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

Darko · Apr 24, 2020

I think she transfered herself to the version in the robot

Awkward · Apr 24, 2020

Handlewithcare said:
Uhm? Didn't she die?

Granted, that doesn't mean much given the setting or her powers.

That one is an impostor sent by Krona

thebishop8 · Apr 24, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
The Seven? He was-? What was The Boys?

Is he supposed to be asking "Was that The Boys?" instead?

Stsword · Apr 24, 2020

Handlewithcare said:
Uhm? Didn't she die?

Granted, that doesn't mean much given the setting or her powers.

The Red Queen leaving the portal open died, the Red Queen in the Manhunter robot survived.

The possibility that she's bugged or a Krona plant or something is well rather obviously a possibility but unproven so far.

Darko · Apr 24, 2020

'my help' not 'by help'

Ancalador · Apr 24, 2020

Since she didn't inform them that she isn't the Red Queen they know then she has her own agenda. Whether that means she works for Krona or she thinks The Pauls will give her a way out we don't know.

Mr Zoat · Apr 24, 2020

thebishop8 said:
Is he supposed to be asking "Was that The Boys?" instead?

Darko said:
'my help' not 'by help'

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch · Apr 24, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
Oooooh
Dear

"Does that happen often?"

The fact it happened at all is worrying enough. Honestly, I'm still blaming it on hidden override protocols, ala the Laws from the Book of Oa for the Greenies.

I sit in a small disused hut on the side of a mountain with my head in my hands.

"No. Not often."

Ah, he's not moody. he's hung-over. I suppose a forced Red rampage is unpleasantly like being an angry drunk...

Indigo passes me a cup of tea. I take it, lifting my head just enough to raise my eyebrows at him. He doesn't… Like tea, does he?

"Try it. You might like it."

Wow, the Indigo really has done a number on him, hasn't it?

I take a small sip, and it's the same old boiled-leaf-water that I know and don't drink when there's any alternative. Perhaps if I just.. sniff it.

"Thank you."

"I can probably find some yak milk, if you think it will help."

'Oh god, he's a hippy.' Raul groaned. 'How could I have fallen so far?'

"I don't." I take a whiff of… No, whatever tea this is, I don't recognise the smell. "What did you find?"

"They've issued an alert with our faces. Though between this.. place-" He looks around our Himalayan retreat. "-and your blood wards I doubt that they'll find us quickly."

The joy of having two of the stealthier Ring-slinger powersets in the game... And going stealthy with Red is damn hard, I tell you what. Half the time you're intimidating people into not paying attention to you...

"Any idea what happened to Time Trapper?"

"Since I didn't.. meet him, any answer I give you would be almost completely speculative."

Saul has a point. He's the FNG in this plot.

"You didn't… Intercept any of the Gold Lantern Corps' communication..?"

"No. I didn't think that taking that risk would be wise. Quite aside from the chance that they might track it back to our physical location, it would be… Unnecessarily aggressive. While you appeared quite capable of handling yourself, I imagine that we're receiving a certain amount of special attention and.. we are vastly outnumbered."

Two against hundreds, if the full Corps hasn't been recalled due to emergency stipulations. And even if you've got powersets well suited to breaking Will, them's bad odds.

"Where are we?"

"DC. Post President Luthor, pre War of Light."

Got to love being able to tell another person that and have it mean something.

Oh… Good? Oh dear? There are people around here who've handled Krona before, but… They could also handle us. And why the hell was Sinestro there?

"I don't remember a Gold Lantern Corps on Earth One."

Which points to it as an Elseworlds. Or fanfiction. Really, Raul, head aching too much for critical thought?

"No, something… Happened with Lex Luthor after he left office. I didn't risk accessing Justice League records-. Is there a Justice League on the Earth you ended up on?"

"Yes. I don't really have much to do with them. You?"

Mostly because of their hands-off management of the side-kick team.

"Alas… No. We.. had a group call The Seven, and they… Weren't the Justice League."

The Seven? He was-? What was The Boys?

Ah, the one drawback of the mind-wipe. When two Pauls start comparing notes, things get a lot clearer.

"Homelander's already dead?"

"Yes." He frowns. "Did you.. pick that up during your time on my Earth?"

"No. Um. It turns out that.. we all ended up in different fictional realities, but it… Looks like we lose our memory of where we ended up. I ended up in some sort of Teen Titans animated series."

And now Raul gets to be the butt of the Paul Corps jokes. The only thing worse would be Raul-GO!'s fate...

He smiles.

"When there's trouble you know who to call!
Teen Titans!"

Yay for ring-enhanced memory. Perfect for embarrassing friends.

"Ah. If you say so. I don't.. remember it." I frown. "Wait, what was the target age group?"

"Early teens."

And now Raul has a 'My god, what have I been doing?' moment...

"I-." I blink. "Really? I've been.. ripping people's skulls out! That.. can't be okay."

"You weren't in the original work." He.. hesitates for a moment. "Why have you been ripping people's skulls out?"

Ironically, Saul is one of the few who wouldn't have much problem with the skull-ripping at all. Outside of a few Khorne jokes.

"Originally, I was just… Curious. The first time I killed someone and.. felt that it was a good thing. When I knew for certain that I couldn't use the original ring for anything other than destruction. Lord Atrocitus knows magic that can be performed with mortal remains, they give a… Particular impression to anyone who knows about them…"

"Still, I… Can't help but be a little concerned."

Says the man who threatened necrophilia on someone to break them out of suicidal behaviour. Admittedly, he probably wouldn't have gone through with it...

"You told me that your staff was a mind control device."

"It's more about.. influence than.. control. But it has altered me, true. Is that why you're collecting skulls? Your ring..?"

On the upside, the staff also affects people around him, so wherever he goes, he makes the Boys-verse a slightly better place... Even if you could only measure that improvement with a pico-scale gauge.

"I'm learning to accept my anger and hate. That's.. involved… It's not 'depersonalisation'. It's about accepting that the people I target are people who have made their choices and that my actions are justified as a result. And if I'm going to kill them anyway, why not take a memento?" I shrug. I suppose the 'skull' thing is a bit odd, but I've been doing it for long enough that I consider it normal for me. "How about you? What have you been up to?"

And to be honest, after the first couple, it's just gotten to be a habit, especially with Komie around.

"You said that you know my Earth?" I nod. "What's it from?"

"A Garth Ennis comic called 'The Boys'."

He frowns. "They're the main characters? A CIA black operations squad?"

"Consider the people they face..."

"A Garth Ennis comic called 'The Boys'."

He nods slowly. "Ah. Yes, that… Would explain a few things."

Yup. Gotta wonder how Ennis still does it these days. Is it just morbid fascination, 'let's see how bad the trainwreck can be' impulses that gets him work or what?

"They're dead now, aren't they?"

He nods solemnly. "Most of them, yes. Mister Campbell is still with us. Nice chap, when he forgets that he's not supposed to be. I know his girlfriend better than I do him…"

To be fair, Wee Hughie is the nicest guy in the story. He just got stuck in a terrible place... And is in a Garth Ennis book...

"So Homelander's coup attempt happened?"

"Yes, and Super Duper and I are doing out best to persuade American Consolidated-."

"Super Du-?" I blink, but… Actually, that makes sense. There's no way Homelander would have involved them in his plan.

Hey, no judgement. You know you'd probably try to help them if you were able...

Indigo spots my realisation. "Yes, well, obviously they needed by help and were willing to take it, and American Consolidated needed a new model for the Superhero business."

"I'm a bit surprised that you didn't say 'a plague on both their houses' and just do your own thing."

I'm sure that would have been sorely tempting, especially if he had retained his knowledge of the setting...

"Yes." He nods sadly. "I'm sure that you are. That would of course have led to American Consolidated not making even a token reform effort-. And… You'd have killed them, too, wouldn't you?"

"The higher the branch, the blunter the saw."

And in this case, you'd want to bust out the vibro-blade, if not a lightsaber. Raul would probably just kill his way down the corporate ladder until he found someone who wasn't utterly irredeemable... Though there wouldn't be much left of Vought-American by then...

He looks at me for several uncomfortable seconds. "You've had a hard time of it, haven't you?"

"Me? You got stuck in a Garth Ennis comic."

He smiles. "I suppose that neither of us really fit-."

And the prize for understatement of the decade goes to...

Red light flickers and I'm bracing myself as-. Red Queen appears. Then I relax. Oh, thank goodness. Indigo hasn't really reacted, but I suppose that's how he does things.

"Indigo, this is Red Queen. She was working with Time Trapper and the others. Queen, what happened?"

Nice of him to remember, Indigo doesn't know shit about any of this...

"I'm not sure." She shakes her head. "I teleported to the Justice League's Watchtower and explained what we're trying to do. A few moments later I felt the destruction of my crystals."

"What happened to Komand'r?"

Urge to kill rising...
'Shut up, Ring...'

"I didn't see, and the League are now targeting me. If she's still alive, they probably have her in a holding facility somewhere."

I sag slightly. "Do you know enough to build a tuning fork?"

Oh, I bet she does, but not for the right reasons...

"I don't, but I know a place that does." She looks from me to Indigo. "Did you get anyone else? Or.. see anyone else at the bunker?"

"No. This is it."

"Then this will have to do."

And this just got more complicated...

Oh, boy. Is this going to end up with Raul and Saul vs OL and Maul vs Zaul and the Golds in a big dumb fight? No, no. This is Mr Zoat we're talking about... No way would he do something that comic-booky...

In this episode:
OL - Our original SI
Maul - Time Trapper Paul (Formerly 'Mandated' Paul)
Baul - Blue Lantern Paul, YJ Crime Syndicate Earth
Raul - Red Paul, Teen Titans cartoon
Saul - Indigo Paul, 'The Boys'
Zaul - Black Lantern Paul ('Zombie' Paul), Buffyverse

Others:
Yaul - Yellow Lantern Paul, Thundercats 2011
Gaul - Anti-Green Paul, Justice League 'Pilot' version
Any others?

Istaran · Apr 24, 2020

Stsword said:
The Red Queen leaving the portal open died, the Red Queen in the Manhunter robot survived.

The possibility that she's bugged or a Krona plant or something is well rather obviously a possibility but unproven so far.

I'd say it's the default possibility, and the idea that she is on Time Trapper's side somehow would be a twist.

WhiteNoise · Apr 24, 2020

Chojin Patriarch said:
In this episode:
Maul - Time Trapper Paul (Formerly 'Mandated' Paul)

I think I would have preferred "Taul" if I were choosing.

Darko · Apr 24, 2020

Chojin Patriarch said:
Oh, boy. Is this going to end up with Raul and Saul vs OL and Maul vs Zaul and the Golds in a big dumb fight? No, no. This is Mr Zoat we're talking about... No way would he do something that comic-booky...

Hey Chojin this is Zoat we're talking about here, he could just as easily have this thing end in a pointless comic book fight that is unnecessary and could have been solved if both sides just talked to each other.
Remember he likes to break cliches and his stories solution of a reasonable discussion could have just become a cliche and he wants to break it.

Rebu · Apr 24, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
"I'm learning to accept my anger and hate. That's.. involved… It's not 'depersonalisation'. It's about accepting that the people I target are people who have made their choices and that my actions are justified as a result. And if I'm going to kill them anyway, why not take a memento?" I shrug. I suppose the 'skull' thing is a bit odd, but I've been doing it for long enough that I consider it normal for me.

Maybe you could use them to build something.

Like a really nice chair.

Gilhelmi · Apr 24, 2020

Say, silly question.... Are we going to get to see the Red Lantern Paul from the "Teen Titan 'GO'" universe?

(No, don't get me started. The "Teen Titan" and "Teen Titan 'GO'" universes are completely separate things. I will not hear anything different.)

BR549 · Apr 24, 2020

Gilhelmi said:
Say, silly question.... Are we going to get to see the Red Lantern Paul from the "Teen Titan 'GO'" universe?

He's not canon.

Ace Dreamer · Apr 24, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
We.. had a group call The Seven

'called'?

If you wanted a name that'd make sense to me, 'TTPaul', or 'TTaul' if you insist, would make more sense than 'Maul'... Of course, in a lot of cases just calling them by their ring colour would make things easier, which I supposed would include AGL, for the unfortunate 'Anti-Green Lantern'... (If you wanted to be techie, I suppose you could use !GL...)

Is using versions of 'Paul' supposed to be going along with the SI objection to using supers names, because it just encourages them?

Our heroes hide from those that should be their allies is a classical part of many quests... As is that one of them has (maybe) been subverted... So, I expect Mr Zoat to take a left turn at Albuquerque.

hance1986 · Apr 24, 2020

Zoat, since we're talking about Pauls in Garth Ennis comics, what would you have done with a Paul in Garth Ennis's Crossed comic? Let's be generous and give him an operational power lantern because that world is so shit he needs one.

Thoughts?

Ace Dreamer · Apr 24, 2020

hance1986 said:
Zoat, since we're talking about Pauls in Garth Ennis comics, what would you have done with a Paul in Garth Ennis's Crossed comic? Let's be generous and give him an operational power lantern because that world is so shit he needs one.

Thoughts?

Not really a world with supers, so arguable doesn't match the WTR criterion? Basically, 'Crossed' is a post-holocaust setting, which is something that's been done a lot. If you wanted to be cruel you could say Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' falls in this category, and they've had kids study that in school...

But then, what would I know?

Mr Zoat · Apr 24, 2020

Ace Dreamer said:
'called'?

Thank you, corrected.

hance1986 said:
Zoat, since we're talking about Pauls in Garth Ennis comics, what would you have done with a Paul in Garth Ennis's Crossed comic? Let's be generous and give him an operational power lantern because that world is so shit he needs one.

Thoughts?

Depends. Most colours would try to carry out a mass curing. Those that couldn't would try to evacuate as many people as possible off-planet.

Sceptic · Apr 24, 2020

Rebu said:
Like a really nice chair.

You mean he should use his skulls for the skull throne?

Gilhelmi said:
No, don't get me started. The "Teen Titan" and "Teen Titan 'GO'" universes are completely separate things.

Which should presumably mean that Red's first thought about being in a Teen Titans universe would be Teen Titans Go, since he doesn't even remember the existence of the non-Go series.

WereDragon · Apr 24, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
Oooooh
Dear

The disorderly perspective and timeline are making it rather hard to enjoy this chapter.
Update itself is decent but mostly because it has little to do with the situation at hand.

Indigo Paul is probably the least Paul-like of the living parallels. Even the poor sod with the slave ring is closer to the average.

Chaoswind · Apr 24, 2020

Gilhelmi said:
Say, silly question.... Are we going to get to see the Red Lantern Paul from the "Teen Titan 'GO'" universe?

(No, don't get me started. The "Teen Titan" and "Teen Titan 'GO'" universes are completely separate things. I will not hear anything different.)

That was an omake made by an user, and is thus non Canon.

Sceptic said:
You mean he should use his skulls for the skull throne?

Which should presumably mean that Red's first thought about being in a Teen Titans universe would be Teen Titans Go, since he doesn't even remember the existence of the non-Go series.

Zoat said he has never watched a single episode, he saw the inferior art style in comparison to the previous version and has decided to consider it on the same level as the comics that do not exist. It's why the only comparable knowledge to the Teen Titans he has are the TITANS comics.

So Go doesn't exist even as a joke as far as the expanded universe of this fic is concerned.

Xelloss · Apr 25, 2020

My headcanon is that Teen Titans Go is the same universe as Teen Titans, but from the point of view of a narrator on LSD.

Rebu · Apr 25, 2020

Sceptic said:
You mean he should use his skulls for the skull throne?

What a delightful idea!

Mr Zoat · Apr 25, 2020

Waiting for a
Better idea

The local version of Doctor Fate lowers his hands, the golden ankhs floating over them guttering out.

"As far as I can tell, he is exactly what he says that he is."

The woman nods. "And his contact with Nekron?"

"Nekron is not a being with whom I have any personal experience. Your Guardians would probably be better placed to give you advice on his presence."

"They're… Busy. I don't want to recall them unless it's essential. What can you tell me?"

"Nekron is a font of vast necromantic power. Given his age and nature, creating a power ring may well be something he can do. But without another example of Nekron's sorcery or.. actually having this Black Lantern feed on someone's heart, there is little more I can tell you."

"I am willing to demonstrate, if it will help."

She gives me a mild glare. "I authorised the use of lethal force in the line of duty, not for feeding super vampires."

"While my particular strand of vampirism may be different to local variants, I doubt that my abilities warrant describing me as 'super'. Also, I am not under your authority. If you provide me with a stellar map and avert your eyes-."

"No."

"Then perhaps you could ask for volunteers from amongst the criminals the governments of your world have sentenced to d-."

"We don't actually want Nekron here."

"Neither do I. I was simply suggesting avenues of study. Though if a single heart could summon Nekron, I would have summoned him years ago."

"That isn't-." Her ring glows, and she holds it up. "Yes?"

A face appears.

"Commander. Whatever the Indigo Lantern did, it's defying my efforts to track."

"Sinestro, you were badly burned. You aren't cleared for active duty."

"I won't fight them head on until I'm fully recovered, but my mind was unaffected. I can direct an investigation perfectly well."

The woman considers that claim for a moment.

"Very well. Doctor Fate has confirmed the Black Lantern's claims as far as he can. I presume you wish to speak with him."

"Yes, I do."

The woman lowers her ring, and a full size Sinestro construct materialises next to her. Sinestro takes the opportunity to look me over.

"Your ring is powered by Nekron."

"I don't understand the precise mechanics. Nekron has… Something to do with it. It may be that he powers it directly. Or it may be that an energy he finds it easy to manipulate powers it."

"What powers the others?"

"The first red rings-." I pause, frowning. "My knowledge of early Maltusian power ring experiments is incomplete. It is possible that they created one or more, but my red alter ego mentioned being given his by Atrocitus. Atrocitus is leader of a group-."

"One of the immortals from Sector Six Six Six."

"He sought revenge, and used the blood of the other four to create a Central Power Battery. His rings respond to rage and hate as green rings-. And yours, apparently, respond to a focused will." I pause. "Though these factors are not necessarily constant between parallel universes."

"He'd be a little late to take revenge here, in any case. Still." He looks at the woman. "I can task the Gold Lantern in that Sector to speak with our version, in case he has anything to share."

The woman nods. "Do it, but make sure they know to be polite. He hasn't recovered from what the Guardians did to him."

"Of course." Sinestro turns back to me. "How did it bypass my defensive constructs?"

"I'm afraid that I don't know. I only had the opportunity to speak with him briefly, and the precise mechanics of his ring were not discussed."

I can't read Sinestro's expression, but I wasn't particularly good at that even before I died.

"What of Indigo?"

"I'm not sure. They were speaking about recruiting him before the attack on their command post, but if they followed through on the idea it was after we were separated."

"What emotion does it use?"

"Compassion, though.. it may not be limited to just that. As I said, not all of what is learned in one parallel applies to all others."

"They believe that the Red Queen who emerged from the portal is the one they were working with to fight Krona. Instead, she's his agent." He snarls quietly. "To think that we're still doing a Guardian's bidding."

"I thought that they kicked Krona out."

"I don't trust their records on the subject. I think we should try contacting the Controllers again. Without a more accurate knowledge of Krona's actual behaviour, it's impossible for us to know how to proceed."

The woman looks at me.

"What do you want us to do?"

"I don't want things. I have no animus, no vital motivating force."

"Okay, what do you think we should do?"

"Telling me your name would be a start."

"I didn't-? Huh." She nods. "Commander Barbara Gordon of the Gold Lantern Corps."

"Next, I will need to know what happened to my colleagues."

"We don't know. We received an alert from the Manhunter Red Queen informing us that Time Trapper was attempting to use one of Lex Luthor's old bases to build a device to rewrite the universe. Then it was.. erased, apparently taking Time Trapper with it. Sinestro went to confirm his death, then your two colleagues reappeared. Sinestro and his squad attempted to take them into custody. They fought them and they escaped. A little later was when we found your finger and power ring."

"Red Queen?"

"Since she was cooperating with our investigation we gave her near free rein. We tried to put her into more secure holding conditions once you contradicted her narrative, but she vanished."

"Your intent towards my colleagues?"

"We don't want another Crisis event. We barely survived the last one. If we can work together to stop whatever this is, then we will. If we can't, then we'll pump them for information and deal with it ourselves."

"Would the simplest solution be to announce this publically, and offer them a secure way to contact me and confirm my continued existence? It seems to me that there's little benefit in secrecy, and my alter egos have no interest in aiding Krona."

"That…" She blinks, then looks away awkwardly. "Yes. It probably would."

Darko · Apr 25, 2020

'Doctor Fate' not 'Doctor Fates'

Oh my god it is possible for other versions to have common sense.

This...changes things considerably. yes.

thebishop8 · Apr 25, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
but I'm wasn't particularly good at that even before I died.

Change "I'm" to "I".

Mr Zoat said:
"What of Indigo."

Should that end with a question mark instead of a full stop?

Mr Zoat said:
"To think that we're still going a Guardian's bidding."

Change "going" to "doing".

Bramble Thorn · Apr 25, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
No, that's because he's already had a link once in this story.

Mr Zoat said:
Here.

That appears to be a link from many IRL years ago (6 1/2), many in story episodes ago (96), and even many forums ago (2).

Saying it doesn't need a link in the here-and-now looks to be a violation of the Comprehensive Online Style Guide To Not Being A Dick, Revised 2020 Edition.

Bramble Thorn · Apr 25, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
We received an alert from the Manhunter Red Queen informing us that Time Trapper was attempting to use one of Lex Luthor's old bases to build a device to rewrite the universe.

Un, what?

I thought the Red Queen was a Jade alternate. Thus, human.

Korona send some Manhunters into the pocket dimension. To keep them from dissolving, they had Jades in their torsos or something, because [Insert Techno Babble Here]. When one was destroyed, the Jade inside was released and flew through the closing portal. Those Jades being Jades, would have still been human presumably.

So why is Red Queen being called a manhunter here?

RichardWhereat · Apr 25, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
I can't read Sinestro's expression, but I'm wasn't particularly good at that even before I died.
He snarls quietly. "To think that we're still going a Guardian's bidding."
Would the simplest solution be to announce this publically,

I
doing
publicly

Chojin Patriarch · Apr 25, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
Waiting for a
Better idea

The local version of Doctor Fates lowers his hands, the golden ankhs floating over them guttering out.

"As far as I can tell, he is exactly what he says that he is."

Which is quite the clusterfuck of Undead templates. Seriously, what's his D&D Effective Character Level modifier, +20?

The woman nods. "And his contact with Nekron?"

"Nekron is not a being with whom I have any personal experience. Your Guardians would probably be better placed to give you advise on his presence."

They have Guardians? What, Ganthet and his gal-pal Sayd?

"They're… Busy. I don't want to recall them unless it's essential. What can you tell me?"

"Nekron is a font of vast necromantic power. Given his age and nature, creating a power ring may well be something he can do. But without another example of Nekron's sorcery or.. actually having this Black Lantern feed on someone's heart, there is little more I can tell you."

Not something you want him to do, even if you have a suitable subject...

"I am willing to demonstrate, if it will help."

She gives me a mild glare. "I authorised the use of lethal force in the line of duty, not for feeding super vampires."

"While my particular strand of vampirism may be different to local variants, I doubt that my abilities warrant describing me as 'super'. Also, I am not under your authority. If you provide me with a stellar map and avert your eyes-."

Ah, he's so po-facedly serious. Anyone else, that would be taken as sarcastic... Zaul? He's just stating an option.

"No."

"Then perhaps you could ask for volunteers from amongst the criminals the governments of your world have sentenced to d-."

Remind me, is Joker still kicking around, or has she had that oversight corrected?

"We don't actually want Nekron here."

"Neither do I. I was simply suggesting avenues of study. Though if a single heart could summon Nekron, I would have summoned him years ago."

And doesn't that statement just give you a creeping moment of horror?

"That isn't-." Her ring glows, and she holds it up. "Yes?"

A face appears.

"Commander. Whatever the Indigo Lantern did, it's defying my efforts to track."

Ah, I see their stealth is paying off...

"Sinestro, you were badly burned. You aren't cleared for active duty."

"I won't fight them head on until I'm fully recovered, but my mind was unaffected. I can direct an investigation perfectly well."

After all, he doesn't need skin to think. Especially if his ring can dull the pain.

The woman considers that claim for a moment.

"Very well. Doctor Fate has confirmed the Black Lantern's claims as far as he can. I presume you wish to speak with him."

"Yes, I do."

Why can I hear a grinding noise? And boy, Sinestro's jaw looks clenched, doesn't it?

The woman lowers her ring, and a full size Sinestro construct materialises next to her. Sinestro takes the opportunity to look me over.

"Your ring is powered by Nekron."

"I don't understand the precise mechanics. Nekron has… Something to do with it. It may be that he powers it directly. Or it may be that an energy he finds it easy to manipulate powers it."

Ah, trying to dance around the concept of an Emotional Spectrum, eh? Especially in a world that may not actually have one. Yet.

"What powers the others?"

"The first red rings-." I pause, frowning. "My knowledge of early Maltusian power ring experiments is incomplete. It is possible that they created one or more, but my red alter ego mentioned being given his by Atrocitus. Atrocitus is leader of a group-."

"One of the immortals from Sector Six Six Six."

Joy of being an Illustres. Clearance for the really secret shit. Though I bet this Corps is less secretive about things.

"He sought revenge, and used the blood of the other four to create a Central Power Battery. His rings respond to rage and hate as green rings-. And yours, apparently, respond to a focused will." I pause. "Though these factors are not necessarily constant between parallel universes."

"He'd be a little late to take revenge here, in any case. Still." He looks at the woman. "I can task the Gold Lantern in that Sector to speak with our version, in case he has anything to share."

...Please don't go giving him ideas...

The woman nods. "Do it, but make sure they know to be polite. He hasn't recovered from what the Guardians did to him."

"Of course." Sinestro turns back to me. "How did it bypass my defensive constructs?"

"I'm afraid that I don't know. I only had the opportunity to speak with him briefly, and the precise mechanics of his ring were not discussed."

It's only been, what, a couple of hours in-story since OL got nabbed? This is going to be a damn fast mini-Crisis...

I can't read Sinestro's expression, but I'm wasn't particularly good at that even before I died.

"What of Indigo."

"I'm not sure. They were speaking about recruiting him before the attack on their command post, but if they followed through on the idea it was after we were separated."

In other words, Sinestro: He don't know shit.

"What emotion does it use?"

"Compassion, though.. it may not be limited to just that. As I said, not all of what is learned in one parallel applies to all others."

Playing the 'channels all other colours' card close to your chest, eh?

"They believe that the Red Queen who emerged from the portal is the one they were working with to fight Krona. Instead, she's his agent." He snarls quietly. "To think that we're still going a Guardian's bidding."

"I thought that they kicked Krona out."

And did they bother watching what he did after? The Maltusians aren't the most diligent of people outside of their personal interests....

"I don't trust their records on the subject. I think we should try contacting the Controllers again. Without a more accurate knowledge of Krona's actual behaviour, it's impossible for us to know how to proceed."

The woman looks at me.

"What do you want us to do?"

Well, he's gone from sort-of prisoner to sort-of ally now, I see.

"I don't want things. I have no animus, no vital motivating force."

"Okay, what do you think we should do?"

Yay for being overly literal. She's mentally facepalming right now, isn't she? Let's see if you can make her facepalm externally!

"Telling me your name would be a start."

"I didn't-? Huh." She nods. "Commander Barbara Gordon of the Gold Lantern Corps."

Been a busy few couple of hours, huh?

"Next, I will need to know what happened to my colleagues."

"We don't know. We received an alert from the Manhunter Red Queen informing us that Time Trapper was attempting to use one of Lex Luthor's old bases to build a device to rewrite the universe. Then it was.. erased, apparently taking Time Trapper with it. Sinestro went to confirm his death, then your two colleagues reappeared. Sinestro and his squad attempted to take them into custody. They fought them and they escaped. A little later was when we found your finger and power ring."

So not erased completely as in 'disintegrated', unless the Ring has some anti-entropic defenses. I'm betting they've been transported to Krona's lab...

"Red Queen?"

"Since she was cooperating with our investigation we gave her near free reign. We tried to put her into more secure holding conditions once you contradicted her narrative, but she vanished."

<Facepalm> And you didn't keep her properly secured until you'd actually verified her story in the first place? You've faced a crisis before, you should know this off by heart!

"Your intent towards my colleagues?"

"We don't want another Crisis event. We barely survived the last one. If we can work together to stop whatever this is, then we will. If we can't, then we'll pump them for information and deal with it ourselves."

Admittedly, a few hundred superheroes and a Lantern Corps might be somewhat more effective than a handful of temporally divergent copies of one man...

"Would the simplest solution be to announce this publically, and offer them a secure way to contact me and confirm my continued existence? It seems to me that there's little benefit in secrecy, and my alter egos have no interest in aiding Krona."

"That…" She blinks, then looks away awkwardly. "Yes. It probably would."

Holy Shit! A Paul outside of 'CS OL' actually put levelling points into the Common Sense tree? Good grief!

Amazing! Calm and rational must come easily when you don't have all those other emotional lights buzzing around your brain-meats... Looks like we might avoid another fight between Raul/Saul and the locals!

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

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Umm, ackchyually...

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hey, little Anna, you're the one

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This is filth! FILTH!!

Questioning The Nature of our Realities

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hey, little Anna, you're the one

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