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

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Maxx Crowley said:
As I recall, around that time, the bright yellow oval with the Bat symbol inside was the most heavily armored part. The bright yellow part being handwaved as being purposeful as he WANTED people to aim there.

Problem? That part of his chest is one of the worst places to take a bullet, Kevlar or no. Which was what he had back then.

Reason? While Kevlar might stop a bullet, it's still halting a small point of extreme kinetic force. Feeling like a mini car wreck/the hardest punch you could possibly ever take. Bruising is a given, cracked or broken bones an extremely likely hood. Over the breast bone like Batman has?

Also? Enough repeat impacts and its just not going to matter. Bullet "proof" material can be brute forced.
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All true, but it's important to note that as the most heavily armored part, and not having to cover a joint, the bat-symbol would have been a rigid plate rather than the soft or semi-flexible types. Would still hurt like a bitch, but not in the "poked by Superman" kind of way.
 
Mr Zoat said:
"What?"

Richard… Probably raises his eyebrows at me as I fly up to his rooftop eyrie.

"You didn't try and sneak up on me."
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Honestly, you should turn in your Bat-family membership! :eek:

"Come on, Oh El. How am I supposed to manage that?"

"I happen to know that Batman still routinely sneaks-."

"Sneaks away from Commissioner Gordon when he's looking in the other direction, I know." He turns away, accelerates to a loping run and leaps easily from one side of the street to the other. I transition after him. "Barbara asked me if it was Batman's idea of pranking him."
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Prank or not, it's still kinda rude, no matter how used to it he might be.

"And since you've given me such an open and honest answer, I'll return the favour. Basic magic concealment will shield you from my empathic vision unless I make a real effort, scry warding will stop regular ring scans-"

"I knew that."

"-and other forms of radiation can be blocked in various ways. It wouldn't be easy to set something up without fully enclosed armour, but you probably could. You might be better off going 'full-magic' if that's the way you want to go."
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A maigic-geared Nightwing? Could be amusing.

He accelerates to a sprint. His next jump takes him up five floors and across another road.

"What, you weren't satisfied with getting Kid Flash into magic and now you want to me as well?"
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Not like he's pushing the entire team into magical gear... Just Superboy... And Kid Flash... Is Artemis using any magic arrows yet?

"Yes Using magic equipment, anyway. You can buy directly from Atlantis so I don't have to know what you're getting-. Though you might be better off going through me to buy from Hephaestus."

"Did you ever think about why Batman doesn't buy magic equipment?"

"I've been assuming that it's because he can't maintain it himself. Which… Isn't much of an argument to a Lantern."
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True enough. It's apparently the same reason he refuses augmentation. No clear knowledge of side-effects, the time needed to retrain... Control-freak...

"I think it's more because the people he knew who used it didn't exactly understand how it works. Even a guy like Jason Blood usually only explains what he can do in mystical terms. And Zatanna doesn't know why things happen when he talks backwards."

"But Atlantis-."

"Batman didn't meet Aquaman until the Appellaxian attack. And they didn't really talk much about Atlantean magic."
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Plus he'd probably have to study the thumatological notation and methodology. Not like he has the time in between fighting super-villians...

"King Orin probably didn't know all that much himself. Not like he grew up with it. But you can get in contact with the Atlantean embassy in Washington and arrange a consultation with a commercial wizard whenever you want. So, is it a prank?"

"I don't think so?" He slows to a halt atop the tallest building in this part of Gotham. "I think in the beginning he wanted to make the police afraid of him too, seeing as how most of them were working for the mob anyway. Now it's just part of what he does."
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Still rude.

"Alan didn't do things like that when he worked with the Gotham police."

"Gotham wasn't a corrupt mess in the thirties."

"Alright, but what makes a bigger impression: disappearing in the middle of a conversation or hanging in the air while glowing brilliant green?"
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And the whole flying thing wouldn't be as common in the forties.

"Batman didn't know who Green Lantern was."

"What, and he couldn't have found out?"

"Huh." He turns away and looks out across the city. "That's actually a good point. He could have found him."
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If he had any reason to, he would have.

"I mean, I understand why he didn't track down Crimson Avenger-"

"Because he was dead."

"-even though they operate in similar ways."
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It's the guns, I think. Batman has his whole thing about guns...

While Hugo Danner was America's first superhero, Crimson Avenger was America's first masked hero. He also had a rather large body count. I haven't checked to see whether the local version had the demonically possessed handguns of the version I remember, but he certainly shot people dead. I mean, he didn't do it on principle; he wasn't the DC version of the Punisher or anything. But people in America are allowed to own firearms and use them for self defence or the defence of another. Back then -especially coming off the back of prohibition- the 'custom' of heroes not using lethal force basically didn't exist.

Still. Since I'm here, it might be worth putting a little extra effort into hunting down those guns.
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If only to keep them out of the wrong hands. And prevent innocent people from getting caught up in some spiritual vendetta...

"Not that similar." He turns back to me. "So how'd it go with the Penguin?"

"He's going to keep an ear out. How'd it go with the Penguin's computers?"

"I didn't find anything major. I mean, I didn't think he'd get involved with dealing Smilex, but he might have supplied the muscle or the intel." He shrugs. "Nothing."
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That's... out of the ordinary by itself.

"Is that unusual?"

"Gotham's economy might have picked up, but it's not so good that people with long criminal records can get jobs easily. A lot of them go to the Penguin…" He shrugs. "But it's not like he runs a labor exchange. Plenty of people don't go to him."

"Alright. What next?"
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Sweep the city for traces of Smilex?

"Next?" He brings up his arm computer. "I send a message to Batwoman, so she doesn't do anything crazy. Then I go looking for people who look like they're up to no good and ask them if they know anything."

"Might it be worth talking to Catwoman? She lives in the sort of place where the buyers might live."

"It's not just poor people who buy Smilex, Oh El." He exhales. "Not any more. For a little while the Joker was giving it away. He started at low doses, then escalated. People are a lot more cautious these days."
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Not surprising.

Hm. The only person I remember selling a Smilex-derivative in the comics was Maximilian Zeus. The local version of him is a mostly-recovered businessman who attends court-mandated therapy sessions and who these days studiously avoids anything that would cause a relapse. Or maybe I'm over thinking it: sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
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And having the real gods running around probably helped put the kibosh in his looniness.

"I suppose." Hm. "Speaking of exotic equipment upgrades: do you think Batman would want a power ring?"

"Ah… Probably not from you."

"I ask because Sinestro's dispute with the Guardians isn't strictly my problem." Richard looks decidedly dubious. "Part of Batman's method involves inciting fear, which would match the techniques needed to use a yellow ring."
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As Ngamer11 said, an entire Corps of Batman-style agents? Scary, pun not intended.

"You.. haven't been.. talking to him, have you?"

"No, but Dox did. And I'm wondering if maybe I should. If Sinestro gained access to more rings, I'd much rather he use Batman as a template for his training methods rather than anyone else."

"I'm.. gunna say 'no'."
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Given his comics history with Rings, I'd agree with that.

"How about if Sinestro had an accident? He is under sentence of death in several places."

"Aren't you the one who said that Batman isn't the DSP guy?"

"I suppose. Alright. I'll go and look for more Smilex, you shake down some suspicious characters. Meet you back in an hour?"
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Likelyhood of finding anything significant: low on Robin's part...

Well, more walk-and-talk (or roofhop-and-talk. Good to see Robin taking advantage of his Danner-given powers.) Even if the entire episode is like this, it'd be enjoyable just because of banter.
 
What a casual way of offering to kill Sinestro just to bring the ring to Batman, like it's a brief chore or something like that. But honestly, not a bad idea at all. The Yellow Light is not contributing nothing to the universe right now, and although I do agree that Batman is not the "DPS guy", that would shore up his weakness in combat plus assist him in better managing the Justice League in general.

Seriously, Batman has always sounded better to me as the leader of an organization of like-minded or trained individuals that he manages and support; the idea of Batman Inc. sounded great but the execution not so much, the Bat-Family is great as a unit or individuals that support each other and I always come back to the Generations Elseworlds where he took over the Assassins.
 
Aeess said:
Why would he need to murder Sinestro for the Yellow Ring, when he has the inventor working for him and still ready to make yellow rings.
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Because Yellow rings have a high chance of attracting Sinestro's attention, and he might just take offense. I mean, he did name his yellow Lantern corps the Sinestro corps after all.

Also? He's kinda one of those people who needs to die.

To the story. Well this could be a hint to the fracturing of the relationship, OL turning Robin away from the way of the Bat.
 
Maxx Crowley said:
Because Yellow rings have a high chance of attracting Sinestro's attention, and he might just take offense. I mean, he did name his yellow Lantern corps the Sinestro corps after all.

Also? He's kinda one of those people who needs to die.
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Is Sinestro evil yet? Frankly I don't remember when he decided to go full ham; I just sort of vaguely recall at some point he was the guy who thought the Guardians weren't being proactive enough, and then all of a sudden he was committing the kinds of atrocities he wanted the Guardians to intervene against.

Maxx Crowley said:
To the story. Well this could be a hint to the fracturing of the relationship, OL turning Robin away from the way of the Bat.
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Well it had to have a reason to happen at some point; Bruce and Barbara aren't likely to sleep together in this AU.
 
TheEyes said:
Is Sinestro evil yet? Frankly I don't remember when he decided to go full ham; I just sort of vaguely recall at some point he was the guy who thought the Guardians weren't being proactive enough, and then all of a sudden he was committing the kinds of atrocities he wanted the Guardians to intervene against.
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He is, for example, here's a bit talking about him from the Headhunting arc...

Mr Zoat said:
"Yes." I grin, nodding emphatically as I pick up my mug and raise it to my mouth. Ah, no, too hot. For a moment I'm reminded of the story of a coach load of English people on holiday in Texas, their introduction to ice tea and the resulting hundred person simultaneous spit-take. Heh, I'm only the second member of my species to ever come to this planet, and the last one overthrew their government. I should really be on my best behaviour. "This hunt, and before. You?"

"It's…" She looks away, shaking her head slightly. "Korugar's a lot more.. isolated, since we overthrew Sinestro. The other planets around here remember him as a hero. They didn't have to live under him. Oh." He wiggles her head slightly. "Sinestro... He was the.. Green Lantern who used to work in this region of space."

"Known."

"Right, you… Probably researched the whole thing before coming here." She looks out of the window for a moment. "Just about the only thing we agree on is that we hate him. And because he became so powerful because of a group of aliens and aliens still like him… People from Korugar don't travel all that much." She looks back at me, smiling slightly wistfully as she picks up her mug. "Not that I'd be able to afford to for years anyway. I'm going to be paying off my education until I'm forty."
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TheEyes said:
Is Sinestro evil yet?
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I think he's already been kicked over to the antimatter universe and has definitely had a yellow ring made. He's currently persona non grata on his homeworld, and his daughter doesn't want to be associated with him (and IIRC doesn't know the relation).

Whether all that equates to being evil may be a matter of debate.
 
Aeess said:
He also hunts down Green Lanterns and has a necklace made out of Green Lantern Rings he took as trophies.
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Or those are the rings of the green lanterns that tried to apprehend him and failed... Six rings is a very low number if he has been actively hunting green lanterns when we consider he can steamroll the average green lantern neophyte in seconds. Ragnar managed to collect three orange rings in a matter of weeks and his targets were A LOT rarer than Green lanterns.
 
Chaoswind said:
Or those are the rings of the green lanterns that tried to apprehend him and failed... Six rings is a very low number if he has been actively hunting green lanterns when we consider he can steamroll the average green lantern neophyte in seconds. Ragnar managed to collect three orange rings in a matter of weeks and his targets were A LOT rarer than Green lanterns.
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Where do you get the number six from, all we know about the necklace is this.
Mr Zoat said:
"Dox and I both hate being dependent. At the moment, he's dependent on me for training. The Controllers don't have an existing conflict with Sinestro, Sinestro's an expert power ring user… And it's not as if the Greenies on the boundary of Reach space would dare make an issue of it either."

"You know that bastard wears a necklace of rings he's taken off Lanterns he's killed, yeah?"

"No, but it doesn't surprise me. Now congratulate me for ensuring that I'll never have to work with him."
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All of a sudden an idea springs into my head.

Sinestro wears a necklace made of rings taken off the Lanterns he's killed, right? What if you booby-trapped a ring (maybe a faux-ring if it's not the Guardians running this), put it on some sacrificial pawn, and set him up to encounter Sinestro? Of course, you'd need a dolt who has absolutely no chance of figuring out what's up.

latest

(Not actually his origin, but would work surprisingly well as a version of his origin in some universe or another.)
 
Steelplaza said:
All of a sudden an idea springs into my head.

Sinestro wears a necklace made of rings taken off the Lanterns he's killed, right? What if you booby-trapped a ring (maybe a faux-ring if it's not the Guardians running this), put it on some sacrificial pawn, and set him up to encounter Sinestro? Of course, you'd need a dolt who has absolutely no chance of figuring out what's up.

latest

(Not actually his origin, but would work surprisingly well as a version of his origin in some universe or another.)
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He managed to accidentally blow up a planet in his own sector with a normal lantern ring, giving him a booby trapped one doesent seem like a great idea.
 
Aeess said:
Where do you get the number six from, all we know about the necklace is this.
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I dunno, may be from the episode with Kalmin, may have been from one of those scans people often post when arguing, the point is that Siniestro could get way more rings than the ones used in the necklace if he actively hunted neophytes.
 
Mastigos2 said:
And consider that in addition to a methodology of causing fear, his non-lethality is based on a fear of not being able to stop.
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I thought it was because of the philosophy that he'd be no better than the criminals he was fighting if he killed them.

TheEyes said:
Is Sinestro evil yet?
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Depending upon your definition of "evil" he always was. He just hid it well before he rebelled against the Guardians. I mean you're talking about a guy who would execute children for stealing candy bars and honestly believe it was the right thing to do for crying out loud.
 
Siskulous said:
Depending upon your definition of "evil" he always was. He just hid it well before he rebelled against the Guardians. I mean you're talking about a guy who would execute children for stealing candy bars and honestly believe it was the right thing to do for crying out loud.
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I don't remember that. The example I remember from the comics is a custodial sentence for littering.
 
Siskulous said:
I thought it was because of the philosophy that he'd be no better than the criminals he was fighting if he killed them.
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When Red Hood confronted Batman for not killing the Joker in retaliation for killing him, Batman's response was that he wouldn't stop at Joker.

Backed up by Earth-51, where in fact Batman did kill the Joker for killing Jason, and then murdered every other supervillain for dessert.

Siskulous said:
Depending upon your definition of "evil" he always was. He just hid it well before he rebelled against the Guardians. I mean you're talking about a guy who would execute children for stealing candy bars and honestly believe it was the right thing to do for crying out loud.
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Sinestro's origin is similar to Hal Jordan's.

A wounded Green Lantern landed on his planet, and gave Sinestro his ring to deal with the threat.

Sinestro then dealt with the threat.

The injured Green Lantern then asked for the ring back, because it wasn't too late to for him to survive.

Sinestro refused because he wanted to keep the ring, so the Green Lantern died.
 
Guys from Gotham (part 6)
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    • 16th February
    22:23 GMT -5

    "Excuse me, I'm looking for a Smilex dealer. Do you know where I might find one?"

    The large black man with the dreadlock ponytail I'm talking to clearly doesn't quite know how to take that.

    "Ain't no Smilex dealers 'round here, man."

    "No? You're certain?"

    "Yeah, that shit just kills you." His friend, a slender white man with a camo-pattern jacket, looks extremely sombre. "Hey Chuck, you remember what happened to Ernesto?"

    "Ah yeah." 'Chuck' nods. "'bout, ah..? Three years ago? Dude picked up some stuff, thought it was acid…" He shudders theatrically. "Poor bastard laughed so much he suffocated. I mean, I only really saw him when they stuck him in the ambulance, but his face was all…"

    He makes a broad and obviously false grin, drawing false curves on his cheeks with his index fingers. What does it say about Gotham that he had to be reminded of that?

    "Glad to hear it. But do you know of anyone who might lack your good sense?"

    "You should try China Town. Ghost Dragons be into all kinds of crazy shit."

    "Yeah." The white man nods. "Or… I dunno… The Burnley Town Massive run drugs, right?"

    Chuck frowns. "They wouldn't do Smilex. No one would touch their stuff again if they did that."

    "I'll try China Town, then. Thank you for your assistance." I rise slowly into the-. "Oh." I stop. "One more thing. You haven't seen any fairies, have you?"

    They look at each other.

    "'Fairies'?" Not-Chuck shakes his head. "Nah, man. Clean livin' all the way."

    "No, not in the sense of drug-induced hallucinations. We're due for an invasion of time-travelling fairies from the far future and I'm trying to keep an eye out."

    "Ah… Ooooh… Kay?" Chuck shakes his head. "I ain't seen no fairies?"

    "Alright. Keep an eye out, would you?"

    "Sure. Yeah, we can do that."

    I nod. "Oh. And I realise that lock picks, crowbars and pistols aren't illegal, but I'm going to be flying back this way tomorrow, and I'm not going to hear anything about anywhere being broken into, am I?"

    Not-Chuck doesn't conceal his wince quite as well as his partner in pre-crime.

    "There's a good fellow."

    The universe flickers in the way I've become somewhat jaded to, and then I'm in China Town. A product of the largess of one Mr Lee Walter Travis, this place became the home for a large influx of Chinese refugees during the conflicts which preceded the Second World War. And afterwards, when the Nationalists and the Communists had it out. The Ghost Dragons make their home in a low-rent industrial estate which officially houses purely their legitimate businesses. I think I'll walk there to make the point-.

    "Orange Lantern?"

    An elderly oriental man.. with three missing fingers, is looking up at me.

    "Yes? Something I can do for you?"

    "I am wondering… Do you know the original Green Lantern?"

    "The original Green Lanterns died millions of years ago, but if you mean the fellow from the thirties then yes. He was my first point of contact with superheroes and I still use his personal lantern."

    "He is still alive?"

    "Last time I checked."

    "That is wonderful news!"

    I smile. I really need to talk to Alan about coming back here. See what effect a superhero who isn't dour and menacing has on the place.

    "I'll tell him that you said that. I'm sure that he'll be pleased-."

    "Nineteen forty one! He rescued me from an apartment fire! And then he caught the criminals who set it!"

    "He was very good at his job. Listen, you haven't heard anything about someone distributing Smilex, have you?"

    "The Joker has escaped again?"

    "No. But any sufficiently skilled chemist can replicate the general formula, and some very naughty person was making some on their own recognisance. I don't suppose that you've heard anything about that sort of thing?"

    "At my age, those are not the sort of drugs I take." I smile and nod. "But we have many gangs here. Not all are criminals, but… Desperate people do not make good decisions."

    I shrug. "I just want to find whoever ordered it made. If some people went looking for a payday and ended up over their heads… The economy is a heartless beast. I can look the other way as long as they tell me what I need to stop it."

    He nods. "Perhaps someone I know will have heard something. I will see if someone will confide in an old uncle something they would not wish to tell a superhero."

    "I would appreciate that, thank you. But don't put yourself in any danger on my account; this is my job. You're an elderly civilian."

    "I doubt that I will forget that." He raises his left hand to wave. "Good evening, Orange Lantern."

    "Good evening." Ugh, maybe I won't walk, then. Fingers to my forehead…

    I appear amidst revving motorcycles, ridden by five tattooed gang members carrying pipes, swords and semiautomatics. One points and fires it at a nearby building-.

    An orange shield blocks the shots, then I reach out and pluck every gang member off their bikes. Said bikes then carry on without them for a short distance before falling on their sides and skidding along the road to a stop. Interestingly, none of the gang members try struggling. I'm not sure if it's shock or if they realise that they're ridiculously outclassed, but they're all content to just hang there.

    Ring, contact the police.

    Compliance.

    "Now, I can't technically arrest you-." I generate another shield as a volley of automatic rifle fire from inside the building hones in on one of my prisoners. "Arrest you, but I'm afraid that I'm going to be holding you until the police arrive." I turn my attention to the building. "While I understand that you're irritated about being shot at, I assure you that the situation is under control."

    A few heads… Ah, those are Ghost Dragon tattoos, stick themselves up. They don't look especially happy to see me, but at least they're not shooting.

    "By any chance, have any of you heard anything about someone selling Smilex?"
     
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