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

[Prince Charon]

Well it's true, being a water Deatheater isn't a good look on anyone, but I get the impression it's an actually repentant former water Deatheater in this case. People can change.

Although now I'm picturing that story idea I had once- a character from DC Universe Online making their way to YJ.

"Really, Orm, you decided you'd take over Atlantis from your brother by cribbing off of the bad guy from Harry Potter? Really? You're better than this, dude."

Click to shrink...

I'm pretty sure that he isn't better than this.

 

[Stsword]

I'm pretty sure that he isn't better than this.

Click to shrink...

But the Orm from DC Universe Online is, hence this hypothetical super's surprise at Aquamort.

In DC Universe Online, Ocean Master is openly a supervillain who schemes to take the throne of Atlantis, but he's still a prince of Atlantis and Aquaman's brother.

For example, a crazy extremist takes over Atlantis and seemingly killed Aquaman in one episode, Mera and Ocean Master worked together to fight him.

YJ Ocean Master would probably try to join the lunatic's regime and weasel his way to power after throwing a massive party at Aquaman's death of course, from the impression I've gotten of him.

The point of the fic in my mind was the juxtaposition of how things are similar and how they are different between the two universes.

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th February
17:09 GMT

"Hey."

Onigar Ton's head floats just above Guy's ring as we fly across one of the planet's oceans. There won't really be any way to disguise that we've spoken to her, but hopefully it should be possible to disguise that we're going to speak to her. Once we're there, we…

"A.. Green Lantern? What do you want?"

Well, we can protect her in the short term. And while we.. could evacuate her from the planet if the government decides that talking to us warrants her death I don't really want to mess up her life like that.

"I just recently heard how War Hounds get made. I wanna talk to somebody who cares about it. You got half an hour?"

"Y-e-. Yes. I do. Where do you want to meet?"

"We can be anywhere on the planet in about three seconds, so wherever's good for you. We could probably move you someplace else if that'd be safer."

"No. If a Green Lantern is involved then they have bigger problems than me. I'll meet you at my apartment-"

I raise my right forefinger to my head.

"-in eight minutes-"

The walls of her apartment are block-printed in blue and red, and there's a certain 50's science fiction feel to the design. Slightly larger than the human equivalent furnishings and objects would be, though I'm not sure if that's a style choice or an adaptation to the fact that a War Hound might visit. Xor didn't ever describe their living arrangements to me so I've got no idea whether or not Onigar was living with her parents when he was arrested. Not that I think they'd have hired a new ex-War Hound after what happened.

"-once I've had a chance to put some clothes…"

Onigar turns around, holocom unit in hand and a nightdress-.

"On."

I turn away.

"Sorry, sorry. Should have waited until you finished your sentence."

I hear Guy's snort.

"It would have been polite. You're not Green."

"No. The Orange Lantern Corps is a new organisation. Ah. Would you prefer it if I left for eight minutes?"

"I'm not prudish, I just wanted to seem professional. Lantern Gardner… Two minutes?"

"Sure thing."

I hear her set the holocom handset down, then head out of the room.

"What is your name, Orange Lantern?"

Ring.

"Illustres Paul."

"And what is an Illustres?"

"Most Green Lanterns patrol regions of space called Sectors. The Honour Guard are an elite force reserved for the toughest opponents. They are led by an Illustres. Above the Illustres is the Clarissi, who manages the Corps on a day to day basis."

"And the Orange Lantern Corps is the same?"

"We're a newer organisation. My position is equivalent, but it won't mean as much until we've actually got some Honour Guard level Lanterns for me to lead."

I hear a rustle of cloth, and turn towards the doorway she walked through.

"Would it be helpful if I swept the premises for monitoring devices?"

"No. As I said, there is no sense in murdering me. While my outspokenness has led to my censure, I'm simply not relevant enough to anger anyone capable of ordering an assassination."

She walks back in, wearing a Star Trek style suit in green and blue.

"So unless there is anything specific which you wish to say and do not wish to be overheard, there would be little point."

"Thank you for speaking to us, and again, I'm sorry for appearing like that."

"Mm. Teleportation?"

"Effectively. But I can't take passengers, which is why Lantern Gardner stayed where he is."

She nods. "What species are you?"

"Human." I generate a stellar map. "The Alignment is here-" I mark it. "-and my own dear homeworld is here."

"One world? And it produced two high-ranked Lanterns?"

"Three. And three other Lanterns. Currently in service." I frowns. "Sorry. Four other Lanterns."

"You have so many that you forgot one?"

"She's new. Sort-" There's a knock on the balcony's sliding door, Guy still smiling at my faux pas as I turn to face him. "-of."

Onigar waves at the door, which slides open to allow Guy access. Hm. This tower is tall, but those surrounding it aren't much shorter. Given how Lanterns glow I'm pretty sure that her near-neighbours will be talking about this. Which… Might create a situation in which the government's assassins -if such assassins truly exist- can't afford not to kill her in order to save face. But… She knows her government better than I do.

"Thanks. Sorry about Paul. He doesn't always think before he teleports."

"He has apologised for himself." She glances at me before returning her attention to Guy. "Would you like to take a seat?"

"Yeah, thanks." He steps forward. "Who ex-?"

His environmental shield ripples as a high velocity round strikes him on the shoulder.

"Huh?"

Guy looks towards the balcony-

Armour, construct armour, construct armour for her-

-as a volley of shots strike him in the chest.

-and a kinetic barrier-.

The ceiling gives way as-. Xor-? No, regular War Hounds, three of them, enter the apartment through it, plasma projectors… Stowed as they lunge at us bare-handed.

Guy generates a shield and launches himself off the balcony, heading for the snipers operating out of the building opposite. I send out a kinetic barrier, causing the closest War Hound to run straight into it and rebound. The second grunts in pain as I turn aside his punch with a crumbler gauntlet -no force field- and then shudders as I apply a brand. The third goes for his plasma projector, but a construct pincer grabs the fuel cell and pulls it free before it can build up a charge. He swings the butt of the gun at my head, the gun crumpling against my armour as my brand on his colleague completes. I try construct manacles, but he tears those apart easily so I opt for a brand again, my armour just about strong enough to hold him off until my sigil appears on his forehead.

I take a step back.

"Ms Ton, are you alright?"

"W-? Yes, but this makes no sense. Why-?"

"It looks like someone thinks you're worth killing after all."

 

[RichardWhereat]

There's an issue with the size.

 

[Travisplo]

Zoat, formatting issue. XP

 

[Mr Zoat]

There's an issue with the size.

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Zoat, formatting issue. XP

Click to shrink...

If I correct it before you post it doesn't count.

 

[Yog]

Hmm, interesting. Clearly, something is going on. My guess it's a coup attempt of some sort. Someone decided to replace "honor" with "blind obedience to General EvilMcEvilFace", and wants to keep the attention off the War Hounds while the new generation replaces the previous ones? Or maybe they are doing away with service limits, turning War Hounds into a full-on slave caste? Or maybe it's War Hounds themselves who are doing the coup.

The interesting part is that this is clearly a panic response - because trying to assassinate a honour guard Grean Lantern, and an Orange Illustres, knowing at the very least that said Illustres is, well, Illustres, is not a far thought-out action.

 

[Ganurath]

Good thing they didn't wait the full eight minutes, huh?

 

[Ngamer11]

That should merit a full response from Paul, Guy, and the local GL. Just give them a few hours and the people behind all of this will be apprehended. All they did by attacking was make their inevitable capture much more swift. Combat isn't the main draw of this episode, but the intrigue. Hopefully it pays off in the end.

 

[Z000]

The interesting part is that this is clearly a panic response - because trying to assassinate a honour guard Grean Lantern, and an Orange Illustres, knowing at the very least that said Illustres is, well, Illustres, is not a far thought-out action.

Click to shrink...

why do they think this is a good idea

if this was on Earth then sure, some idiot may be actually capable of surprise shank Paul and Guy but out here in the middle of average-vile, what do they expect those snipe to do, tickle them ?

 

[Jormuungaand]

"Y-e-. Yes. I do. Where do you want to meet?

Click to shrink...

No closing quotation marks.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

Onigar Ton's head floats just above Guy's ring as we fly across one of the planet's oceans. There won't really be any way to disguise that we've spoken to her, but hopefully it should be possible to disguise that we're going to speak to her. Once we're there, we…

Click to shrink...

...hopefully won't walk into an assassination attempt.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"I just recently heard how War Hounds get made. I wanna talk to somebody who cares about it. You got half an hour?"

Click to shrink...

Should his entire speech be green if he's talking?

I raise my right forefinger to my head.

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Wait a second, OL...

"-once I've had a chance to put some clothes…"

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Dammit, OL!

I hear Guy's snort.

Click to shrink...

Oh, you are never living this one down.

"Most Green Lanterns patrol regions of space called Sectors. The Honour Guard are an elite force reserved for the toughest opponents. They are led by an Illustres. Above the Illustres is the Clarissi, who manages the Corps on a day to day basis."

Click to shrink...

Facts not known to all that many, it seems.

"No. As I said, there is no sense in murdering me. While my outspokenness has led to my censure, I'm simply not relevant enough to anger anyone capable of ordering an assassination."

Click to shrink...

I hope you're certain of that...

She walks back in, wearing a Star Trek style suit in green and blue.

Click to shrink...

So, tight-fitted pants and jacket, with boots and a tendency to ride up when seated?

"Human." I generate a stellar map. "The Alignment is here-" I mark it. "-and my own dear homeworld is here."

Click to shrink...

So casual about it... Then again, I doubt Earth is of that much interest to most.

"You have so many that you forgot one?"

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Say it with me: Earth Bullshit.

There's a knock on the balcony's sliding door , Guy still smiling at my faux pas as I turn to face him.

Click to shrink...

Extraneous space.

Onigar waves at the door, which slides open to allow Guy access. Hm. This tower is tall, but those surrounding it aren't much shorter. Given how Lanterns glow I'm pretty sure that he near-neighbours will be talking about this. Which… Might create a situation in which the government's assassins -if such assassins truly exist- can't afford not to kill her in order to save face. But… She knows her government better than I do.

Click to shrink...

Wheels within wheels, plans within plans...

His environmental shield ripples as a high velocity round strikes him on the shoulder.

Click to shrink...

Called it! Assassination attempt!

The ceiling gives way as-. Xor-? No, regular War Hounds, three of them, enter the apartment through it, plasma projectors… Stowed as they lunge at us bare-handed.

Click to shrink...

Not going for kills, then. Presumably the snipers were a distraction.

Guy generates a shield and launches himself off the balcony, heading for the snipers operating out of the building opposite. I send out a kinetic barrier, causing the closest War Hound to run straight into it and rebound. The second grunts in pain as I turn aside his punch with a crumbler gauntlet -no force field- and then shudders as I apply a brand. The third goes for his plasma projector, but a construct pincer grabs the fuel cell and pulls it free before it can build up a charge. He swings the butt of the gun at my head, the gun crumpling against my armour as my brand on his colleague completes. I try construct manacles, but he tears those apart easily so I opt for a brand again, my armour just about strong enough to hold him off until my sigil appears on his forehead.

Click to shrink...

Total time, all of five seconds. High level PCs are crazy broken.

"It looks like someone thinks you're worth killing after all."

Click to shrink...

Indeed. [/spock]

Welp, this is gonna go well. Someone has an interest in her not talking...

 

[Pinklestia]

Honesty, like killing a GL would be a good idea.

Even a rookie can make themselves bulletproof, and a single GL can take down a whole crew of spaceships.

Worse, not the GLs have an official reason to investigate.

And let's not forget the OCP that is Oh El.

 

[Buggy123]

Armour, construct armour, construct armour for her-

-as a volley of shots strike him in the chest.

-and a kinetic barrier-.

Click to shrink...

Hmm, should any of this be orange? I can't remember what the standard is for ring actions like this.

Hmm, interesting. Clearly, something is going on. My guess it's a coup attempt of some sort. Someone decided to replace "honor" with "blind obedience to General EvilMcEvilFace", and wants to keep the attention off the War Hounds while the new generation replaces the previous ones? Or maybe they are doing away with service limits, turning War Hounds into a full-on slave caste? Or maybe it's War Hounds themselves who are doing the coup.

The interesting part is that this is clearly a panic response - because trying to assassinate a honour guard Grean Lantern, and an Orange Illustres, knowing at the very least that said Illustres is, well, Illustres, is not a far thought-out action.

Click to shrink...

Eh, I think it was just a normal attempted assassination, and they ended up attacking the lanterns because "Shit, call it off! They brought a army and we didn't!" couldn't quite make it through the command chain in time.

 

[Sorrow]

What does OCP stand for?

 

[Mr Zoat]

No closing quotation marks.

Click to shrink...

There's a knock on the balcony's sliding door , Guy still smiling at my faux pas as I turn to face him.
Extraneous space.

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

 

[Handlewithcare]

Ah, evil stupidity, how you weren't missed.

"Sir, they just explained to her how they are both high ranking Lanterns coming from a world that produced seven Lanterns total"
"Excellent. Order our men to attack using conventional weapons. Oh, and have the Hounds go for hand to hand combat"
"Brilliant sir. It will be done immediately"

 

[Ganurath]

What does OCP stand for?

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Outside Context Problem

 

[Old Knife]

Good thing he didn't wait for 8 mins.... hell, he didn't even wait 8 seconds.

 

[moralrelativity]

What does OCP stand for?

Click to shrink...

Outside Context Problem. As Gamurath has already said. First mentioned AFAIK by Iain M. Banks in his novel Excession, which is part of his Culture series of books.

 

[Prosecutor-0]

I frowns.

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If you start writing about nasty hobbitses and "my precious", I'm outta here…

 

[bobsimmo]

"Three. And three other Lanterns. Currently in service." I frowns. "Sorry. Four other Lanterns."

Click to shrink...

Guy, Hal, John, Paul, Alan.... both Carol's?

 

[Twilight666]

Guy, Hal, John, Paul, Alan.... both Carol's?

Click to shrink...

Guy, Hal and Paul are the high-ranked Lanterns.
The three others are Alan, John and the Russian rookie.

And Carol -14 is the sorta new one

 

[thepsyborg]

"Human." I generate a stellar map. "The Alignment is here-" I mark it. "-and my own dear homeworld is here."
So casual about it... Then again, I doubt Earth is of that much interest to most.

Click to shrink...

It would not surprise me if there are more people capable of being a genuinely existential threat to Earth and/or the human species, solely on their individual efforts, on Earth than off it.

 

[Lord Ernest]

Does Carol -14 really count? I mean, she's in Zamaron right now, came from a parallel universe and do we know if she's going to stay in this one?

 

[Sad Machine]

Mr Zoat did Paul ever talk to Zod again?

 

[Mquz]

So... if they were gonna assassinate her with a sniper shot... why not just go for it? They managed to get Guy's shoulder, and she wouldn't have immediately blabbed. Could have gotten her in a few minutes, before she could have said anything. Also, headshot her instead of going for the low lethality target (shoulder). This is likely a capture / bodyguard team.

 

[Xelloss]

Does Carol -14 really count? I mean, she's in Zamaron right now, came from a parallel universe and do we know if she's going to stay in this one?

Click to shrink...

Well, she is human so it probably counts

 

[Ngamer11]

Mr Zoat, in the TV Tropes entry for this fic, there is a trivia page filled with the things you said will happen in the future. It's still not full, but you can look it up to check if you forgot something.

 

[Amrynel]

So... if they were gonna assassinate her with a sniper shot... why not just go for it? They managed to get Guy's shoulder, and she wouldn't have immediately blabbed. Could have gotten her in a few minutes, before she could have said anything. Also, headshot her instead of going for the low lethality target (shoulder). This is likely a capture / bodyguard team.

Click to shrink...

OL observes the surrounding buildings "aren't much shorter". Could've been aimed at the lady's head and Guy's shoulder (closer to the window) happened to get in the way since he'd just been in the middle of stepping forward (or it turned an upper torso shot aimed at Guy into a shoulder shot). Guess we may find out soon.