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

Greenies are space cops. OLs are Queen Whatrvera Wannabes.
.....I could totally see Paul singing that...

"'Im so not a villain, I have zero evil plans
No ulterior motive, just want to help where I can
I wanna shower you with gifts
'Cause I'm selfless and sweet
So there's no reason at all to be suspicious of me"
 
.....I could totally see Paul singing that...

"'Im so not a villain, I have zero evil plans
No ulterior motive, just want to help where I can
I wanna shower you with gifts
'Cause I'm selfless and sweet
So there's no reason at all to be suspicious of me"

That song is so...catchy.

Greenies are space cops. OLs are Queen Whatrvera Wannabes.

Oh this is perfect.

Also, Lego Batman is best Batman.
 
Fatherbox is a living machine, possessed of its own will and desires. That those desires are Darkseid's is solely because it was "born" and "raised" on Apokolipse and that's the sorta place it is.

The ship meanwhile, is a fucking ship. It may have been designed to be used by a New God, but it is still an inanimate object. It is not secretly working for Darkseid, nor will it unless suborned in a relatively more mundane fashion.
It's an inanimate object that was built by Apocolypse.

Meaning Darkseid will have both hardware and software root access to everything.


Harvey snorts. "Yeah, word of advice, buddy? If she moves to a different city-."

"Planet."

"That too. Then she's gone."
It's about time someone finally explained things to Paul, pity he won't listen.
 
Common fan theory based partly on the movies is that Ras' kept messing with things in Gotham both to keep Batman busy and hoping to force him to kill at some point so he would become an "acceptable" heir to the organization.
 
It's an inanimate object that was built by Apocolypse.

Meaning Darkseid will have both hardware and software root access to everything.

No?

It's a Gordarian ship that was built by Gordarians and enhanced with New God tech. It wasn't built on Apokolips, nor would Grayven 50 have been inclined to leave back doors in his flag ship for Darkseid to exploit.
 
No?

It's a Gordarian ship that was built by Gordarians and enhanced with New God tech. It wasn't built on Apokolips, nor would Grayven 50 have been inclined to leave back doors in his flag ship for Darkseid to exploit.
I mean I guess it's possible that it doesn't have any protections from it given that darkseid is dead.
 
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Guys from Gotham (part 2)
16th February
21:27 GMT -5


I watch as Talia feeds another swab into a DNA analyser.

"You know, I could probably do that faster, too."

"If you cannot remain quiet while I work then you are free to leave."

The Morpheus-lookalike I picked up from the laboratory is apparently called 'Doctor Kaligari'. Can't say I've ever heard of him, but then Gotham generates more lunatics than any rational person could possibly remember. Or… Do they go mad and then come here? No idea what his real name is. Shouldn't be too hard to track a man with his physical oddities, but with government computers now virtually all warded I can't just casually mass-hack the whole system any longer. Which I intellectually appreciate is a good thing…

"Did I do something to annoy you lately?"

I casually scan the laboratory equipment I recovered, uploading-. Using a construct cable to connect my ring to the cave's computer and uploading everything I discovered. None of the prints are reliable enough to identify anyone with any certainty, DNA samples… Don't prove anything other than that some dead skin or hair blew in through an open window. Blood would be a bit more telling but it wasn't likely that any would remain on laboratory equipment.

Talia looks up as the computer reports the upload. "Your time would be better spent analysing the Smilex-derivative."

"Alright, but you haven't answered my question." Hm. "Looks… Weirdly short-lived. The result would be a lot more subtle than the usual 'laughed themselves to death' effect of the stuff Napier uses. And… Given the psychoactive component-."

"Recreational."

"Perhaps. It was originally intended to be an anti-depressant." In much the same way that Viagra was originally intended to be used to treat high blood pressure and angina. It does work for that purpose, but that's not what anyone thinks of when they hear it. "Ah… I think the results would be… Heightened aggression, intense bursts of emotion and an altered perception of reality. But what that would actually mean for people's behaviour… Not sure."

"They would become like the Joker."

"Or they'd become a slightly more vicious breed of drug-addled lout. The Joker… I've never really understood what's so special about him."

"Neither have I."

I could make a crack about Ra's al Ghul playing second fiddle to a clown, but… As a villain, Ra's makes a lot more sense to me. His goal made a sort of sense to me. Even his mistakes make sense to me in terms of who he is. Napier… I don't.. think that plot armour really exists, but I'm struggling to come up with reasons for Napier not to be dead.

I'm not sure what I'd do if he got out of Arkham again.

"Yes, but… I mean I don't understand the chemical processes which turned a failing comedian into a serial killer. He's clearly a lot more intelligent than he was before…"

"My father once tried to identify the precise mechanism by which Jack Napier became the Joker. He thought that it was more likely to be alchemical than chemical."

"Did he learn anything?"

"Only one test subject survived. He and the four Shadows he turned were killed attempting to murder my father a few days later. The behavioral changes he showed were in some ways similar to those experienced by the Joker, but clearly dissimilar in others. He described it more in mystical terms. Dissecting his brain revealed a few changes, but as you say, it is difficult to draw hard conclusions."

"Just as long as you're not going to suggest that we try the stuff."

"No, that would be foolish. And I am annoyed with you for undermining me before Commissioner Gordon."

"Then you should learn to make better use of your assets. I may not work for you, but I'd be happy to cooperate."

"If you disliked my command style then you should bring the matter to me in private."

"Okay, stop you right there. I'm the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. Remember all of those people who turned up when the angels murdered me? Yes, I'm the second in command of that organisation. I'm not one of Batman's projects. I'm a capable superhero in my own right and the only reason I take orders from Batman on team missions is because it's more efficient than bringing in enough assets to create my own organisation from scratch."

"You -on the other hand- would be in prison serving multiple life sentences right now if Mister Wayne didn't love you. I neither need nor want your permission to operate in Gotham, or talk to Gotham police, or stop crimes in Gotham. You do not outrank me. I do not take orders from you. When I offer to cooperate, that is what I am offering to do. And while you are free to respond in a truculent manner, the result will not be me throwing a teenage tantrum and storming off to my room to sulk; the result will be me investigating without you. Up to you."

She regards me-.

"Hey Oh El." I look around as Richard enters the cave. "Making friends?"

"Seems unlikely. D-?"

"Robin." Talia turns to her adopted son. "Do you have any new information about a Smilex-based narcotic?"

"Ah…" His eyes narrow slightly. "No. There's been a little more cocaine on the streets and a little less heroin, but nothing exotic." He walks slowly down the steps into the cave-proper. "Is that what the Bat-signal was for?"

"Orange Lantern decided to retrieve the chemist and his laboratory in a flamboyant fashion. We will investigate, but I suspect that the mastermind will go to ground."

"Ah." He nods, then looks at me. "Oh El? We usually avoid doing things like that because it makes it a lot harder to find anything out."

"That may well be, but it did get several gallons of Smilex-derived narcotic off the streets, along with the man making it. And, frankly, I think that's worth delaying the investigation for." I turn to Talia. "Why don't you leave this part of the investigation to me and.. go out and interrogate some drug dealers?"

"I don't trust that you won't miss some useful detail. You depend on your ring for such things. You do not have the training that my beloved has, that I have, or even that Robin has."

"Ah, thanks."

"So? Richard's here. He and I have worked together plenty of times. And it'll be far easier for us to look at the stuff the police are holding than it would be for you to examine it in detail."

Talia considers that for a moment.

"Robin, is your school work complete?"

"I'm good for the next few days."

"Then you will guide the Illustres as he examines the materials taken from the laboratory while I pursue leads in the field. Contact me with updates every ten minutes."

"O-kay?"

Apparently dismissing us, Talia stalks back towards the car.

Richard and I look at each other for a moment.

"Alright then. Ring, list local companies who could have provided the non-stolen components."
 
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psychoactive competent
component

people's

the result will not be me throwing a teenage tantrum and storming off to my room to sulk, the result will be me investigating without you.
Semicolon instead of comma.

his laboratory is a flamboyant fashion
Probably meant "in" a flamboyant fashion?
 
"Okay, stop you right there. I'm the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. Remember all of those people who turned up when the angels murdered me? Yes, I'm the second in command of that organisation. I'm not one of Batman's projects. I'm a capable superhero in my own right and the only reason I take orders from Batman on team missions is because it's more efficient than bringing in enough assets to create my own organisation from scratch."

"You -on the other hand- would be in prison serving multiple life sentences right now if Mister Wayne didn't love you. I neither need nor want your permission to operate in Gotham, or talk to Gotham police, or stop crimes in Gotham. You do not outrank me. I do not take orders from you. When I offer to cooperate, that is what I am offering to do. And while you are free to respond in a truculent manner, the result will not be me throwing a teenage tantrum and storming off to my room to sulk, the result will be me investigating without you. Up to you."
That's probably going to hurt her ego, and maybe tick off Batman. Does she even realize that OL isn't like the other hormonal irrational teenagers she probably sees most of the Team as? I hope that by the end of this, OL saves the day and makes her look unnecessary. The most painful part of that statement is that he's right, which neither Bruce nor Talia will probably ever admit out loud.
 
That's probably going to hurt her ego, and maybe tick off Batman. Does she even realize that OL isn't like the other hormonal irrational teenagers she probably sees most of the Team as? I hope that by the end of this, OL saves the day and makes her look unnecessary. The most painful part of that statement is that he's right, which neither Bruce nor Talia will probably ever admit out loud.
No, he isn't. Talia would've stayed with her father and died alongside him if she hadn't been able to go to Bruce. Maybe go to Nyssa? But then Lex comes along...
 
Huh, the alchemy possibility actually makes the Joker plausible in terms of the shit he's managed. Maybe he has a healing factor or supernatural luck or something.
Another possibility was brought up earlier in the story -- that Napier was already a metahuman, and that's what let him pull through what would have ordinarily been a crippling dose of Smilex.
 
I watch as Talia feeds another swab into a DNA analyser.

"You know, I could probably do that faster, too."

"If you cannot remain quiet while I work then you are free to leave."
Oh, she is just a peach, isn't she?

The Morpheus-lookalike I picked up from the laboratory is apparently called 'Doctor Kaligari'. Can't say I've ever heard of him, but then Gotham generates more lunatics than any rational person could possibly remember. Or… Do they go mad and then come here? No idea what his real name is. Shouldn't be too hard to track a man with his physical oddities, but with government computers now virtually all warded I can't just casually mass-hack the whole system any longer. Which I intellectually appreciate is a good thing…
But it's still irritating, isn't it?

"Did I do something to annoy you lately?"

I casually scan the laboratory equipment I recovered, uploading-. Using a construct cable to connect my ring to the cave's computer and uploading everything I discovered. None of the prints are reliable enough to identify anyone with any certainty, DNA samples… Don't prove anything other than that some dead skin or hair blew in through an open window. Blood would be a bit more telling but it wasn't likely that any would remain on laboratory equipment.

Talia looks up as the computer reports the upload. "Your time would be better spent analysing the Smilex-derivative."
What, he can't multi-task? Most powerful tool in the universe and all.

"Alright, but you haven't answered my question." Hm. "Looks… Weirdly short-lived. The result would be a lot more subtle than the usual 'laughed themselves to death' effect of the stuff Napier uses. And… Given the psychoactive competent-."

"Recreational."
I will never cease to be amazed at what people will shove into their own body for entertainment...

"Perhaps. It was originally intended to be an anti-depressant." In much the same way that Viagra was originally intended to be used to treat high blood pressure and angina. It does work for that purpose, but that's not what anyone thinks of when they hear it. "Ah… I think the results would be… Heightened aggression, intense bursts of emotion and an altered perception of reality. But what that would actually mean for peoples' behaviour… Not sure."
I'm sure someone would enjoy that. Not the kind of people you want enjoying it, but hey, there are people in-universe who use a drug called 'Devil Jizz'...

"They would become like the Joker."

"Or they'd become a slightly more vicious breed of drug-addled lout. The Joker… I've never really understood what's so special about him."

"Neither have I."
He is something of an acquired taste...

I could make a crack about Ra's al Ghul playing second fiddle to a clown, but… As a villain, Ra's makes a lot more sense to me. His goal made a sort of sense to me. Even his mistakes make sense to me in terms of who he is. Napier… I don't.. think that plot armour really exists, but I'm struggling to come up with reasons for Napier not to be dead.

I'm not sure what I'd do if he got out of Arkham again.
I'm guessing he wouldn't go out of his way to use non-lethal options. A possible point of irritation between him and Batman, most likely.

"Yes, but… I mean I don't understand the chemical processes which turned a failing comedian into a serial killer. He's clearly a lot more intelligent than he was before…"

"My father once tried to identify the precise mechanism by which Jack Napier became the Joker. He thought that if was more likely to be alchemical than chemical."
Just don't mention Dionesium... Also: 'thought it was'

"Did he learn anything?"

"Only one test subject survived. He and the four Shadows he turned were killed attempting to murder my father a few days later. He showed certain behavioural changes similar to those experienced by the Joker, but clearly dissimilar in others. He described it more in mystical terms. Dissecting his brain revealed a few changes, but as you say, it is difficult to draw hard conclusions."
I'm guessing he simply didn't have a bad enough day.

"Just as long as you're not going to suggest that we try the stuff."

"No, that would be foolish. And I am annoyed with you for undermining me before Commissioner Gordon."
Not the first time Batman's tried using one of his foes' chemical enhancements...

"Then you should learn to make better use of your assets. I may not work for you, but I'd be happy to cooperate."

"If you disliked my command style then you should bring the matter to me in private."
Really, trying to pull the 'senior officer' angle?

"Okay, stop you right there. I'm the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. Remember all of those people who turned up when the angels murdered me? Yes, I'm the second in command of that organisation. I'm not one of Batman's projects. I'm a capable superhero in my own right and the only reason I take orders from Batman on team missions is because it's more efficient than bringing in enough assets to create my own organisation from scratch."

"You -on the other hand- would be in prison serving multiple life sentences right now if Mister Wayne didn't love you. I neither need nor want your permission to operate in Gotham, or talk to Gotham police, or stop crimes in Gotham. You do not outrank me. I do not take orders from you. When I offer to cooperate, that is what I am offering to do. And while you are free to respond in a truculent manner, the result will not be me throwing a teenage tantrum and storming off to my room to sulk, the result will be me investigating without you. Up to you."
Well said.

She regards me-.

"Hey Oh El." I look around as Richard enters the cave. "Making friends?"

"Seems unlikely. D-?"

"Robin." Talia turns to her adopted son. "Do you have any new information about a Smilex-based narcotic?"
I suppose their areas of operation are different enough they'd get different info... If nothing else, rich school-age kids tend to be very wild, at least in DC.

"Ah…" His eyes narrow slightly. "No. There's been a little more cocaine on the streets and a little less heroin, but nothing exotic." He walks slowly down the steps into the cave-proper. "Is that what the Bat-signal was for?"

"Orange Lantern decided to retrieve the chemist and his laboratory is a flamboyant fashion. We will investigate, but I suspect that the mastermind will go to ground."
It's just a matter of time. The Weirdos can never keep their heads down for long...

"Ah." He nods, then looks at me. "Oh El? We usually avoid doing things like that because it makes it a lot harder to find anything out."

"That may well be, but it did get several gallons of Smilex-derived narcotic off the streets, along with the man making it. And, frankly, I think that's worth delaying the investigation for." I turn to Talia. "Why don't you leave this part of the investigation to me and.. go out and interrogate some drug dealers?"
Maybe a little less Smug, OL. Not exactly endearing yourself to her, even if you don't want to.

"I don't trust that you won't miss some useful detail. You depend on your ring for such things. You do not have the training that my beloved has, that I have, or even that Robin has."

"Ah, thanks."

"So? Richard's here. He and I have worked together plenty of times. And it'll be far easier for us to look at the stuff the police are holding than it would be for you to examine it in detail."
Just a matter of whether it ends up exploding or not... Seriously, OL, when have you ever not complicated things?

Talia considers that for a moment.

"Robin, is your school work complete?"

"I'm good for the next few days."
Heh. Able to focus on his mind, given that his body is superhuman.

"Then you will guide the Illustres as he examines the materials taken from the laboratory while I pursue leads in the field. Contact me with updates every ten minutes."

"O-kay?"
Ten minutes? Boy, someone's nose is out of joint...

Apparently dismissing us, Talia stalks back towards the car.

Richard and I look at each other for a moment.

"Alright then. Ring, list local companies who could have provided the non-stolen components."
Welp, busy work. Show what Talia thinks of them...

Got to wonder where this is going, or if this is just the warm-up before the real plot gets rolling...
 
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This is hilarious given Paul is protected by the second strongest plot armor in the story.
Paul's name is not in the Book of Destiny, so in-universe he has the least amount of plot armor possible. However, in general, I agree that Paul not knowing if plot armor exists is strange, because he knows Endless exist, Destiny and his Book exist as a subset of the Endless, and the Book can be manipulated.
 
No. He's protected by an Orange Lantern ring, and shittonnes of prep work.
No, Paul is protected by Zoat, his author, altering certain things or even creating them whole cloth to protect his self insert from what would under canon be the consequences of his actions.

Also of course the liberal dose of plot shields that let Paul use an Orange Ring without going crazy in the first place.
 
"Okay, stop you right there. I'm the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. Remember all of those people who turned up when the angels murdered me? Yes, I'm the second in command of that organisation. I'm not one of Batman's projects. I'm a capable superhero in my own right and the only reason I take orders from Batman on team missions is because it's more efficient than bringing in enough assets to create my own organisation from scratch."

"You -on the other hand- would be in prison serving multiple life sentences right now if Mister Wayne didn't love you. I neither need nor want your permission to operate in Gotham, or talk to Gotham police, or stop crimes in Gotham. You do not outrank me. I do not take orders from you. When I offer to cooperate, that is what I am offering to do. And while you are free to respond in a truculent manner, the result will not be me throwing a teenage tantrum and storming off to my room to sulk, the result will be me investigating without you. Up to you."

That was looong overdue.
 
Huh, the alchemy possibility actually makes the Joker plausible in terms of the shit he's managed. Maybe he has a healing factor or supernatural luck or something.
The fact that pretty much every test subject tried to kill Ra's, but their reactions were distinctly different from the Joker's, I would guess the way it changes someone depends on the individual. Assassins or whoever under Ra's are going to be extremely different than a failed comedian, and are going to be more similar to each other which could have been why their results were so similar.

A bit off-topic but I've always wanted one of those "the Joker gets temporarily turned sane" scenes DC comics tend to do sometimes to have him charge Batman and angrily demand to know why the fuck he's still alive and why the fuck won't Batman just let someone kill him if he won't do it himself, before attempting to end his own life and hating Batman even more when he won't let him do that.
 
This is hilarious given Paul is protected by the second strongest plot armor in the story.
stop being snippy. paul is a smart protag. not a perfect one but he is not stupid. he has plans. that doesn't mean the plan will survive contact with the enemy.

No, Paul is protected by Zoat, his author, altering certain things or even creating them whole cloth to protect his self insert from what would under canon be the consequences of his actions.

Also of course the liberal dose of plot shields that let Paul use an Orange Ring without going crazy in the first place.
can you give some examples?
 
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Another possibility was brought up earlier in the story -- that Napier was already a metahuman, and that's what let him pull through what would have ordinarily been a crippling dose of Smilex.
I forget where I picked it up from, but I subscribe to the theory that a lot of the odd metahumans had an inactive meta gene that saved them and influenced what powers they got. Dr Fries gets doused with fatal cryogenic chemicals and he becomes Mr Freeze, for instance.
 
I forget where I picked it up from, but I subscribe to the theory that a lot of the odd metahumans had an inactive meta gene that saved them and influenced what powers they got. Dr Fries gets doused with fatal cryogenic chemicals and he becomes Mr Freeze, for instance.
You picked it up from earlier in this very fic. :p
 
"No, that would be foolish. And I am annoyed with you for undermining me before Commissioner Gordon."
You just suggested Melinoe could cause temporary insanity for academic purposes, but when it's done with chemicals it's baaaad....
Double standard.
Another possibility was brought up earlier in the story -- that Napier was already a metahuman, and that's what let him pull through what would have ordinarily been a crippling dose of Smilex.
Tainted Lazarus Pit under Gotham, is what has been suggested by DC. But those storylines were pretty crazy...
 
You just suggested Melinoe could cause temporary insanity for academic purposes, but when it's done with chemicals it's baaaad....
Double standard.
The God of Madness has a lot more control over madness and what it does than a chemist working with early 21st century biology. The Joker had a accident with the stuff and became, well, the Joker. Avoiding the stuff that made him unless you understand it very well is prudent, because it evidently has the potential for immediate, severe, and permanent mental alterations, best summed up as "violent psychopathic insanity in a vial".
 

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