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

Reader mode
Mr Zoat said:
I'm not making any kind of moral judgement here, I'm just saying that unless he's repeatedly dating both during the same time period that fact that the delay between the end of one relationship and the begining of a new one isn't very long doesn't necessarily mean that he isn't being monogomous.
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I am quite sure that at some point he didn't stop seeing Catwoman while he was with Talia.

But that may have been either me imagining things or some new 52 or past that thing.
 
Pinklestia said:
I am quite sure that at some point he didn't stop seeing Catwoman while he was with Talia.

But that may have been either me imagining things or some new 52 or past that thing.
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I don't remember Batman being in a relationship with Talia, whatever was going on in her head. Generally speaking, when a crazy cultist starts calling you 'beloved' and rapes you, that's not a relationship.
 
Mr Zoat said:
I don't remember Batman being in a relationship with Talia, whatever was going on in her head. Generally speaking, when a crazy cultist starts calling you 'beloved' and rapes you, that's not a relationship.
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Technically it is a relationship, but more along the lines of a rapist and victim type relationship.
 
Mr Zoat said:
I don't remember Batman being in a relationship with Talia, whatever was going on in her head. Generally speaking, when a crazy cultist starts calling you 'beloved' and rapes you, that's not a relationship.
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There was that time Talia was "reformed" and Damian Wayne wasn't a thing yet?

Not the time when she took care of Luthorcorp but that time she went to seek Bruce protection because the Demon Head wanted to kill him or something?

That was years before Damian existed in the comics.

Or maybe I am mixing things up with Batman Animated.
 
Mr Zoat said:
"Ready!"
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How is Undead quote colors supposed to work? Because when Black Lantern OL was first introduced spoke in black text. Then last chapter, he didn't. I had assumed that was because he had harvested hearts representing the emotional spectrums full spread. And that allowed normal text affect. But then he started sacrificing those emotions one by one to power the tuning fork, but the text didn't revert. And now the Black Queen is using normal text as well. What gives?

Mr Zoat said:
Assuming that I'm the 'dude' in question, that's because the hosting sites it was originally hosted upon have removed it. I haven't saved them myself, so if you want to see them I can only suggest PMing the original artist.
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And that is why no one makes fan art for this story anymore.
No appreciation I tell ya, no appreciation.
 
Mr Zoat said:
Talia might genuinely love him, but as far as I remember without rereading a lot of Batman comics the only part that came remotely close to being a relationship ended when she chose to side with her father.
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She always chooses her father. Pretty sure she only sort of chooses Batman cuz her father says so and Batman is easy on the eyes.
 
Duplication (part 15)
  • Threadmarks
    • Stay hidden.
    Look around.
    Find a way out.
    Then come back.

    I stop, and the other robots walk past my corridor like I'm not even here.

    Guess those movies were more accurate than I thought.

    There aren't a lot of interior doors. Which is good, because if there was some sort of… Metal detector or whatever then there's no way I'd show up looking like one of the real robots. Now that I've had a chance to watch them I'm walking more like they do, but that sort of thing only fools people and I haven't seen any. Maybe there isn't a crazy alien but a crazy robot? Or maybe they're all just doing the last things they got told to do and no one's really in charge?

    I march down a corridor I haven't been down before. Not because I think there's anything there, but because I know there isn't anywhere else and I may as well take a look. If it turns out that the only way to leave is using the tuning fork… Maybe there's a way to bring other people here? Superman or someone? No disrespect to Batman but I think he'd be out of his depth too.

    "…quite as planned. I didn't know that Guardians could bleed."

    "It's rare for us to encounter anything that can make it happen, certainly."

    I don't stop. A robot wouldn't stop until it got to where it was going.

    I keep going at exactly the same pace, heading in the same direction. And start looking for a believable stop-point that lets me keep listening.

    "I'd offer to help, but I really would quite like you to bleed to death."

    "You are fascinating. I doubt that you can really appreciate it."

    "I'm unique. You're really old."

    There isn't anywhere. The only thing I can do is march into the room, or hope that no one looks when I go somewhere else.

    "You're not the first Time Trapper, are you? Even the people who meet the different versions of you probably don't realise it. The unique interaction you have with time makes sure that there wasn't a Time Trapper before you. I wonder how you experience it?"

    I hear the stomps of a robot approaching from behind me. Can't risk looking around. Looks like I'm going in.

    I march into the room, looking upwards in the direction of the voices as much as I dare. The room is large and has two levels, the first floor and a floor half way up the room made of platforms criss-crossing the middle. In the centre of the room is a sort of… Bubble. Probably a force field of some kind. Inside, there's some guy in a purple robe. On the gantry looking in at him is a… A blue midget. With a black widow's peak and a black handlebar moustache. His right arm is in a sling, but I can see that the sling was just some cloth he had lying around rather than a proper medical sling. So the guy's got an army of robots but can't get decent medical attention?

    Lucky that he's not looking at me. I head towards a work station and then stop just before I reach it. That's something a robot would do, right?

    "It might amuse you to know that your experiment is continuing without you. That last universe you were in has built another tuning fork."

    I can't look at them from here, so I don't know how robe-guy responded to that. But the midget sounds like he's trying to taunt him, and when a guy outside a cell is taunting you it's because you're in his power and he thinks he's winning.

    Which saves time on working out who the good guy is and who the bad guy is. And he's not even a bad guy with any class.

    "What are you doing, Krona?"

    Krona… Krona… No, don't think I've heard of an alien midget called 'Krona'. Don't think I've heard of an alien midget called anything, but Krona-. Isn't that a brand of beer? And… What they call their money someplace in Europe?

    "Learning a great deal about time. I know that Vanishing Point is generally considered to be outside of time, but here we are. Your past self isn't walking past this enclosure or trying to free you. We can have a chronologically consistent conversation. But we can both feel that something is different. What's the difference between time in here and time out there?"

    "I don't know any more than you do."

    "No. I suspect that you know rather less."

    "It's not just blood, is it? You're weaker than you were."

    "And that's something I will correct very shortly. You really shouldn't have gone to a parallel where the power rings don't have Maltusian lockouts."

    Quiet steps as the midget walks away. Okay, don't look and wait until he's g-.

    "Manhunter, report."

    Gone.

    Okay, is this robot a Manhunter? There's no one else here and I didn't see a radio on him. What the hell do these robots say to him? I can do voices like this, but I've never heard any of them talk.

    I turn in the direction of the midget's voice, and luckily he's not bothering to look at me. Shit, was he talking to a different robot? Still can't see any. Have to take a risk.

    "Acquisition of Peter Wynne unsuccessful."

    "Still? Unfortunate, but he's just one man. We can get plenty more."

    The alien midget walks down the staircase at the edge of the room, and I track him by rotating my head.

    "Not much point sending you to fight the Justice League, given how quickly they're destroying the others of your generation. You can keep Time Trapper company. Make sure that he can't escape again."

    He heads towards one of the exits. Good, I can talk to that Time Trapper guy and find out what's-.

    He stops.

    "Manhunter? Confirm command."

    What do Manhunters say, what do Manhunters say? Wait, there are a whole bunch of different models, and it sounds like they have different abilities. Do they all say the same thing? Just have to guess. What would an alien megalomaniac have his robots say?

    "By the command of Krona, I obey."

    He keeps walking. So either that was the right response or he's gone to get reinforcements and doesn't want to let me know that he knows. Or… He didn't really listen to the response but wanted to get one, like some total prima donna ordering around wait staff. Yeah, that sounds more likely.

    I wait until he's out of sight down the corridor then walk robotically to the staircase at the side of the room, climb up them and walk towards the bubble prison in the middle of the room. Time Trapper is wearing an all-concealing purple robe, and he's sitting slumped in the base of the bubble. I walk up as close to him as the gantry allows and then stop.

    "I don't suppose that you can tell me what's going on out there, can you? I can't do much about it, but I'd still like to know."

    "What, you think I understood any of it?"

    The hood jerks up.

    "What?"

    "Name's Matt Hagen. The dumb robots picked me up rather than a guy called Peter Wynne, and I'm looking-"

    "Clayface."

    "-for a way out."

    "You-? He just-?" He stands up real quick, leaning toward the edge of the bubble closest to me. "Alright. Mister Hagen? Listen very carefully, because you have somehow found yourself in position to save the multiverse."

    "And papa always said I'd never amount to anything."

    "Focus. Mister Hagen. I'm going to tell you exactly what to do."
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Bramble Thorn said:
    How is Undead quote colors supposed to work? Because when Black Lantern OL was first introduced spoke in black text. Then last chapter, he didn't. I had assumed that was because he had harvested hearts representing the emotional spectrums full spread. And that allowed normal text affect. But then he started sacrificing those emotions one by one to power the tuning fork, but the text didn't revert. And now the Black Queen is using normal text as well. What gives?
    Click to expand...
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    He didn't give them up, he put a small amount of what he's collected into the tuning fork.

    The Black Queen thing was a mistake, but thinking about it, it seems to make sense that she'd have to get in touch with her stolen emotions in order to complete this task.
     
    Mr Zoat said:
    Stay hidden.
    Look around.
    Find a way out.
    Then come back.

    I stop, and the other robots walk past my corridor like I'm not even here.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Guess they're not built to account for things they weren't programmed to. Sloppy coding, but here it's helpful...

    Guess those movies were more accurate than I thought.

    There aren't a lot of interior doors. Which is good, because if there was some sort of… Metal detector or whatever then there's no way I'd show up looking like one of the real robots. Now that I've had a chance to watch them I'm walking more like they do, but that sort of thing only fools people and I haven't seen any. Maybe there isn't a crazy alien but a crazy robot? Or maybe they're all just doing the last things they got told to do and no one's really in charge?
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    Man, that scenario is always a pain. Paperclip maximisers especially so. Let this be a lesson, coders, always include a stop state for programmed instructions, just in case.

    I march down a corridor I haven't been down before. Not because I think there's anything there, but because I know there isn't anywhere else and I may as well take a look. If it turns out that the only way to leave is using the tuning fork… Maybe there's a way to bring other people here? Superman or someone? No disrespect to Batman but I think he'd be out of his depth too.

    "…quite as planned. I didn't know that Guardians could bleed."
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    Ah, even Clayface recognises how out of place people like Batman are in the league... But there's always a need for strategists, no matter how strong the fighters are.

    "It's rare for us to encounter anything that can make it happen, certainly."

    I don't stop. A robot wouldn't stop until it got to where it was going.
    I keep going at exactly the same pace, heading in the same direction. And start looking for a believable stop-point that lets me keep listening.
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    See, now that's a good actor. Acing those disguise checks!

    "I'd offer to help, but I really would quite like you to bleed to death."

    "You are fascinating. I doubt that you can really appreciate it."

    "I'm unique. You're really old."
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    Heh, now that's a burn. And Krona is still bleeding after Grayven's little slice? Ominous.

    There isn't anywhere. The only thing I can do is march into the room, or hope that no one looks when I go somewhere else.

    "You're not the first Time Trapper, are you? Even the people who meet the different versions of you probably don't realise it. The unique interaction you have with time makes sure that there wasn't a Time Trapper before you. I wonder how you experience it?"
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    "Unhappily. Seriously, the sooner I can get back to normal operation here, the better."

    I hear the stomps of a robot approaching from behind me. Can't risk looking around. Looks like I'm going in.

    I march into the room, looking upwards in the direction of the voices as much as I dare. The room is large and has two levels, the first floor and a floor half way up the room made of platforms criss-crossing the middle. In the centre of the room is a sort of… Bubble. Probably a force field of some kind. Inside, there's some guy in a purple robe. On the gantry looking in at him is a… A blue midget. With a black widow's peak and a black handlebar moustache. His right arm is in a sling, but I can see that the sling was just some cloth he had lying around rather than a proper medical sling. So the guy's got an army of robots but can't get decent medical attention?
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    Looks like Grayven did more damage than anyone thought. I'm guessing his Maltusian symbionts conked out for some reason, or the injury would have been healed by now...

    Lucky that he's not looking at me. I head towards a work station and then stop just before I reach it. That's something a robot would do, right?

    "I might amuse you to know that your experiment is continuing without you. That last universe you were in has built another tuning fork."
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    At least he isn't strong enough to do something personally. Thank goodness for small mercies...

    I can't look at them from here, so I don't know how robe-guy responded to that. But the midget sounds like he's trying to taunt him, and when a guy outside a cell is taunting you it's because you're in his power and he thinks he's winning.

    Which saves time on working out who the good guy is and who the bad guy is. And he's not even a bad guy with any class.
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    Also, Krona is one of those people who just naturally look like bad guys. The moustache doesn't help.

    "What are you doing, Krona?"

    Krona… Krona… No, don't think I've heard of an alien midget called 'Krona'. Don't think I've heard of an alien midget called anything, but Krona-. Isn't that a brand of beer? And… What they call their money someplace in Europe?
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    'Corona' and 'Kroner' respectively. Matt is not well-read outside of his interests, is he?

    "Learning a great deal about time. I know that Vanishing Point in generally considered to be outside of time, but here we are. Your past self isn't walking past this enclosure or trying to free you. We can have a chronologically consistent conversation. But we can both feel that something is different. What's the difference between time in here and time out there?"
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    Magic of narrative convenience. Can you imagine the arguments if multiple Trappers were walking around simultaneously? "No, it's my turn to use the multi-temporal vectrascope. It's on the schedule and everything!"

    "I don't know any more than you do."

    "No. I suspect that you know rather less.
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    Maybe, but at least he isn't poking time with a stick to see it twitch...

    "It's not just blood, is it? You're weaker than you were."

    "And that's something I will correct very shortly. You really shouldn't have gone to a parallel where the power rings don't have Maltusian lockouts."
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    Looks like the Sword of the Fallen knocked out his Maltusian superpowers all right. And if I understand that second part right, the Gold Lanterns still have bobblehead malware hidden away in their Ring's coding? Defintiely something I would have checked ASAP...

    Quiet steps as the midget walks away. Okay, don't look and wait until he's g-.

    "Manhunter, report."
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    And Matt quietly goes "FFffffuuu-..."

    Gone.

    Okay, is this robot a Manhunter? There's no one else here and I didn't see a radio on him. What the hell do these robots say to him? I can do voices like this, but I've never heard any of them talk.
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    DM: Better roll high, Matt. This is a tough one...

    I turn in the direction of the midget's voice, and luckily he's not bothering to look at me. Shit, was he talking to a different robot? Still can't see any. Have to take a risk.

    "Acquisition of Peter Wynne unsuccessful."
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    ...Did you just out your original? Because I'm pretty sure Krona didn't know the Peter Wynn on the Fork wasn't the real thing?

    "Still? Unfortunate, but he's just one man. We can get plenty more."

    The alien midget walks down the staircase at the edge of the room, and I track him by rotating my head.
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    Phew! Must have rolled really damn well.

    "Not much point sending you to fight the Justice League, given how quickly they're destroying the others of your generation. You can keep Time Trapper company. Make sure that he can't escape again."

    He heads towards one of the exits. Good, I can talk to that Time Trapper guy and find out what's-.
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    Convenient! Good thing Krona's still an idiot...

    He stops.

    "Manhunter? Confirm command."
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    Goddammit!

    What do Manhunters say, what do Manhunters say? Wait, there are a whole bunch of different models, and it sounds like they have different abilities. Do they all say the same thing? Just have to guess. What would an alien megalomaniac have his robots say?

    "By the command of Krona, I obey."
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    Bluff roll... So glad Maltusians rely on their innate enhancement bonuses for things like Sense Motive...

    He keeps walking. So either that was the right response or he's gone to get reinforcements and doesn't want to let me know that he knows. Or… He didn't really listen to the response but wanted to get one, like some total prima donna ordering around wait staff. Yeah, that sounds more likely.
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    Either way, act like you've not got long to act. Always assume the worst.

    I wait until he's out of sight down the corridor then walk robotically to the staircase at the side of the room, climb up them and walk towards the bubble prison in the middle of the room. Time Trapper is wearing an all-concealing purple robe, and he's sitting slumped in the base of the bubble. I walk up as close to him as the gantry allows and then stop.

    "I don't suppose that you can tell me what's going on out there, can you? I can't do much about it, but I'd still like to know."
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    Boy, Maul's not in a good mood, is he? I suspect he's about to get a bit happier, though.

    "What, you think I understood any of it?"

    The hood jerks up.
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    Weren't expecting that, were you?

    "What?"

    "Name's Matt Hagen. The dumb robots picked me up rather than a guy called Peter Wynne, and I'm looking-"
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    And thank goodness he did get mistaken...

    "Clayface."

    "-for a way out."

    "You-? He just-?" He stands up real quick, leaning toward the edge of the bubble closest to me. "Alright. Mister Hagen? Listen very carefully, because you have somehow found yourself in position to save the multiverse."
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    Ha! I knew it, the Clayling is going to be the fly in the ointment, the sabot in the gears!

    "And papa always said I'd never amount to anything."

    "Focus. Mister Hagen. I'm going to tell you exactly what to do."
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    Let's hope Matty is good at adlibbing, because you know what they say about plans...

    Oh boy, endgame incoming. Can Clayling continue to bluff check his way into saving the multiverse (and more importantly, all those Pauls and Jades? We're going to see very soon!

    Corrections:
    ...where it was going.
    I keep     going at exactly...
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    Broken paragraph.
    "No. I suspect that you know rather less.
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    Missing End Quotation mark.
     
    Prince Charon said:
    Should that maybe be 'It?'
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    Thank you, corrected.
    I seem to be drawing a blank: who is Barbara's bodyguard, and who is she married to?
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    Queshire said:
    I don't think it's anyone specific. There was just a good chance that someone around would fulfill the requirements for love even if it's just Nameless NPC 1.
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    Yes.
    Chojin Patriarch said:
    Corrections:
    Broken paragraph.
    Missing End Quotation mark.
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    Thank you, corrected.
    Zig said:
    Maybe it's just cuz it's late, but I am having trouble understanding what's going on here.
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    The Guardians know perfectly well that Krona is a power ring expert, so they put a lot of protections on their rings to prevent him from using them. Since the Gold Lantern Corps removed those protections there's nothing stopping him grabbing their rings at using them at expert level immediately.
     
    Mr Zoat said:
    The Guardians know perfectly well that Krona is a power ring expert, so they put a lot of protections on their rings to prevent him from using them. Since the Gold Lantern Corps removed those protections there's nothing stopping him grabbing their rings at using them at expert level immediately.
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    Did you check with the author of Inviolate on that?
     
    Prince Charon said:
    Did you check with the author of Inviolate on that?
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    No. I imagine that in the Invoilate timeline their Krona was either a volunteer for 'Evildoer of the Week' or a completely innocent patsy.

    Unless you're refering to the controls, in which case yes, that is Inviolate canon. The Guardians drive their Lanterns into a frenzy towards the end which the Gold Lanterns are affected by.
     
    Vaermina said:
    From what we heard it doesn't sound like Krona is actually trying to destroy the Universe.

    So you want might to get a second opinion on this.
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    Burger King doesn't actively and maliciously try to give its customers diarrhoea, but it's still happening. It's kinda like that. He might not be trying to end the universe, but there's a pretty good chance he will.
     
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