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

A Week in the Life of (part 19)
15th April
08:04 GMT -5


She pulls open the door.

"Sandy? It's Diana."

Because even if he is a sand monster, I'm sure that she stuck in his adolescent mind even if nothing else has.

The.. corridor on the far side is broad, with lines of plinths on either side. Atop each plinth is an object. Some are simple and unremarkable: a three-eyed teddy bear, an unusually large wrench resting atop a thick metal cog and a chocolate cake topped with cherries and a single candle. Others are strange: a worm with no beginning or end, a ray of light with no source and a mobile pile of wood shavings constantly throwing itself against the side of its glass case.

Diana's already strode halfway down the corridor. John steps through the door after her, taking a moment to wave an ankh at the exhibits. He twists his ankh as he passes the shavings, grasping the upright piece and slamming the loop into the case and shattering it. The shavings leap free and flow across the floor, rustling around John and Diana and turning left as they reach the end of the corridor.

John nods. "Kid Flash, I think it's safe enough. Someone's building a temple to their own ego."

I go through next, Wallace just behind me. John's eyes narrow inside his helmet as the door tries to close on us and raises his hands towards it, bringing it to an immediate halt with a golden ankh embossed on the wood.

Diana glances back. "Doctor Fate, do we need to follow that?"

"No, I just don't like seeing it in prison." He turns his attention to me. "Where do you think we should go?"

"This is a dream we have no stake in. We end it." I point to the closest wall. "We smash through there until we hit something important."

He snorts with amusement. "That might work, but there's an easier way."

He brings his hands together in front of him, generates a large ankh and stabs the upright into the floor. Golden light flows away from the point of impact, glowing through the tiny gaps in the brickwork as it spreads throughout the structure.

"Why go to them, when we can bring them to-"

The wall I pointed at explodes! A muscular green-skinned humanoid lunges out of the hole and swings its right fist at John!

"-us?"

Diana's there, blocking the attack with her bracers! The creature hesitates, frowning in apparent surprise that she could stop him. Super strength, probably, and not familiar with Wonder Woman. She takes advantage of the opening to slam her right fist into.. his? Jaw, sending him staggering back.

"Explain yourself, creature! Why have you taken Sandy!?"

"I don't answer to you, Olympian!" He grabs the teddy bear from the plinth and swings it at her, the creature swelling to a huge size and enveloping her. "I don't answer to anyone any more!"

The bear comes to life, bearing down on Diana with soft fur and padding! She can't just smash it aside as it can just soak up her strikes!

"Dreamkin." John raises his arms at it but doesn't hit it yet. "You shouldn't be up and about by yourself."

"I can if I can."

Wallace crouches slightly to prepare to throw himself into the fray but I shake my head and point to the hole. He nods, then dashes through with me flying quickly after him.

On the other side there's a.. black abyss, with only a narrow stretch of floor between exit and entry point. We both pass through it in a moment, coming out into… A richly-appointed throne room. There are two thrones on a dais, one intended for a large humanoid while the other is a sort of.. high chair. It's occupied by a… Squig with arms? The other points of interest in the room are two large glass cases, one occupied by a writhing pile of sand and the other occupied by… A Star Hunter with grey skin matching the tone of Melinoë's skin.

"How'd you get in-?"

A mage slayer round punches through each glass enclosure, sand spilling out at once. The starfish settles for glaring monoptically at me.

"Hey, cut that out!"

"Ah." Wallace slows to a stop and the sand begins piling up. "Sandy, right? Sanderson Hawkins? We haven't met, but-."

The sand clenches, shrinking down slightly as it takes humanoid shape. No, not 'humanoid'. Human, a slightly older copy of Sandy, outline of his dodgy costume and all. Rendered in sand of course; no colour other than browney-yellow. Still, that suggests purpose which means that he isn't mindless.

"Flash."

"Kid Flash, but, yeah. Ah, hi?"

"EXCUSE ME!" The squig rises up on its weirdly thin legs and waves a whistle in its right hand. "No one breaks into my house and BREAKS MY PROPERTY!"

He moves the whistle to his lips and I tear it from his hand with a construct.

He blows his fingers, then realises that something isn't right.

"Huh?"

"Sandy, who is this?"

"Thut-." His throat shifts as he tries to regain the ability to enunciate. "That is Glob. It's some sort of dream… Creature."

"Good show. Brand."

"What-?"

The filament tags him in the forehead, and… I feel little to no resistance as I take control and… Change his operating desire from 'create hoard from the dreams of everyone he can reach' to 'release everything he's taken, then report to Morpheus'.

"Ah, hey, I made this potion." Wallace holds it out to Sandy. "I'm.. not sure what's going on, but it should help with the 'sand monster' thing."

Sandy grimaces.

"I had to learn how to control a body made of sand. I was never a monster."

"Ah." Wallace's eyes widen slightly for a moment. "Okay. I don't.. really know.. what to say-."

A three-eyed teddy head flies through the gap in the wall and hits Melinoë's container.

"If he doesn't need it, could you give it to her?" I nod at the starfish. "She appears to be stuck."

The eye narrows as Diana drags the green fellow through the hole, bound in her lasso.

"Sandy." She lands, looking him over. "You're alive."

"W-wonder Woman?" He shakes his head. "How.. long was I in..?"

Lasso wrapped around her left forearm she walks forward and embraces him. He doesn't hug her back, instead remaining in the exact posture he occupied before she touched him.

"Ah." Wallace stands in front of Star Melinoë. "Do you have a mouth..?"

She turns-. And she's got the small Star Conqueror's toothy mouth on her reverse surface. Wallace cautiously leans into her enclosure and pours his potion into it, her teeth clacking together in response. A healing potion shouldn't do much to an Olympian, but combined with a little dream dust…

Her outer surface undulates for a moment and then snaps back into the form I know.

Okay, Sandy and Melinoë rescued, two Dreamkin in temporary custody before we hand them over to Morpheus. I think this mission is complete, though Sandy will need a lot of help in the next few months and I want to talk to Melinoë about what just happened.

Then the squig claps its hands and the room around us evaporates.
 
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15th April
08:04 GMT -5


She pulls open the door.

"Sandy? It's Diana."

Because even if he is a sand monster, I'm sure that she stuck in his adolescent mind even if nothing else has.
Because she was probably the hottest woman he'd ever met, and didn't wear much (Phantom lady would have been another one he'd remember for those reasons...)

The.. corridor on the far side is broad, with lines of plinths on either side. Atop each plinth is a object. Some are simple and unremarkable: a three-eyed teddy bear, a unusually large wrench resting atop a thick metal cog and a chocolate cake topped with cherries and a single candle. Others are strange: a worm with no beginning or end, a ray of light with no source and a mobile pile of wood shavings constantly throwing itself against the side of its glass case.
Getting definite trophy room vibes here. I wonder what each represents? Is the cake a Portal reference?

Diana's already strode halfway down the corridor. John steps through the door after her, taking a moment to wave an ankh at the exhibits. He twists his ankh as he passes the shavings, grasping the upright piece and slamming the loop into the case and shattering it. The shavings leap free and flow across the floor, rustling around John and Diana and turning left as it reaches the end of the corridor.
What the hell, man? I hope you know what you're doing.

John nods. "Kid Flash, I think it's safe enough. Someone's building a temple to their own ego."

I go through next, Wallace just behind me. John's eyes narrow inside his helmet as the door tries to close on us and raises his hands towards it, bringing it to an immediate halt with a golden ankh embossed on the wood.
Yeah, this is not a place you want to be having any closed doors between you and the exit...

Diana glances back. "Doctor Fate, do we need to follow that?"

"No, I just don't like seeing it in prison." He turns his attention to me. "Where do you think we should go?"
And now I wonder what the heck it might be, that he took such an interest in it?

"This is a dream we have no stake in. We end it." I point to the closest wall. "We smash through there until we hit something important."

He snorts with amusement. "That might work, but there's an easier way."
And depending on the geometry of the place, you may end up smashing in circles... Also: That's awful close to Righteous Face-Punching, OL. You really have gone native.

He brings his hands together in front of him, generates a large ankh and stabs the upright into the floor. Golden light flows away from the point of impact, glowing through the tiny gaps in the brickwork as it spreads throughout the structure.

"Why go to them, when we can bring them to-"
Great, so you just aggro'd every mob in the instance. Hope you can tank, Johnny.

The wall I pointed at explodes! A muscular green-skinned humanoid lunges out of the hole and swings its right fist at John!

"-us?"
For a second, I wanted to call 'Hulk Smash!'... But given the setting...

Diana's there, blocking the attack with her bracers! The creature hesitates, frowning in apparent surprised that she could stop him. Super strength, probably, and not familiar with Wonder Woman. She takes advantage of the opening to slam her right fist into.. his? Jaw, sending him staggering back.

"Explain yourself, creature! Why have you taken Sandy!?"
...This is probably Brute, of the Dreaming. And now I know why Mr Zoat liked my post calling it, a couple of days ago.:D

"I don't answer to you, Olympian!" He grabs the teddy bear from the plinth and swings it at her, the creature swelling to a huge size and enveloping her. "I don't answer to anyone any more!"

The bear comes to life, baring down on Diana with soft fur and padding! She can't just smash it aside as it can just soak up her strikes!
Great opposition for someone with just super-strength... But Diana is also damn smart, with decades of tactics to call on.

"Dreamkin." John raises his arms at it but doesn't hit it yet. "You shouldn't be up and about by yourself."

"I can if I can."
And that's what got him and Glob in trouble back when Dream was imprisoned.

Wallace crouches slightly to prepare to throw himself into the fray but I shake my head and point to the hole. He nods, then dashes through with me flying quickly after him.

On the other side there's a.. black abyss, with only a narrow stretch of floor between exit and entry point. We both pass through it in a moment, coming out into… A richly-appointed throne room. There are two thrones on a dais, one intended for a large humanoid while the is a sort of.. high chair. It's occupied by a… Squig with arms? The other points of interest in the room are two large glass cases, one occupied by a writhing pile of sand and the other occupied by… A Star Hunter with grey skin matching the tone of Melinoë's skin.
Looks like they're pulling another 'Dream Stream' gag. But this time, they're in charge and Sandy gets to be the battery. And there's Melinoë. I hope that transformation is only temporary...

"How'd you get in-?"

A mage slayer round punches through each glass enclosure, sand spilling out at once. The starfish settles for glaring monoptically at me.
**Took you long enough, Pavlos... Now get me out of this calamari!**

"Hey, cut that out!"

"Ah." Wallace slows to a stop and the sand begins piling up. "Sandy, right? Sanderson Hawkins? We haven't met, but-."
Taking a chance there, KF. You're hoping he's conscious enough to not sandblast you?

The sand clenches, shrinking down slightly as it takes humanoid shape. No, not 'humanoid'. Human, a slightly older copy of Sandy, outline of his dodgy costume and all. Rendered in sand of course; no colour other than browney-yellow. Still, that suggests purpose which means that he isn't mindless.

"Flash."
And he recognises the speedster style. :rolleyes: Must be the lightning bolt and running fast.

"Kid Flash, but, yeah. Ah, hi?"

"EXCUSE ME!" The squig rises up on its weirdly thin legs and waves a whistle in its right hand. "No one breaks into my house and BREAKS MY PROPERTY!"
And here's Glob. That whistle, I believe, would be a device to summon some protector, likely a patsy calling himself Sandman...

He moves the whistle to his lips and I tear it from his hand with a construct.

He blows his fingers, then realises that something isn't right.
<Bugs> Boy, he ain't too quick on the uptake, is he? What a maroon. </Bugs>

"Huh?"

"Sandy, who is this?"

"Thut-." His throat shifts as he tries to regain the ability to enunciate. "That is Glob. It's some sort of dream… Creature."
I take it he's been in that bottle for a while... Long enough to regain some focus, but not all of it.

"Good show. Brand."

"What-?"

The filament tags him in the forehead, and… I feel little to no resistance as I take control and… Change his operating desire from 'create hoard from the dreams of everyone he can reach' to 'release everything he's taken, then report to Morpheus'.
Make himself turn him and his buddy in, huh? Hopefully Morpheus puts a tighter leash on them this time.

"Ah, hey, I made this potion." Wallace holds it out to Sandy. "I'm.. not sure what's going on, but it should help with the 'sand monster' thing."

Sandy grimaces.

"I had to learn how to control a body made of sand. I was never a monster."
Well... You can excuse Dodds for making that mistake, given the screaming and flailing...

"Ah." Wallace's eyes widen slightly for a moment. "Okay. I don't.. really know.. what to say-."

A three-eyed teddy head flies through the gap in the wall and hits Melinoë's container.
Ah, looks like Diana's done with Brute. That didn't take long.

"If he doesn't need it, could you give it to her?" I nod at the starfish. "She appears to be stuck."

The eye narrows as Diana drags the green fellow through the hole, bound in her lasso.
**I'm still blaming you, Pavlos.**

"Sandy." She lands, looking him over. "You're alive."

"W-wonder Woman?" He shakes his head. "How.. long was in..?"
Far too long, methinks. I wonder if he'd be amenable to joining the Team? He may look adult, but... HE's been locked in glass containers of one form or another for some seventy years now. He's going to need help adjusting.

Lasso wrapped around her left forearm she walks forward and embraces him. He doesn't hug her back, instead remaining in the exact posture he occupied before she touched him.

"Ah." Wallace stands in front of Star Melinoë. "Do you have a mouth..?"
Yeah, kind of awkward if she can't actually drink the potion. I don't think Persephone would be happy with having a pseudo-sea creature for an offspring... That's more Poseidon's thing.

She turns-. And she's got the small Star Conqueror's toothy mouth on her reverse surface. Wallace cautiously leans into her enclosure and pours his potion into it, her teeth clacking together in response. A healing potion shouldn't do much to an Olympian, but combined with a little dream dust…

Her outer surface undulates for a moment and then snaps back into the form I know.
"About damn time. Do you know how hard it is to think straight with five brains?"

Okay, Sandy and Melinoë rescued, two Dreamkin in temporary custody before we hand them over to Morpheus. I think this mission is complete, though I Sandy will need a lot of help in the next few months and I want to talk to Melinoë about what just happened.

Then the squig claps its hands and the room around us evaporates.
Ah, he's acting immediately on that whole directive OL gave him, huh?

Boy, those two Dreams just don't do the whole 'learning' thing, do they? I wonder how many times a century Morpheus has to smack them back down when they pull this con... At any rate, a brief audience with the King of the Dreaming, and they can be safely on their way home.

Atop each plinth is a object...
Atop each plinth is an object...
...a unusually large wrench resting...
...an unusually large wrench resting...
...while the is a sort of..
...while the other is a sort of..
"W-wonder Woman?" He shakes his head. "How.. long was in..?"
"W-wonder Woman?" He shakes his head. "How.. long was I in..?"
...though I Sandy will need...
Remove the 'I'.
 
What the hell, man? I hope you know what you're doing.
And now I wonder what the heck it might be, that he took such an interest in it?

Getting some Golden Boy vibes right about now.

**I'm still blaming you, Pavlos.**

"And I still love you, Pavlos"

Yeah, kind of awkward if she can't actually drink the potion. I don't think Persephone would be happy with having a pseudo-sea creature for an offspring... That's more Poseidon's thing.

Given some of the myths on how their children can be born, Persephone may not be all that upset that her daughter has been turned into something that doesn't look human.

Well, she may still be upset, but mostly that Paul dragged her into his brand of madness, and not so much the transformation.

Boy, those two Dreams just don't do the whole 'learning' thing, do they?

No they do not.

I wonder how many times a century Morpheus has to smack them back down when they pull this con

I'd say a lot.
 

It's extremely unlikely that the magic wasn't affecting him, seeing as he was essentially passing through the thing.

And before you say the only spells on the portal were its 'create a portal' and 'maintain portal', remember that I said another spell could be 'protect traveller', that directly affects the traveller, since the thing having such a spell makes sense.

Yes Paul goes through magical places without the spell eater going of, but those places probably don't tend to directly affect him like the ankh portal.

What voodoo restraint are you talking about anyway?
 
Okay, Sandy and Melinoë rescued, two Dreamkin in temporary custody before we hand them over to Morpheus. I think this mission is complete, though I Sandy will need a lot of help in the next few months and I want to talk to Melinoë about what just happened.
though Sandy will need?
 
It's extremely unlikely that the magic wasn't affecting him, seeing as he was essentially passing through the thing.

And before you say the only spells on the portal were its 'create a portal' and 'maintain portal', remember that I said another spell could be 'protect traveller', that directly affects the traveller, since the thing having such a spell makes sense.

Yes Paul goes through magical places without the spell eater going of, but those places probably don't tend to directly affect him like the ankh portal.

What voodoo restraint are you talking about anyway?
It's the difference between spending time at camp to get used to lower oxygen levels while mountaineering, while the other is simply carrying an oxygen tank and rebreather.

Why would the spell to protect the traveller be on the traveller and not the portal itself?

And I meant restaurant, not restraint. I'll edit my original post.
 
Why would the spell to protect the traveller be on the traveller and not the portal itself?

Because the spell could have been designed like that. Maybe as a precaution in case the one on the portal fails.

And I meant restaurant, not restraint. I'll edit my original post.

I don't think the restaurant had all that much magic aside from that whole food blessing thing and the zombies. Plus the food would have been the only thing to directly affect him.

I think he took off his spell eater when he ate there, to properly taste the magic food, and the tattoos he has already disrupted the effects the food had in him, not completely, but they did.
 
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Would be funny if these guys had trapped the dreams of the mother star (she was complaining about its absence) and that is why she died. And now that their realm has collapsed her dreams will be released and either the mother star will revive or a new one will appear. Would tie up nicely with the fact that Morpheus hasn't done his side of the bargain under most sensible interpretations thus it would be fun if he shows up and takes the mother star as a pet.
 
Would be funny if these guys had trapped the dreams of the mother star (she was complaining about its absence) and that is why she died. And now that their realm has collapsed her dreams will be released and either the mother star will revive or a new one will appear. Would tie up nicely with the fact that Morpheus hasn't done his side of the bargain under most sensible interpretations thus it would be fun if he shows up and takes the mother star as a pet.

Can this be how Jarro comes into existence?

I really hope so.
 
Would be funny if these guys had trapped the dreams of the mother star (she was complaining about its absence) and that is why she died. And now that their realm has collapsed her dreams will be released and either the mother star will revive or a new one will appear. Would tie up nicely with the fact that Morpheus hasn't done his side of the bargain under most sensible interpretations thus it would be fun if he shows up and takes the mother star as a pet.

Can this be how Jarro comes into existence?

I really hope so.
I second that. Paul with a pet Jarro would be nice. Although, since he knows they are sentient, maybe he would take them as his ward instead, as Paul might find the term pet too demeaning to use for another sentient in a non-playful way.
 
I second that. Paul with a pet Jarro would be nice. Although, since he knows they are sentient, maybe he would take them as his ward instead, as Paul might find the term pet too demeaning to use for another sentient in a non-playful way.

Agreed.

It's about time paragon started adopting some kids.
 
Classic Morpheus!

"I'll help save the girl if you go and restore this other guy's body."

The two are trapped next to each other, the girl is transformed, and the guy is cool with an altered body is okay with it.

"See if I hadn't told you to restore him, she'd still be a starfish."
 
Because the spell could have been designed like that. Maybe as a precaution in case the one on the portal fails.

That's just poor design. It's much easier to account for a constant, i.e. the portal, than the various individuals who will travel through it. Especially people who are in Fate's caliber. Case in point, OL.
 
That's just poor design. It's much easier to account for a constant, i.e. the portal, than the various individuals who will travel through it. Especially people who are in Fate's caliber. Case in point, OL.

It could just be an extra layer of security and precaution in case something goes wrong with the spell on the portal.

The person that created the portal spell could have been a believer in redundancies.
 

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