used to everyone reversing each word when zantanna uses spells.

NightmareWarden · 2026-03-13T12:25:25+0000

Mr Zoat said:
I'm sorry, what?

I was referring to Endymion, and whether he is going to lose all decorum and rant about his previous life.

Darko · 2026-03-13T12:49:50+0000

Vaermina said:
DC isn't a setting where age equels powers

Except for all the times that it does.

Vaermina said:
The First of the Fallen was a powerful fallen angel, the Spectre is a nigh-omnipotent cosmic being.

The Spectre isn't exactly in the best shape and even if he could resist the Sword of the Fallen under normal circumstances, these are not normal circumstances.

The First also wasn't a fallen angel.

The only speculation we have in the comics as to what he is is him basically being God's conscience.

He's more a small God.

There's also the fact that Spectre was defeated by Yuga Khan, and the First of the Fallen is probably on his level.

When Renegade went to Hell, the First mentioned meeting Darkseid who apparently tried to control him, only for the First to easily resist and find the whole thing amusing.

So if both Yuga and First are at least equal in strength, and one of them managed to defeat Spectre then chances are the other can do it too, and anything that can kill the First will likely work on Spectre.

Mr Zoat · 2026-03-13T12:56:30+0000

NightmareWarden said:
I was referring to Endymion, and whether he is going to lose all decorum and rant about his previous life.

Oh. Yes, obviously he's going to rant, that was the setup.

CrazyNoVa · 2026-03-13T12:58:53+0000

Vaermina said:
DC isn't a setting where age equels powers.

The First of the Fallen was a powerful fallen angel, the Spectre is a nigh-omnipotent cosmic being.

Emphasis on nigh. The Spectre has been defeated many times before, proving that he's not invincible. In fact, he's even been defeated by some of his own fellow angels (such as Michael), proving that he's not even the most powerful angel either. And the First is a cosmic being too.

PDV · 2026-03-13T16:00:34+0000

Mr Zoat said:
".nretnaL egnarO, em llik tsum uoy, thgif eht niw oT"

Cool10007 said:
John Romero's out of a job, it seems.

Romero Zatara

Ardy · 2026-03-13T16:56:13+0000

It's funny how a lot of these adventures have to happen off earth because otherwise Peace Agents would roll in

ForeverShogo · 2026-03-13T17:04:24+0000

On the Specter thing, my only concern is that if he's God's Wrath and the First was God's Conscience . . . He might in fact be coming back at full strength.

I'm pretty sure that, canonically, the First getting stabbed with that sword and reincarnated as a mortal man didn't stick. The first did in fact end up regaining his power over time.

So the Specter might be able to pull off the same thing. But I suppose that's future Grayven's problem.

===

For the Doom stuff, I guess we know what happened to this universe's version of Paul now.

Mr Zoat · 2026-03-13T18:36:47+0000

ForeverShogo said:
The first did in fact end up regaining his power over time.

No, Buer performed a ritual that reversed it. The First himself didn't make any effort in that direction himself. Buer is not really in a position to repeat that, even if the other senior inhabitants of Hell were inclined to take the risk.

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

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

Well worn.

Veteran Lurker

HISSSSSS!

Dedicated ragequitter

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Dedicated ragequitter

Not too sore, are you?

Playtest Results: *happy chirping*

Connoisseur.

Dedicated ragequitter

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Revelation That Uncertainty Is Itself An Answer

I trust you know where the happy button is?

I trust you know where the happy button is?

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Playtest Results: happy chirping