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

[thebishop8]

Find out of Talia got anywhere.

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"If" instead of "of".

though I image that wizards and mystics of various stripes

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Should that be "imagine" instead of "image"?

"Fortunately, you are not the one who makes such decision."

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*decisions

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

Positively indolent.

17th February
09:57 GMT -5

I shuffle across the bed, noting that I appear to have moved during the night so that my face was on Jade's part of the pillow. I quick glance at the flat's internal monitoring shows that there've been no attempted breaches since I got in this morning. There's a team meeting scheduled for this afternoon and I've got no plans to do anything of significance until then.

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So, a nice easy day to relax. No doubt you'll be using it to check in on various projects.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

But…

Ring, status of Sondra Fuller.

I walk in the direction of the kitchen.

Sondra Fuller remains in containment at Gotham Central pending a decision on her possible transfer to Belle Reve.

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She's playing nice? Good to see someone reasonable.

I take my bowl of milk-soaked oats out of the fridge and put in it the microwave.

Since she clearly isn't insane, there isn't any case for putting Ms Fuller in Arkham Asylum. Despite what some elements of Earth Prime's Bat-media seemed to think, Arkham Asylum is a maximum security hospital and not a prison. Mr Cobblepot -for example- has never been there, as he's clearly sane. Mr Lynns didn't go there initially, as it wasn't originally clear that he had actual pyromania and wasn't just on a more normal power trip. Dr Fries didn't go there before his transfer to Belle Reve. Mr Blake...

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Blame it on writers reading the work of other writers reading the work of the original writers... It's a big old incestuous chain of flanderization.

The point is, it isn't really a metahuman containment facility. And neither is Blackgate. By the time that Gotham was functional enough for it to be worth considering creating that sort of institution, Belle Reve was up and running and it was judged that it would be better to send them there, relying on Batman to arrange the actual transportation. In fact… Aside from Dr Isley, I don't think Gotham really has any local supervillains who'd need that sort of institution.

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So many Weirdos who are just ordinary, if crazy, people with maybe a gimmick weapon.

I should probably visit her. While I think I convinced her to stay put, imprisonment is an extremely stressful thing and the situation will only get worse if she does something ill-advised. Plus, the Gotham police don't actually have all that much experience in handling metahumans. The Major Crimes unit isn't Metropolis's Special Crimes Unit and I remember… Reading something about the Spiderman villain Sandman. Because his body works nothing like that body or a normal person, if you didn't have the right equipment when you confronted him then you were going to lose.

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Yup. Freeze rays would have been something useful in the Marvel universe, but surprisingly, few Ice-based villians exist. Those that do use metahuman or mutant/Inhuman powers.

The microwave pings and I take out my bowl, a construct oven glove automatically appearing around my right hand. That's nice to see after last-. This mornings construct-failure. I'm not used to not wanting to do the thing I'm working on. The privilege of being an absurdly powerful superhero and your own boss. I had thought about trying to get myself more invested in Gotham, but I just… The place is getting better and there aren't any supervillains powerful enough to actually need me to deal with them. I wanted to make it clear that I was available if I was required, and then… Things just snowballed.

Ugh.

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If it isn't worth your time, don't waste time on it.

I'll need to check in with John Quinn and Dr Balewa-. Actually… Do I? Dr Balewa had clear seniority, John's allegedly grandfathered Justice League membership notwithstanding. And… Find out of Talia got anywhere.

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I expect Dr Balewa's pulled rank. He probably respects Quinn's efforts though.
Correction: 'Find out if Talia'

A construct filament opens a nearby cupboard and pulls out a box of granola. I shake a handful out onto the porridge for texture and sweetness, then return the box to the cupboard before generating a construct spoon and taking a mouthful.

Or do I? Dealing with baleful supernatural foes is actually Dr Balewa's job, in virtue of his Justice League membership. I'm just a volunteer. Building rep with the Gotham establishment doesn't benefit me at all; it just might save them a little time in a crisis because they know they can call on me. No, the relics John sounded like he wanted to acquire. Those might actually be beneficial. The gang who attacked the Dragons and the gang who attacked the mayor… Don't care. Kobra gang… Don't care. We took down one crazy cult and another expanded to fill the void. The best way to stop their local spread is by improving social institutions and employment opportunities, both of which are already underway and neither of which I can really help with.

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Feeling a bit of a fifth wheel, then, OL?

I'm not feeling particularly heroic at the moment.

I frown, spoon evaporating in my bowl. I had been assuming that enlightenment rendered me immune to external mental influences, and that has been borne out so far. But…

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Well, he finally checks on it? He can learn!

I step

fully into the Honden, fragments of all of the desires Jade felt here mapping out an approximate representation of the room. And previous residents too, I notice. My own don't stick out in the same way, fitting into the metaphysical flow of the place better than those of people who don't integrate them quite so well. In theory, only the Ophidian and I can access this place at the moment, though I image that wizards and mystics of various stripes have peeked into it at one time or another. Since I don't have a physical body there shouldn't be any way for most mundane influences to work.

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You hope.

So… Gotham…

Yeah, I don't care about the place. Saving that people I care about live in it. I can't even sell it to myself as a structure which was built by human hands and so has value as a manifestation of human ingenuity. Almost every place I've been was clearly built by the lowest bidder to the lowest standards, even the apparently nice property.

There are reasons why I haven't tried visiting Blüdhaven. With Gotham I just can't be bothered to upgrade things with my rings anymore. With Blüdhaven I'm genuinely concerned that I might start tearing it down.

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Tearing down Bludhaven would be a clear improvement. That's likely one reason it got bombed by the Secret Society during Infinite Crisis.

I look around at my orange light body. No unnatural-looking strands anchoring me to things, no unnatural-looking cut ends where I should be connected to things. That still leaves the possibility that my other emotions are being influenced, but that's less of an immediate concern.

I suppose that's as much assurance as I'm going to get. I step

back into the material world, picking up my bowl again and recreating my spoon. So what, what is my next objective? The gnomes are working on Dolmen Gate production so planes and long distance road travel are going to be a thing of the past. Power generation is getting much cheaper. Inclement weather… Volcanism? There must be a few volcanologists who might be lured into animistic magic. I can't think of any volcanologists from DC at the moment but I'm sure they were there. But as concerning as Yellowstone is, volcanic activity isn't a widespread concern-.

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I doubt land, sea and air vehicles will become completely redundant. If nothing else, as pleasure craft or emergency backups in the case of Dolmen Gate failure.

The doorbell rings.

I turn to the door, frowning mildly. Who-? Oh. Talia.

I put my bowl down, swap my pyjamas for a morning suit and then walk over to the door, my ring disarming the flat's defensive systems as I go. I open the door and then step back to allow her inside.

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Well, what's she been up to, I wonder. Guess we're going to find out.

Talia is similarly dressed for a business occasion. Though Batwoman visiting the house of Orange Lantern would make perfect sense, it isn't really a sensible getup to loiter around in during the bright of the day. People would ask her for selfies, and I'm sure that she'd find that demeaning.

She walks inside and waits for me to shut the door and reactivate the security before speaking.

"Winslow Heath."

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"Fiddler's Green. Oh, we aren't saying random place names?"

Ring? Ah. No, hang on.

I frown. "Why would he spread Smilex?"

"He wished to revenge himself upon Batman for failing to permanently end the Joker." I raise my right eyebrow. "I suspect that his own exposure to Smilex has affected his reasoning. He wished to sell the Smilex-based narcotic cheaply enough to addict people, and then use that addiction to encourage them to cause violent havoc across the city. Now, he will spend many years in Blackgate."

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So it was a fricking copycat? Oh, Napier is gonna be pissed. Or pleased someone else who had a bad day snapped just like he did. It's hard to predict what laughing boy will do at the best of times.

"Not Arkham? If his mind has been compromised that much, wouldn't that be a better place for him?"

"In the same facility as the Joker?"

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You know, like oil and water. Or we'd get him learning the craft at the feet of his 'maker'. Like a male Harequin... Jack A'Napes?
(An actual character name I've used for a Superhero RPG villain, no less)

"Plenty of people in Arkham have wanted to kill each other before. A secure hospital is either secure or it's not, and if it's not then I'd rather find out using people who aren't going to get better than people who might."

"Fortunately, you are not the one who makes such decision."

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I suspect Arkham Asylum would lose quite a few inmates that way if he did.

I nod. "Well done for tracking him down. I got a bit distracted."

"Perhaps you will give me a little more deference in future."

"I'd like to argue that I was perfectly happy to acknowledge your abilities, but honestly? What I learned yesterday and this morning was that I don't care about Gotham. You're welcome to it. Have as much fun as you like and call me when you need fire support."

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And there goes the burn. Gotham isn't worth his time. How OL.

She regards me cautiously for a moment. "That's all you have to say?"

"Yes. The Bat-signal's all yours."

"Very well then." She turns away and walks towards the door. Then she stops and looks back at me with a frown. Then she returns her attention to the door and marches out of the flat.

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Yep, she's annoyed by his indifference. What did she expect from someone powered by his Want?

And so ends Guys of Gotham (barring a denouement). Where shall we be going next, I wonder?

 

[w34v3r]

Talia still tragically misreading the situation. Still talking down to him, still with the attitude that she knows best and should not be questioned (just like dear old dad), still thinking he actually gives a crap about her in any way shape or form.

And then he tells her to her face that he was slumming it and doesn't care about her, her husband's city (jury's out on if she considers it "hers" like he does) or even most of the people living in it.

Even when he told her exactly what his feelings were on this whole thing she still didn't quite get it. She doesn't deserve to call herself a Bat.

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Ok, to be fair she's new at this, and Ras didn't exactly train people for critical thinking.

 

[transhumansage]

what about hub city?

 

[TheEyes]

Even when he told her exactly what his feelings were on this whole thing she still didn't quite get it. She doesn't deserve to call herself a Bat.

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She isn't. She's a spoiled trust-fund baby who has successfully bounced from one wealthy, powerful sugar-daddy protector to another, never having to take responsibility for her own shady past and somehow thinking she has the right to lecture others about arrogance. Bruce Wayne could do so much better than her.

 

[Prince Charon]

She isn't. She's a spoiled trust-fund baby who has successfully bounced from one wealthy, powerful sugar-daddy protector to another, never having to take responsibility for her own shady past and somehow thinking she has the right to lecture others about arrogance. Bruce Wayne could do so much better than her.

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Bruce falling in love with and marrying Talia (especially this version of Talia) is one of the things that really bothers my SoD, but maybe it's canon for YJ and I've forgotten.

 

[Mr Zoat]

"If" instead of "of".
Should that be "imagine" instead of "image"?
*decisions

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Thank you, corrected.

Bruce falling in love with and marrying Talia (especially this version of Talia) is one of the things that really bothers my SoD, but maybe it's canon for YJ and I've forgotten.

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It's canon for everything she's in. They even put it in the film.

 

[Buggy123]

Ah yes, expecting an apology from an Orange Lantern. A futile effort.

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One of the funny things about being so aware and sure of your actions and motivations that you're nearly immune to mind control is, well, that you don't regret your actions. Not a whole lot to apologize about, if you are, say, and do exactly what you want to and are satisfied with all of it.

 

[Prince Charon]

Thank you, corrected.

It's canon for everything she's in. They even put it in the film.

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Canon that he falls in love with her, sure. Him marrying her is not canon for everything that she's in (or most of the stuff that she's in, I think), and that's the sticking point, given that Bruce has had a lot of significant others over his run (which is hardly unusual for a major comic book character, of course).

 

[Mquz]

Canon that he falls in love with her, sure. Him marrying her is not canon for everything that she's in (or most of the stuff that she's in, I think), and that's the sticking point, given that Bruce has had a lot of significant others over his run (which is hardly unusual for a major comic book character, of course).

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In this case, it's partially her coming to Bat-daddy for resources after Head-daddy died.

 

[Prince Charon]

In this case, it's partially her coming to Bat-daddy for resources after Head-daddy died.

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That's what she gets out of it, not a reason for Bruce to marry her.

 

[Sceptic]

That's what she gets out of it, not a reason for Bruce to marry her.

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He's a loony, she's a loony. Together they'll make loony children. It's a fairy tale marriage for Gotham City.

 

[Mquz]

That's what she gets out of it, not a reason for Bruce to marry her.

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He gets a shiny rich trophy wife for his Bruce persona that both knows how to act Rich, and is more into Batman than Bruce.

 

[Prince Charon]

He gets a shiny rich trophy wife for his Bruce persona that both knows how to act Rich, and is more into Batman than Bruce.

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... while I don't see that as a good enough reason, it is at least a reason that is fairly plausible.

 

[Chaoswind]

In this case, it's partially her coming to Bat-daddy for resources after Head-daddy died.

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She left her dad way before he died.

I think people are too quick to dismiss Talia personal feelings, she is trying really hard and is doing a lot better these days, she didn't jump towards bruce when her dad died. She eloped towards her beloved and abandoned her dad when she meet her sister and she learned her father abandoned his previous family in a nazi concentration camp.

 

[Aeess]

It hasn't even been two yeare since she helped her father in his attempt to destroy all cities on earth, like their plan was very stupid, but she was still okay with killing like 3 billion people, that would have been way worse than the holocaust, leaving because a sister she never knew suffered under him doesn't really make me like her more.

Sure, shes doing more good now than she would inside a prison, but that doesn't really make her likable.

 

[theaceoffire]

Ah yes, expecting an apology from an Orange Lantern. A futile effort.

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Unless he wants to give one.

 

[Chaoswind]

It hasn't even been two yeare since she helped her father in his attempt to destroy all cities on earth, like their plan was very stupid, but she was still okay with killing like 3 billion people, that would have been way worse than the holocaust, leaving because a sister she never knew suffered under him doesn't really make me like her more.

Sure, shes doing more good now than she would inside a prison, but that doesn't really make her likable.

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She got the talk (dad is a nutter) from a person she was willing to listen, sometimes that is all it takes.

Second I don't want anything bad to happen to her because Spiderman and Batman get fucked enough by editorial mandated suffering. Batman is happy and Talia should be in the fast track to making Damian Wayne, I just want the bat dad to have a better life and be happy he kinda deserves a break from tirelessly working to save Gotham.

 

[SpiritualSlacker]

She got the talk (dad is a nutter) from a person she was willing to listen, sometimes that is all it takes.

Second I don't want anything bad to happen to her because Spiderman and Batman get fucked enough by editorial mandated suffering. Batman is happy and Talia should be in the fast track to making Damian Wayne, I just want the bat dad to have a better life and be happy he kinda deserves a break from tirelessly working to save Gotham.

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I get that, and I agree.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm generally definitely not In the pro-Talia camp, but if Batman gets to be even a slightly less broken person because of her, I think it's worth it. It's not the relationship I'd think is best for him, but it's happened (and neither Batman's family nor his friends seem to have taken any serious steps to intervene/discourage it) and now we're stuck with it, but at this point in the story breaking it up would probably do more harm than good. And really, it's not the worst option he could have ended up with.

As for Talia... her escaping the consequences of her past actions does rub me the wrong way, yes, but right now she's at least not committing any more crimes and is apparently actually doing some good. Yes, it's not perfect, but it's acceptable, to me personally at least.

 

[Impartial Panic]

what about hub city?

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evacuate the population, tear the place down and start over.
Hub city makes Gotham look like Metropolis

 

[Cuchulin]

He's a loony, she's a loony. Together they'll make loony children. It's a fairy tale marriage for Gotham City.

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Catwoman is more his kind of loony, dress like a animal and runs around a city at night doing dangerous things.

He gets a shiny rich trophy wife for his Bruce persona that both knows how to act Rich, and is more into Batman than Bruce.

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Pretty sure Selina could do that just as well.

 

[alid610]

Batman marrying anyone who can actually connect with him is good. The comics mess up his love life too much already. That batman will marry selina event thing was the straw that broke the camels back. I had hoped Dc was going to finally change someting about batman and let it stick but nope.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Catwoman is more his kind of loony, dress like a animal and run around a city at night doing dangerous things.

Pretty sure Selina could do that just as well.

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The main thing that Talia has and Selina doesn't is passion. Talia is just as committed to Bating as he is. Selina isn't. Selina's also nothing like as well educated, and for all her skills isn't as intelligent.

 

[Albert Scoot]

I get that, and I agree.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm generally definitely not In the pro-Talia camp, but if Batman gets to be even a slightly less broken person because of her, I think it's worth it. It's not the relationship I'd think is best for him, but it's happened (and neither Batman's family nor his friends seem to have taken any serious steps to intervene/discourage it) and now we're stuck with it, but at this point in the story breaking it up would probably do more harm than good. And really, it's not the worst option he could have ended up with.

As for Talia... her escaping the consequences of her past actions does rub me the wrong way, yes, but right now she's at least not committing any more crimes and is apparently actually doing some good. Yes, it's not perfect, but it's acceptable, to me personally at least.

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I'd just sum up the whole thing as a, "forget it Jake, it's Gotham."

 

[inglorius]

OL: "Bored now."
*Fliesteps away*

 

[Cuchulin]

The main thing that Talia has and Selina doesn't is passion. Talia is just as committed to Bating as he is. Selina isn't. Selina's also nothing like as well educated, and for all her skills isn't as intelligent.

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Sorry, but I just can't see Talia as being that seriously committed to "Bating". Far more committed to Bruce? Yes, but not to being a costumed crime fighter.

 

[Coda]

What would they even become New Gods of?

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New Gods don't have to have a portfolio. Lowlies are New Gods, after all.

Sorry, but I just can't see Talia as being that seriously committed to "Bating". Far more committed to Bruce? Yes, but not to being a costumed crime fighter.

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That's not really the essence of bat-ing in this context, I don't think. She IS committed to persistently fighting against the evil, corrupted elements in Gotham. That doesn't strictly require being a costumed crime fighter; that's a contextually appropriate means of pursuing her passion, not her passion in and of itself.

 

[Vaermina]

Gotham kicking Paul's ass got a good chuckle from me.

 

[Ardy]

Gotham kicking Paul's ass got a good chuckle from me.

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Gotham-based depression is a serious affliction.

 

[Maxx Crowley]

Sorry, but I just can't see Talia as being that seriously committed to "Bating". Far more committed to Bruce? Yes, but not to being a costumed crime fighter.

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I'm of the opinion that Talia is committed to being committed. She's all about "The Cause".

Couple that with the fact that all she has ever really known is loyaling working for "The Cause" as directed by a Strong, central figure in her life (Her Father first, now Bat-Wayne) and it makes sense how easily she'd slip into the batlife.

You're probably right, she doesn't give a shit about batting. But she gives a shit that Bruce gives a shit, and that's about all she needs.

Given that Batman shown to regularly refuse both food and rest (a trope I fucking hate almost as much as Batman. Seriously, the body CANNOT function without fuel. I don't give a fuck how "determined" you are), I can't really see a sex life even being a thing.