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

[Gantradies]

Lawyers. The most deadly of weapons.


This version of Paul seems to have been forced to stick to a low-power start, then settled into that role. Never going Full Power Mode.

But he's apparently had 80ish supervillains on the payroll for years, not counting all the non-villainous types like Jack Knight. Sooo, yeah, he must have access to some serious shit if he really wants it.

Guess he just needs some motivation to push him in that direction.

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if absolutely nothing else, he could simply go public and make a (genuinely distressed) complaint about being robbed by a costumed Vigilante....

....actually, the best part is i think that'd actually be the nuclear option, and it involves no shady deals, unstable experimental tech-or..hmm
trying to remember, does WW-12 have a Lasso of truth? i mean, if they're at all concerned about their reputation, a polite request to ask him to confirm/deny the accusation under a harmless truth compulsion, from someone he would trust as much as anyone he would wouldn't be unreasonable, would it?

 

[Coda]

The result is that all smaller ISPs end up 'renting' the infrastructure of the mega companies

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It should be noted that this is a simple statement of the nature of the Internet as a whole. It couldn't exist at all without this scheme. It's simply not commercially viable or technologically sensible for a local ISP to be directly responsible for peering connections and backbone maintenance. Just as how it's better to have centralized control over things like power generation/distribution or water, the whole thing would fall apart if the backbone wasn't managed by a central authority.

wangle an exception

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Huh. At first I thought this was a misspelling of "wrangle" or perhaps a Britishism, but it turns out that it's an example of convergent evolution in linguistics: two similar words with completely unrelated etymologies coming to mean basically the same thing.

head ache

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Usually one word.

That's the first time America's backwards attitude has come in handy for anyone.

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Dude, that's a low blow on a site with a no-politics rule. ... though on the other hand I suppose that makes it the best place to make that kind of comment, because you can be sure it's not going to blow up on you.

Salaak, I could see memorising it. Sinestro's a bit more surprising. Probably the 'asshole superior' plot.

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Sinestro's whole schtick is "lawful evil". It's not about knowledge; it's about order -- following the rules, to the letter.

Want to think about something terrifying?

Lord of Order Sinestro.

 

[Breadnaught]

if absolutely nothing else, he could simply go public and make a (genuinely distressed) complaint about being robbed by a costumed Vigilante....

....actually, the best part is i think that'd actually be the nuclear option, and it involves no shady deals, unstable experimental tech-or..hmm

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"Hello. Look, I know you have my Ring. My only legal recourse to get it back would be to press a civil suit and unleash the lawyers.

"Now, while I'm sure Wayne Enterprises has a very large team of the most vicious lawyers money can buy and could likely stonewall any suit I brought for decades if needed ...

"Well, in order to bring the suit against you, I'd need to release the fact that you're Batman, which would be horribly awkward for you. But again, I don't have any other legal recourse and I'm not putting on a ridicules costume and attempting to steal my own property back.

"Look, just stop being a dick and return my Ring and we can let the matter rest. If not, I'll just have to file the civil suit and let you deal with the consequences of your own actions."

does WW-12 have a Lasso of truth?

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Yes.

 

[Pinklestia]

It was a lot more complex then that.

Also Barbra turned out perfectly fine, so I wouldn't say he ruined her life.

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Ask Tim and Jason.

 

[Navi-Hank]

"Hello. Look, I know you have my Ring. My only legal recourse to get it back would be to press a civil suit and unleash the lawyers.

"Now, while I'm sure Wayne Enterprises has a very large team of the most vicious lawyers money can buy and could likely stonewall any suit I brought for decades if needed ...

"Well, in order to bring the suit against you, I'd need to release the fact that you're Batman, which would be horribly awkward for you. But again, I don't have any other legal recourse and I'm not putting on a ridicules costume and attempting to steal my own property back.

"Look, just stop being a dick and return my Ring and we can let the matter rest. If not, I'll just have to file the civil suit and let you deal with the consequences of your own actions."

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"I don't have it."
"Well that's just too bad."

 

[Massgamer]

I really wonder how Guardians would react to such rule-lawyering and would love to see a common sense update with their reaction.

Honestly think they need to adjust their rules and regs to account for Earth craziness in the future.

 

[Tzeentch]

I really wonder how Guardians would react to such rule-lawyering and would love to see a common sense update with their reaction.

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SAYD: .....Did we just get legally outmaneuvered by a lower lifeform?

GANTHET: (impressed) It would appear so.

 

[lefthandturnsignal]

Regarding business Paul and the stolen ring, it seems far more likely to me he would be more passive aggressive about it.

It would just be a bullet point in the league performance review, with the list of ways vigilantism can have unintended consequences that wouldn't happen if you just sat down and talked to someone. I'd think this Paul, with little to no ring charge left, may have even handed it to batman if he asked politely. He'd ask for it returned, but wouldn't expect the guardians to actually do so.

 

[Mr Zoat]

I've got more old corrections.

Broken link.

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Finding that took me half an hour.

*Teekl
Broken link. The product doesn't exist anymore, apparently.
Broken link. Or at least, I don't think it's showing what you want it to.
Broken link. The video is private now.
*confirmation
*confirmation
*thought

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Thank you. I'll correct the rest when I have time.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Okay, this fic has officially jumoed the shark.

Making America's health care system useful to someone?

Zoat, there are limits to willing suspension of disbelieve, you know?

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American healthcare has been sub-par for far longer than 20 years.

Usually one word.

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Thank you, corrected.

Dude, that's a low blow on a site with a no-politics rule. ... though on the other hand I suppose that makes it the best place to make that kind of comment, because you can be sure it's not going to blow up on you.

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This site does not have a no politics rule. This site has a no modern politics rule, though in increasingly looks like a 'no modern American politics' rule.

 

[dogbertcarroll]

The Guardians are beings of law and order (according to them) so it is entirely possible that if they get their hand on his ring they will find it too dangerous or useful to return, in which case they would pay him for his property by giving him a green lantern with ring. Doing so removes a dangerous object from unsafe hands, shows their fairness, and gives them a way to monitor Paul.

 

[Maxx Crowley]

though in increasingly looks like a 'no modern American politics' rule.

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We fuck things up Zoat. It's what we do.

Beyond that, is it really so hard NOT to go on page after page political rants just because of something mentioned in the story? I'm guessing not, if there actually has to be a hard rule on it.

 

[Cuchulin]

American healthcare has been sub-par for far longer than 20 years.

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Calling it sub-par is being a little generous.

 

[Tzeentch]

**Oh well, still useful. We'll pass it on to Batman.** Jade watches my face carefully. I suppose that me just standing here looks a bit odd. I smile at her. "Pleasant as that was, I'm afraid that I need to arrest you now. Though do feel free to look me up upon your release."

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Looking back at this, I hope we'll see in another "Common Sense" how MORTIFIED and PISSED Jade is that not only did she wind up a liability to The League of Shadows because of how distracted she was, but also because that the one who made her a fool is now dating her mother.

 

[PDV]

"Well, in order to bring the suit against you, I'd need to release the fact that you're Batman, which would be horribly awkward for you. But again, I don't have any other legal recourse and I'm not putting on a ridicules costume and attempting to steal my own property back.

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Better idea: file a suit at the Gotham City courthouse; PETER WYNNE vs. JOHN DOE (ALIAS "THE BATMAN"). I'm pretty sure there's legal precedent for keeping the legal identity of a defendant under seal, even in a civil case. Especially in superhero land. 'Peter' would have to tell the judge and publicly admit to knowing his name and residence, but he already has enough supervillains on staff to protect him.

 

[Cuchulin]

Better idea: file a suit at the Gotham City courthouse; PETER WYNNE vs. JOHN DOE (ALIAS "THE BATMAN"). I'm pretty sure there's legal precedent for keeping the legal identity of a defendant under seal, even in a civil case. Especially in superhero land. 'Peter' would have to tell the judge and publicly admit to knowing his name and residence, but he already has enough supervillains on staff to protect him.

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Best get legal advice from Two-Face first and get info on which judges to go to from the Penguin.

 

[PDV]

Best get legal advice from Two-Face first and get info on which judges to go to from the Penguin.

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Only if you then reverse all the advice.

 

[AverusBlack]

Spoiler: OH YEAAAAAHHHH

An image appears in my mind. I'd just got out of the zeta tube in the Hall of Justice, I turned to my right and-.

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I shuffle forwards slightly as the line approaching the happy couple moves very slightly. Only a few places to go. Lynne's bearing up pretty well, given how dull this must be for her. I'm dressed in a slightly sinicised set of old-style Apokoliptian court robes while she wears a delightful little pink number Father Box and I put together.

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I'm not sure exactly how much of the British super-establishment is on board with Project Evil, but… Even those who aren't would probably be on board with assisting in stopping me if they find me rampaging around a secure facility. Doubly so if I'm dripping with the blood of their countrymen. Of Chester's associates, the only one who really worries me is Tri-Man. Super speed and super strength are difficult for me to overcome at the best of times, and.. now… Isn't. Fortunately for me, he has Thundermind's problem of being too much a public figure to be able to disappear for long periods of time. A call has probably gone out, but it'll take him a while to get away from whatever's occupying him and.. then travel here…

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"Quite! They'll hear you!"

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I look him directly in the eyes. "Sir, I didn't know that you didn't know until just then. Early in my stay on this Earth I discovered any number of things that I would imagine people would rather I didn't share. So unless I've got a mission-related reason to do so-."

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This one is interesting because the page is still live, but the images linked on it which made the page relevant are now hotlink protected and not shown anymore. Or dead, or... whatever. Pretty sure it wasn't pictures of a kitten you meant to show.

"I would have preferred a better way, but I did not morn his passing."

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Hiya. Some more proofreading stuff. I've started asking a friend to double check links I'm not sure about so hopefully I won't end up reporting non-broken links, sorry about that. I also made a corrective post you may have missed but if not, just ignore me. It was just the spoiler and a single sentence.

 

[Simonbob]

Guys.

No Modern Politics.


That means if I see any more about the US Health Care, or one of their "Parties" I'll report.





If I have to shut up about it, so do you.

 

[AverusBlack]

Guys.

No Modern Politics.

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You're coming off like that kid who got the hall monitor sash who won't stop bitching about people running in the halls, mate. The mods can handle it.

 

[Simonbob]

You're coming off like that kid who got the hall monitor sash who won't stop bitching about people running in the halls, mate. The mods can handle it.

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The problem is I love arguing politics.

And, every time somebody starts refering to anything political, I have to hold myself back.



So, to prevent a debate that would force the mods to ban half the thread, could you all stop setting me off? Please?

 

[Lord Ernest]

I never got a sash or anything, but I was, at various points in my life, designated to monitor my class or some gathering of students. And I have to say, those were some of the best days during my student life; all that power and authority over people that I had to interact (and/or tolerate) daily is awesome.

 

[Cuchulin]

Only if you then reverse all the advice.

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Not at all, Harv was a very good lawyer and he HATES Batman so he is likely to give good legal advice. Oswald will know which judges will be sympathetic to some one bringing a case against Batman because they can't be as corrupt any more.

Guys.
No Modern Politics.
That means if I see any more about the US Health Care, or one of their "Parties" I'll report.
If I have to shut up about it, so do you.

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I was mostly thinking of how Reagan warned because against Medicare because it would lead to the end of freedom (which is to say Communism) and not anything more recent than the late 80's.

 

[Simonbob]

I was mostly thinking of how Reagan warned because against Medicare because it would lead to the end of freedom (which is to say Communism) and not anything more recent than the late 80's.

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I'm not allowed to argue about it, and I really, really want to.

It's better if we simply don't.

 

[thebishop8]

I wonder if the next episode is going to be a Renegade one?

Also, what ever happened to Estrogina? Last time we saw her, Admiral Dakyn was going to gift her to the Emperor of the Citadel. If she was on Citadel Complex when Paul crashed it, then she probably died. Unless Dakyn hadn't gotten around to gifting her yet. We technically don't know exactly what happened to Dakyn, but...yeah. Dakyn also had a psion who wanted to study her, so she could have been on Wombworld...when it was Base Delta Zeroed. Back when Persuader first appeared, Paul decided he should find out what happened to her, and he hasn't left Vega yet, so there's still opportunity for him to find out that he probably got her killed. Oh well, I don't think he'll feel that guilty anyway.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Conqueror's Moon

10th February
08:01 GMT -7

"While I'm perfectly happy-" I try to avoid frowning as Sunset attaches one of her experimental thaumic flux detectors to my forehead. "-to assist you in your work, I was rather under the impression that you'd cracked the whole-" Another goes on my right shoulder. "-alicorn transformation thing."

"I… Think I have."

Another sensor goes on my right hand, then she holds out another while looking at my bare chest.

"Um."

I alternately tense and relax my left and right pecs, and she moues.

"Could you… Like, not do that?"

"Has someone started finding bipeds attractive?"

She looks away, trying not to squirm. "Circe… Had a.. talk with me. Adom… Was.. there."

She's actually blushing. It's adorable.

"You know?" I take the sensor from her and stick it on myself… Myself. "You should write a paper on the subject. There are so many humanoid species around the place that your experience as a quadruped is rather interesting, from a social psychological point of view." Hm. "Nudity isn't sexual on Wilson, is it?"

"It might be in some places. Not in Equestria. But I know it is here."

"On Apokolips, it means 'I trust you enough not to wear armour around you'. That's a big deal, but it's not always sexual."

"I think I'll stick-" She passes me the box containing the rest of the sensors and I obligingly begin attaching them as well. "-with magic. Wait." She frowns. "You walk around people who don't wear armour all the time."

"Yes, but I have thirty years of memories of that being normal. At most, it makes me feel like I'm living on a weirdly friendly planet. It's actually quite nice. Even when I was on trial for murder… Everyone in that court room was my friend."

"Huh." She frowns. "I.. suppose that makes sense. I keep thinking that I need to be on my best behaviour, because… Big, formal events are the only times when ponies wear clothes like this."

"You're completely free to wander around naked if you want."

"Yeah… I… No. I tried that with Circe, and it was just… Awkward. And it makes my teats uncomfortable."

"You could just wear a bra. Since you're going back home in a couple of months… Might be worth getting used to again." She looks at me sceptically, and I fan out my hands. "Alright, you don't have to." That's all of the sensors. "So what's this about?"

She stands back, folding her arms across her chest. "I think I've worked out alicorn transformation. Everything I know about thaumaturgy, mathematics and Equ-. And Wilsonian magic-" I smile and nod approvingly and she rolls her eyes. "-tells me that I'm right. But… Newtonian physics works well enough over a small area. There could be something… Something I don't know about that I'm not taking into consideration. Celestia's a lot bigger than Cadenza and her mane and tail shimmer-."

I nod. "And that shampoo is probably really expensive."

"I tested her shampoo when I was eight. It's not her shampoo. It could just be her age, what happens when the higher magic levels in her body keep building up, it.. could be something about her link with the sun… I don't know."

"Could it be a spell?"

"Ah… It could. Celestia's really good at magic." Another eye roll. "Allegedly. And when she realised exactly why I wanted to study her she forbade me from studying her, which made doing it really difficult. It's possible that she used a glamour I couldn't detect, but… I don't think so. I'm mostly worried that there's something more that I don't know about because the evidence for it is hard to detect."

I nod. "A reasonable concern. So what's all this for?"

"I want to study your god-powers. Given how you've described the process of getting it, it sounds like the closest analogue to getting a cutie mark or becoming an alicorn. And since-. Actually, are you going to Awaken Persuader?"

"Not any time soon. I'm actually curious if a human can trigger the process without someone external forcing it."

"You do know that she doesn't answer to her name when she's got her armour on?"

"Refuses to, or literally doesn't recognise it?"

"Neither's exactly healthy."

I shrug. "I don't even remember my juvenile name. If she's close to making a breakthrough on her own, that might be part of it."

"That… Just seems…"

"Cruel?"

"Irresponsible. She's a crazy murderer who you're encouraging to become crazier."

"I'm encouraging her to acquire skills in a profession she loves. You've spent time with her when she's in Elise-mode, haven't you? How does she seem to you?"

"Weirdly… Happy? Even with all of the bruises."

"There you go." I give the sensors a quick check. Everything in place. "So what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Just… Do whatever it is you do. I'll be recording it-. Or… Trying to, anyway."

"Trying to?"

"What you do isn't like normal magic. When I tried this with Circe I couldn't get a clear reading, but I'm hoping that's because of all the regular magic she uses. Since you don't use other forms of magic, it shouldn't be such a problem."

"Okay." I pick up a plasma lance from the ground next to me. Should be simple enough.

It's a simple device, fuel, battery, the magnetic 'rifling' system which keeps the cloud of charged particles going where the shooter wants them, coolant to make sure that the rest of the gun doesn't melt and the mass of the body of the gun. But as I impress myself upon it that rapidly stops being the case. Now it's a tool, an instrument by which my territory can be defended and expanded. A symbol of the power of my legions and the order they bring, its fire scourging those who oppose me from the universe. And those manufacturing centres which produce it are evidence of the industrial power of my realm, the purpose I bring to the lives of all those who give of themselves to me.

"Getting anything?"

"Kind… Of..? I don't think that it's… Big enough." She fiddles with the crystalline array which she's using to aid her sorcery. "Can you try something over a wider area?"

"Yes, but the effect will be much smaller."

I don't bother mentioning that I'm effectively… Not mind controlling, but certainly mentally influencing people. I can cow peoples' spirits but I'm not going to be doing that here and now.

"I'm really more interested in how what you power up links to you than I am in the exact mechanism. Once I'm an alicorn I'll have all the time in the universe to learn to do this for myself. I just need to make sure that I don't need to learn it first."

"Alright." I put down the gun, now simply a gun again rather than an instrument of my will.

Hm.

I close my eyes and reach out across the Challenger Mountain facility, feeling the weak shimmers of essence of each of the genomorphs and the more substantive resistance from Knockout's own divinity. She has accepted me as her overlord so I can bend her-. Ah, she feels it. And in any case her nature isn't actually opposed to mine. In another part I feel Mortalla's weaker soul, her nature far more… Synthetic. I'm not sure what Desaad did to make that happen, but I don't think he did it with a Father Box's aid. While she doesn't appear to be aware of what I'm doing, her nature isn't opposed to mine either.

I spread my awareness to every corner of the facility.

Sunset's device beeps, and she smiles.

The First Brick.

And then it explodes.

 

[Handlewithcare]

And then it explodes.

As is, of course, tradition in this fic.

 

[thebishop8]

And those manufacturing centre which produce it

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*centres

I put the gun, now simply a gun again rather than an instrument of my will.

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*I put the gun down

genomorphs and the more substantively resistance from Knockout's own

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*substantive


Conqueror's Moon?

Any ideas what that is?

 

[AverusBlack]

Conqueror's Moon?

Any ideas what that is?

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A really, really assertive awoo?

 

[Valint]

I was rather under the impression that you'd crack the whole

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"you'd already cracked" ?