• The site has now migrated to Xenforo 2. If you see any issues with the forum operation, please post them in the feedback thread.
  • An addendum to Rule 3 regarding fan-translated works of things such as Web Novels has been made. Please see here for details.
  • The issue with logging in with email addresses has been resolved.
  • Due to issues with external spam filters, QQ is currently unable to send any mail to Microsoft E-mail addresses. This includes any account at live.com, hotmail.com or msn.com. Signing up to the forum with one of these addresses will result in your verification E-mail never arriving. For best results, please use a different E-mail provider for your QQ address.
  • For prospective new members, a word of warning: don't use common names like Dennis, Simon, or Kenny if you decide to create an account. Spammers have used them all before you and gotten those names flagged in the anti-spam databases. Your account registration will be rejected because of it.
  • Since it has happened MULTIPLE times now, I want to be very clear about this. You do not get to abandon an account and create a new one. You do not get to pass an account to someone else and create a new one. If you do so anyway, you will be banned for creating sockpuppets.
  • Due to the actions of particularly persistent spammers and trolls, we will be banning disposable email addresses from today onward.
  • The rules regarding NSFW links have been updated. See here for details.

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

And the sad thing is that he's not even asking in a schadenfreudian way. Diabo is genuinely concerned about her wellbeing, because… Because a slanted report to the Senate could ruin everything? Because he doesn't want to make an enemy if she decides to blame him for her hardship? Because he doesn't want her to throw up on him and get his uniform dirty? All of those are in the mix, but they're all bound up in the bundle of instincts and fears that make up Diabo that it's a little hard to tell which has precedence at any one time. The only thing I'm really sure about it that it's not compassion because I'd feel that due to it disrupting our connection.
'so bound'?
Dame Bozes makes an effort to control her bilious stomach. "I have never… Had the privilege… Of riding with wyvern knights."
Ought the full stop be green rather than orange? Not necessarily a problem, just looks a tad queer to me and I can't remember how you usually handle it.
"Hm? Oh. I apologise. I've been watching for some sigh of enemy fleet movements."
'sign'
"That's the point: we don't know about it. Everything our spies tell us says that their force is well within our ability to best, and it is only the difficulty in maintaining our supply lines that has preventing an attack like this being made in years past. But they know that also. We know that our black powder weapons have radically changed the calculus but so far as they know, this is simply an overbold prince trying to do what his forebears could not."
'prevented'
We, at least she didn't hit at an equites-

"EYUK!"

-but perhaps it would have been best to check that Giselle wasn't following us first.
Extraneous 'at'?

Amusing chapter.
 
also, let's not forget that the former villian and world-conquest seeker Mr. Atom has been given a global network of unquestioningly loyal foot soldiers. i wonder if he's feeling confident enough to make a move, or if he has the ability to operate outside of Batman's observation.
I think given how long Mr. Atom has had to try and put into lace palms or actions that would let hike take over the world and hasn't, the more frightening and plausible scenario is that he ISN'T operating outside Batman's observations or knowledge.

The longer this "Peace Agent" arc goes on for, with Batman actively making use of a Yellow Ring and taking action to consolidate power like he's never before done outside of comics where he went bad or insane, the more it looks like this is a calculated effort by a mentally warped Batman to take over Earth while its weak, shrouded in a fog of actions that all seem reasonable and sensible due to the situation, and truthfully are but are still setups to conquest.

Either this goes a whole new direction and Batman truly isn't behind this or it's revealed that the obvious is true and recent events truly have driven Batman over the edge into totalitarianism. A recurring theme in this arc is that OL knows there's something wrong and fishy about this, he can just feel it that something's not right. Yet he distracts himself with other things, like rebuilding Hub City, finding the Question, or Tetch. He chooses not to look directly because he's still guilty about what happened with Batman, so he's purposely avoiding what's going on and Batman knows that and is using his guilt to keep him out and away from anything he's not directly needed for.

It looks to me like this is all lining up to be another step along the path of Avarice Enlightenment for Paul. If Batman is really going evil, then Paul will have no choice but to find away to stop him despite his own guilt over the situation. Since he can't trick his desires in order to get past his guilt anymore due to Enlightenment giving him perfect understanding of his desires, then the only step here i can imagine is advancing Enlightenment to the point where he can fully **control** his desires instead. Control them and remove his guilt.
 
Early Winter, IC 690

"Dame Bozes, are you well?"
Ah, the dragon flight mentioned last chapter. I wonder, did the wyvern rider squadrons ever develop the idea of a parachute? Or do they simply go down with their mount, as it were, in a bit of honourable foolishness?

And the sad thing is that he's not even asking in a schadenfreudian way. Diabo is genuinely concerned about her wellbeing, because… Because a slanted report to the Senate could ruin everything? Because he doesn't want to make an enemy if she decides to blame him for her hardship? Because he doesn't want her to throw up on him and get his uniform dirty? All of those are in the mix, but they're all bound up in the bundle of instincts and fears that make up Diabo that it's a little hard to tell which has precedence at any one time. The only thing I'm really sure about it that it's not compassion because I'd feel that due to it disrupting our connection.
Nor the sort of overwhelming fear that turns his thoughts firmly yellow. Merely a selection of the normal neuroses that most people live with... Albeit focused on more fascinating targets.

"Yes-. Thank you-. Prince-. Diabo-."

A disadvantage of this setup that I hadn't considered: by the rules of this reality I am a god, which means that prayers directed to me personally or to the concept of Ambition do actually come to me. There's no sort of obligation to do anything about them… Not a 'built-in' obligation at least, but since Diabo became my chosen I've had a dramatic increase in prayers and visitors. And yes, it's mostly from people hedging their bets, and being on Diabo's finger means that I can't have the sort of one-to-one discussions I used to have with the few people who visited my temple. But while I can bend dreams enough to grant visions and I.. think I've been of some assistance, a brief prayer with no real focus behind it isn't going to attract my attention.
Stuck with the dubious minor benefits, and able to dodge some of the responsibilities. No wonder the local Gods don't like him. 😏

On the other hand, when someone's greatest ambition right now is to land safely, it's easy enough to hear when it's crowding out every other thought.

"While I would never disclose a prayer by one person to another without their express permission, I will observe that you don't look very well."
I mean, she's hundreds of feet in the air on the back of a vicious beat, secured by straps of unknown quality with only the hope of getting caught by her companion if said straps fail. She has good reason to be a little green.

Dame Bozes makes an effort to control her bilious stomach. "I have never… Had the privilege… Of riding with wyvern knights."

"My brother Zorzal once insisted that we tried riding one once. He was.. twelve, I think? He loved every minute."
He sounds the sort who would. Not enough sense to be afraid, too much ego to consider that he might get hurt...

"And… You..?"

"My vomit knocked an equites off his feet and I couldn't eat for two days. This dragon is actually a good deal more stable."
I would assume that's a cavalryman on the ground. Still impressive, if embarrassing.

Her expression suggests that she doesn't believe him. "More stable?"

"Oh, yes. It's the difference between riding a horse and riding a wagon, except that the horse has two legs."
...You say that, but Chocobos are a thing. And given how often Japanese properties take inspiration from each other, I can't help but imagine there's a country out there who ride giant bird-steeds into war. 😄

"Would that not..? Fall over?"

"As I remember it, it felt like it was falling over the entire time. And that was just flying at one elevation; climbing and diving were far worse." He glances back at her, smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry; if your stomach betrays you then you won't have done anything that I didn't do."
I'd say the Wyvern Knights have strong stomachs, then. I bet resistance to motion sickness is a common trait amongst them.

"But all of the-. The reports from Alnus Hill say that you made this dragon dive down in front of the Japanese army."

"I did. But when I did that I was mostly thinking about my position in the Empire, not about how much I wished that I'd never left the ground."
It was definitely an eye-opener, at least. Nothing says impressive like several tons of giant flying 'lizard' dropping out of the sky in front of you.

I could interject there, but there's no advantage to doing so and it really was his decision. I was actually a little impressed that he was able to maintain a shield through the Japanese bombardment. And it looks like Bozes is a little impressed-.

Ah.

She thinks he means 'his duty to the realm as a prince', not 'securing my position'.
An easy mistake, given she's probably disconnected from regular warfare enough not to see the dirty side of things, both in battle and in politics.

I take a moment to extend my awareness down, to where the ships of the bombardment fleet are beginning their slow crossing. The ships of the first wave are smaller, lighter and faster, and we'd rather have their departure unobserved… By naval units that might be able to arrange to have them met on the far shore. The bombardment fleet should be able to blast apart anything they meet… Unless the gun crews completely mess things up, which could happen. I expect that a ship or two will be sunk before 'friendly fire isn't' gets embedded in the minds of their captains.
Teething troubles always happen when any new technology get introduced into a war.

And speaking of the captains, they were actually fairly upbeat and enthusiastic about the whole thing. In the Saderan Empire, the most prestigious positions are infantry commands. Naval commands usually go to members of the junior nobility or bastards, and as a result they've got something to prove and an enthusiasm for anything that could increase their prominence. Before Diabo, the navy would have been limited to landing the troops who would attack the city from the land. But he's given them the ability to attack a fortified city directly and they know it.
And doing it in as impressive a manner as swooping down out of the sky on a dragon, at that.

"Prince Diabo?"

"Hm? Oh. I apologise. I've been watching for some sigh of enemy fleet movements."
A sensible idea. Naturally just part of his pessimistic sense of what could go wrong next.

She snorts. "What could they do?"

"Based on what we know of their fleet?" He looks around. "Given how high up we are, the only thing that they could hit us with be a scorpion, and they would need a very lucky scorpion shot indeed to hit us. But my concern is something that we don't know about."
He means a heavy mounted crossbow, often used by ancient Rome. Definitely something that could hit high-altitude targets if they could angle up. And given that their enemies do have wyvern knights, they certainly would.

"Like what?"

"That's the point: we don't know about it. Everything our spies tell us says that their force is well within our ability to best, and it is only the difficulty in maintaining our supply lines that has preventing an attack like this being made in years past. But they know that also. We know that our black powder weapons have radically changed the calculus but so far as they know, this is simply an overbold prince trying to do what his forebears could not."
In other words, they'll be confident that they can fend him off with minimal effort and a few casualties. Gonna be a bad day for them once the cannons open up.

"Then they will be overconfident."

"I hope so. Because there is nothing about the gates which stops them opening in other nations, and there is no wisdom special to me which prevents others doing what I have done. I do not want to be the overconfident one. Kati was overconfident."
Although the Gods are unlikely to want to fool around with a world as advanced as modern-day Earth. Depending on how much control they have over the gates, anyway.

She smiles. "Piña was right about you."

"In what way?"
His little sister? Do tell...

"She once told me that Prince Zorzal confront a barbarian horde alone and be completely sure that he'd win, while you could confront an unprepared enemy on the back of a dragon and be sure that you'd lose."

He frowns. "When did she say that?"
I mean, she's not wrong. About Diabo, at least, though Zorzal sounds the 'mighty-thewed warrior king' type for his part... The kind of man more comfortable on a charger than a council seat.

"About seven years ago. We were talking about-." Her eyes widen and her cheeks colour slightly. "Ah, that doesn't matter."

Hm. I suppose that anyone wanting their daughter to court a prince might well suggest talking to his half-sister. And said half-sister might well encourage her friend if said friend were actually interested.
And Diabo isn't a bad catch, as long as you can get him to show some backbone.

Diabo hesitates for a moment. "Do you want to practice a dive while we're too far away from anyone to see it? I doubt that anyone would even hear your screams from so far away."

Her momentary relief about not having to talk to Prince Diabo about what his sister's been saying about him rapidly gives way as her mind processes what he just said. Her eyes drop down to the harness holding her in place, and the broader straps and chains holding the saddles in place around the dragon.
Always gonna have that fear that 'Am I strapped in right?'

"Have-? These been tested?"

"I've used them since just after I returned from Japan. They will hold, and if they don't then I will catch you myself."
Heck, the only reason he's not flying by himself is to minimise the chance of identification.

I hear her renewed prayer as her pride refuses to allow her to fail to live up to the standards of the most hesitant prince. But she manages to nod.

Diabo looks a little surprised, but then takes a firmer grasp of the reigns.
No doubt using the Ring to steady his own guts...

"Very well. Dive!"



We, at least she didn't hit at an equites-
Though soiling the deck of a friendly ship would be as embarrassing.

"EYUK!"

-but perhaps it would have been best to check that Giselle wasn't following us first.
Whoopsie. 😄

Ah, comedic timing. It never changes. She's gonna be pissed off about that, you can be sure. Probably make a lot of noise, while demanding the resources needed to clean herself... Hopefully she doesn't blame Bozes for her inability to keep her stomach along for the ride with so little warning. I suspect Bozes' drills will also be a little less springy, though. 😏
 
I expect that a ship or two will be sunk before 'friendly fire isn't' gets embedded in the minds of their captains.
Doubtful, unless their shipbuilding is really pathetic.
Age of Sail naval battles usually ended in boarding actions because actually sinking a wooden ship with solid shot is really difficult. Even a 'perfect' hit on the waterline will take quite a long time to let in a dangerous amount of water and is pretty easy to patch.
 
That should say 'Prince Zorzal could confront'.
'so bound'?
'sign'
'prevented'
Extraneous 'at'?
Thank you, corrected.
Ought the full stop be green rather than orange? Not necessarily a problem, just looks a tad queer to me and I can't remember how you usually handle it.
No, because the green is just where she's focusing.
Doubtful, unless their shipbuilding is really pathetic.
Age of Sail naval battles usually ended in boarding actions because actually sinking a wooden ship with solid shot is really difficult. Even a 'perfect' hit on the waterline will take quite a long time to let in a dangerous amount of water and is pretty easy to patch.
True, but these ships have cannon balls enchanted to be incendiary as well as larger cannons intended to bombard city walls from the sea. The drawback is that the enemy ships don't have powder to ignite.
 
Last edited:
We're All Mad Here (part 18) New
18th July 2013
13:57 GMT -5


Alright, I don't think anyone's watching me…

I don my power armour, switch the outer surface to stealth mode, retract my environmental shield to 'internal' and then fly at speed several miles southwards.

Okay, that should stop just about every form of observation that it's worth being worried about. Because I do not want to have to explain to Batman how I know how to do this, or explain to Mister Luthor why I used it.

Ring, detect heat gradient exchange portals.

Compliance.

And I'm.. dimly aware of them all, all over the planet and… In the direction of Batman's new space station. Makes sense that he'd have a few there. Or maybe he's using a reserve gradient connection for power generation? If that's-.

Ah…

Okay, now I'm wondering if he could have actually put a space station together in six months. Batman's a very intelligent man, and with a power ring he could have handled the construction himself. Could have, because he was overseeing global reconstruction almost full time…

Was he?

Because with a power ring, maintaining a real time connection to the Watchtower from just about anywhere would be simplicity itself. It's a decommissioned Sector House after all, designed to interact with power ring technology. And he could have gotten a sample of the O.M.A.C technology when the Young Offenders attacked… But Dr. Cochin said that he needed special measure to preserve the samples outside of their host body. So did he get more recently? Or was he working on it a couple of years ago?

No. Let's be honest. I'm wondering if this was actually me.

He's the preparation guy, after all. The League had fought Amazo, and then several cyborgs with the same technology showed up as elite mass producible soldiers. Studying how they worked…

I don't know enough.

Okay. G.P.A.T.V. broadcasts the activity of all of their operatives as a way to boost public morale… And probably their own recruitment. Ring, compare the publically broadcast locations of Peace Operatives with the locations of the portals on Earth.

Compliance.

That's not two. That's twenty seven. Alright, eliminate the ones that can be detected by ring scans… They've got to sleep sometime.

Compliance.

Seven. Right. Scan.

Unable to detect targets.

Good-. Well, not 'good', but-. Alright, plot course and transition to Hub City.

The world flickers, and then I'm looking at a building site.

Switch the stealth armour for normal plate.

Compliance.

Access cameras in the vicinity of those seven markers.

No cameras found.

Prepare stealth drones linked to this armour's systems. One each.

Compliance.

Rapid high altitude transitions, drop them as we go.

Compliance.

I see a half-second of various landscapes, the robot drones vanishing from subspace as I go before finally returning to Hub City.

Alright, let's see. Cameras moving into position… Roads. Cars. They're all driving… Ring, maps? And compare current locations to last known locations.

Compliance.

Are they-? They're driving in the general direction of Gotham. Or possibly Blüdhaven. Three are already close.

Ring, contact Robin.

Compliance.

"Hey, Oh El. Found Hatter yet?"

"No, not yet. Have you requested help from the Peace Agents?"

"Ah… Not specifically. I've been updating them on things, but there's not a lot going on right now. Is there a problem?"

"I'm not sure. Some appear to be behaving anomalously, but I don't know exactly what their orders are."

"Anomalously how?"

"Downing tools in the middle of a project and then driving long distances instead of using their teleportation array. Makes no sense."

"Huh. I don't think anyone in Gotham has called for them. And you're right, they would just teleport here if there was some kind of emergency. Can you send me their locations?"

"Sending."

"No, nothing from the police or the mayor's office. What do you think's happening?"

"Someone's found a way to suborn New God technology really quickly. And guess what these guys have in common?"

"They're all ex-Justifiers."

"… Yes. Did you just know that?"

"No, the computer automatically searches for points of commonality. Did you notify Batman?"

"No. I tried telling a Peace Agent, but they didn't seem all that worried. There's no real rule saying that the Peace Operatives can't bunk off, it's just strange that they'd want to."

"I… Guess… Are you keeping an eye on this?"

"Yes, and I'll notify Batman more directly if there's direct evidence of malfeasance."

"And let me guess: you haven't tried asking them."

"Tuppence did, and they blew her off."

"She… Isn't you."

"I prefer to observe potential malfeasants before confronting them."

"And I prefer to keep the crazies out of Gotham. They might not be as strong as me, but Peace Operative enhancements are no joke."

"Okay, I'll defer to you on this subject. I-." My ring blinks. "Hang on, I've got Canis. I'll include him. Orange Lantern?"

"I have his scent! He is leaving Gotham via the railway system! He heads south!"

"How fresh is it?"

"Perhaps a few hours!"

"Right, you keep after him, I'll go and talk to the Peace Operatives. Both of you stay on the line."

Plot course to the closest car and transition, appearing in the air next to their vehicle and matching speeds.

"Excuse me, gentle-."

BLAM!
 
Last edited:
"Someone's found way to suborn New God technology really quickly. And guess what these guys have in common?"
'a way'
Plot course to the closest car and transition, appearing in the air next to the their vehicle and matching speeds.
Extraneous 'their'

I really don't know what to expect now. It's a weird situation.

Also, a bit strange that the scry-warded Peace Operatives can evade normal scans but can be detected by scans for the cooling system. I suppose it has scannable effects which extend beyond the range of the wards.
 
18th July 2013
13:57 GMT -5


Alright, I don't think anyone's watching me…

I don my power armour, switch the outer surface to stealth mode, retract my environmental shield to 'internal' and then fly at speed several miles southwards.
Ah, time to do some poking around without being noticed, then. About the only thing missing is phasing, but that can probably be detected more easily. So, then, time to find some OMACs...

Okay, that should stop just about every form of observation that it's worth being worried about. Because I do not want to have to explain to Batman how I know how to do this, or explain to Mister Luthor why I used it.

Ring, detect heat gradient exchange portals.
Ooh? That sounds complicated. I assume that's something to do with the OMACs basic operation.

Compliance.

And I'm.. dimly aware of them all, all over the planet and… In the direction of Batman's new space station. Makes sense that he'd have a few there. Or maybe he's using a reserve gradient connection for power generation? If that's-.
I mean, if there's some kind of mobile mini-wormhole link like a giant bank of micro-dolmen gates, that could be a thing. Also a hilarious visual, like some antique telephone exchange of energy links.

Ah…

Okay, now I'm wondering if he could have actually put a space station together in six months. Batman's a very intelligent man, and with a power ring he could have handled the construction himself. Could have, because he was overseeing global reconstruction almost full time…
Or maybe he had secret help from another Lantern. Perhaps a Green or a Yellow. And nothing says that help had to be from this universe either.

Was he?

Because with a power ring, maintaining a real time connection to the Watchtower from just about anywhere would be simplicity itself. It's a decommissioned Sector House after all, designed to interact to power ring technology. And he could have gotten a sample of the O.M.A.C technology when the Young Offenders attacked… But Dr. Cochin said that he needed special measure to preserve the samples outside of their host body. So did he get more recently? Or was he working on it a couple of years ago?
That last one suggests a ludicrous amount of forward-planning, that would probably surpass even the usual 'Prep-time!' meme. Highly unlikely.

No. Let's be honest. I'm wondering if this was actually me.

He's the preparation guy, after all. The League had fought Amazo, and then several cyborgs with the same technology showed up as elite mass producible soldiers. Studying how they worked…
That's a feasible theory. I don't remember if Amazo's creator was still alive or not. If he is, perhaps Bats enlisted him...

I don't know enough.

Okay. G.P.A.T.V. broadcasts the activity of all of their operatives as a way to boost public morale… And probably their own recruitment. Ring, compare the publically broadcast locations of Peace Operatives with the locations of the portals on Earth.
Heh. Social media followers of superhero sightings. Truly a modern complication in the career of any masked vigilante, but very helpful in this case.

Compliance.

That's not two. That's twenty seven. Alright, eliminate the ones that can be detected by ring scans… They're got to sleep sometime.
And they'd hardly need to sleep in their powered-up forms, though I imagine it catches up to them when they release the change.

Compliance.

Seven. Right. Scan.
A nice manageable number to examine.

Unable to detect targets.

Good-. Well, not 'good', but-. Alright, plot course and transition to Hub City.
It indicates they're powered up, at least. But with no sign of heroic activity... What are they doing, I wonder?

The world flickers, and then I'm looking at a building site.

Switch the stealth armour for normal plate.
Creating a plausible alibi if something happens, I take it.

Compliance.

Access cameras in the vicinity of those seven markers.
Thank goodness for modern surveillance.

No cameras found.

Prepare stealth drones linked to this armour's systems. One each.
Dang, time for plan B. I see OL's learned to make good use of drones now.

Compliance.

Rapid high altitude transitions, drop them as we go.
You'd expect that would be more noticeable than doing it in stealth?

Compliance.

I see a half-second of various landscapes, the robot drones vanishing from subspace as I go before finally returning to Hub City.
Hopefully in a slightly different part to suggest why he flickered a bit there.

Alright, let's see. Cameras moving into position… Roads. Cars. They're all driving… Ring, maps? And compare current locations to last known locations.

Compliance.
Odd. Very odd. With their powerset, you'd think they could fly. Or teleport. So this is definitely something off the books.

Are they-? They're driving in the general direction of Gotham. Or possibly Blüdhaven. Three are already close.

Ring, contact Robin.
...Wait, Gotham? That's... Concerning. But I'm beginning to see a connection.

Compliance.

"Hey, Oh El. Found Hatter yet?"

"No, not yet. Have you requested help from the Peace Agents?"
I wonder if they'd consider a missing minor villain significant enough to divert even one OMAC to assist?

"Ah… Not specifically. I've been updating them on things, but there's not a lot going on right now. Is there a problem?"

"I'm not sure. Some appear to be behaving anomalously, but I don't know exactly what their orders are."
Definitely something out of the ordinary. I have to wonder if it's possible to hack into their command network and issue instructions? Would they even have envisaged the need for security on a connection like that?

"Anomalously how?"

"Downing tools in the middle of a project and then driving long distances instead of using their teleportation array. Makes no sense."
And that much should have anyone waving red flags already.

"Huh. I don't think anyone in Gotham has called for them. And you're right, they would just teleport here if there was some kind of emergency. Can you send me their locations?"

"Sending."
...Anyone in Gotham who's on the League's approved list, anyway. This is definitely looking like...

"No, nothing from the police or the mayor's office. What do you think's happening?"

"Someone's found way to suborn New God technology really quickly. And guess what these guys have in common?"
Hmm... And who seems to recently have been modified by New God technology, hmm?

"They're all ex-Justifiers."

"… Yes. Did you just know that?"

"No, the computer automatically searches for points of commonality. Did you notify Batman?"
I'm impressed the system picked that up as a point of commonality. But then, it's probably weighted the same in its files as a known gang affiliation.

"No. I tried telling a Peace Agent, but they didn't seem all that worried. There's no real rule saying that the Peace Operatives can't bunk off, it's just strange that they'd want to."

"I… Guess… Are you keeping an eye on this?"
And Robin's getting that inevitable creeping sensation of 'things are gonna go tits-up any second', isn't he?

"Yes, and I'll notify Batman more directly if there's direct evidence of malfeasance."

"And let me guess: you haven't tried asking them."
If nothing else, it might force whoever's doing this to escalate to the point where they're operating openly. At which point they can be dogpiled by all hands.

"Tuppence did, and they blew her off."

"She… Isn't you."
But she is a tall, good-looking young woman. That should count for some bonus to persuasion. 😏

"I prefer to observe potential malfeasants before confronting them."

"And I prefer to keep the crazies out of Gotham. They might not be as strong as me, but Peace Operative enhancements are no joke."
Well, good to have a definite statement about relative levels of strength. But I suspect two- or three-on-one, they'd be a risky match-up.

"Okay, I'll defer to you on this subject. I-." My ring blinks. "Hang on, I've got Canis. I'll include him. Orange Lantern?"

"I have his scent! He is leaving Gotham via the railway system! He heads south!"
Well, that's noteworthy! Time to see if my suspicions are going to pan out about Hatter.

"How fresh is it?"

"Perhaps a few hours!"
In terms of spiritual spoor, that's fairly fresh. It shouldn't be hard for Brut to catch up with whatever transport he's in.

"Right, you keep after him, I'll go and talk to the Peace Operatives. Both of you stay on the line."

Plot course to the closest car and transition, appearing in the air next to the their vehicle and matching speeds.
Ah, side-stepping the inevitable car-chase with ease.

"Excuse me, gentle-."

BLAM!
...They had to have been expecting trouble if they could pull out a gun, aim and fire in the time it took him to say that much.

So... What are the odds that Hatter has gained some manner of ability to subvert the control systems of the OMACs, and the 'rogue' ones are responding to a psychic command from him? 🤔 Because that's how it looks to be lining up, to me. I mean, I could be completely wrong, and Hatter's part in this is purely coincidental. I guess we'll see soon.
 
We're All Mad Here (part 19) New
18th July 2013
14:01 GMT -5


Armour.

Ow.

I pick myself out of the burned roadside scrub as the car accelerates away from me. That was… Novel. Rather than fire a blast out of their hands, the Operatives gestured and the air around me sort of exploded. Teleporting… Energy, converting the air into plasma-.

Ow.

And no build-up. So… So the only reason that I'm still alive is that my environmental shield can't conduct electricity so it earthed itself into the ground. I still got hit by the kinetic power-.

"Okay, the first two just blasted me." Heavy armour, construct armour. "I'm moving to detain."

"Oh El, that's two powerful metahumans who aren't immediately threatening anyone. You should wait for backup. Canis?"

"If I delay then the Hatter may escape."

"No, keep on Hatter."

I accelerate after their car, grateful that the roads are so empty. He's not wrong about the guidelines of engagement, but notifying someone, bringing them up to speed, getting them here and then making sure that they don't die-. Area effect attacks work well against speedsters, and if they're just targetting a remote attack rather than making the attack themselves then there might not be any sort of recharging period. Batman didn't tell me exactly what they can do, so I can't be completely sure of my ability to contain them-.

"Robin, have you notified Batman?"

"I've sent an initial report. I can-."

"Orange Lantern to Yellow Lantern. Urgent."

That should go directly to his power ring, rather than going through whatever filtering he's got set up. Of course, he can just dismiss-

Call refused.

-it, but hopefully he won't do that.

"Huh. Uh, maybe we can get-."

"Hey there!" I look up and see Kara II floating above me as we gain on the speeding car. "I'm here to help!"

Um.

"Robin, did you call Supergirl Two?"

"No? Is she there?"

"Yes." Kara tilts her head slightly to the left. "Thank you for being here. It's really.. convenient."

"I know!" She nods excitedly. "I haven't been following you at all!"

"Uh."

She look forwards. "I'll go grab them right away!"

"Supergirl, w-."

She zooms forwards in a red and blue blur, and-

BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!

-the explosions start at once, which implies that they can still use satellite monitoring because hitting a kryptonian like that by eyeballing it is extremely difficult.

Kara herself hits the road face-. Head first, digging a channel as her momentum carries her along and then flopping onto her back.

I stop just above her, scanning-. I can't see any injuries-.

"Are you alright?"

She blinks, floats upwards into the air with her eyes glowing red and then rotates to face the fleeing car. "That wasn't very nice!"

"Narrow beam, Kara! Narrow beam!"

Red rays lance out, rupturing the rubber of the rear tyres before a force field flares into being, soaking the heat.

"Okay, and stop, because-."

The force field undulates, then two red rays lance out and hit Kara right in the eyes!

"Ow!"

She staggers in the air, shaking her head and blinking heavily. The car…Appears to be carrying on unimpeded.

Maybe… I should-.

"Kara, are you alright?"

"I don't think my super vision is working!"

"I know, and I'm sorry about that. I just need you to catch me if they hit me. Can you manage that?"

"Sure! I can navigate by sound! And smell, actually! Don't ask me how I know that! I don't need super vision!"

"I wouldn't be so sure. Perhaps hang back just in case?" She nods happily with her eyes closed. Ring, sound projector. "Would either of you gentlemen care to explain what you're doing?"

Neither of them respond, and… Their rear wheels appear to be fully functional once more.

"Gentlemen…" Ring, just in case their shield is preventing them from hearing me, flash Morse code as well.

Compliance.

"
Gentlemen, please stop your car and surrender yourselves. You are not technically under arrest-"

"But you should be!"

"-but I have reason to believe that your minds are being externally altered. If that is not the case, then we need merely have a simple conversation and you can be on your way. If you do not, then I will be forced to restrain you pending a mental health assessment."

Which someone who voluntarily blanked their mind wouldn't pass, but I'm doing this for show rather than because I'm obliged to.

Alright. Electromagnetic pulse.

The car judders for a moment, then resumes driving.

The car looks modern enough to require electronics. They're repairing damaged components. Alright. Teleport jammer. Electromagnetic shield. Fly faster and scoop-

Blam!

-and lift the car off the road so that its wheels are spinning in thin air, generate every type of interference around the box I can think of…

No more blams. Okay. That last 'blam' was weaker and more diffuse than the first, so I'm disrupting something. And they haven't tried repeating it. Their car's free floating wheels spin impotently inside my construct as I float closer.

"Gentlemen. Are you prepared to talk now?"

They turn to each other for a moment, and then leap through the windscreen towards me!
 
Last edited:
If this is Batman-Lantern running a surprise test, Paul is going to be very annoyed, methinks. It's probably not, though.

Also:
"Yes." Kara tilts her head slightly to the left. "Thank you for being here. It's really.. convenient."

"I know!" She nods excitedly. "I haven't been following you at all!"
I have... concerns. On the bright side, I think Paul is also concerned, and he does still recall how things went with Zatanna, so he might not just ignore this issue and hope it goes away.
 
"Orange Lantern to Yellow Lantern. Urgent."

That should go directly to his power ring, rather than going through whatever filtering he's got set up. Of course, he can just dismiss-

Call refused.

-it, but hopefully he won't do that.
I'm starting to think Batman is setting himself up to a great fall out of hubris.
 
18th July 2013
14:01 GMT -5


Armour.

Ow.

I pick myself out of the burned roadside scrub as the car accelerates away from me. That was… Novel. Rather than fire a blast out of his hand, the Operatives gestured and the air around me sort of exploded. Teleporting… Energy, converting the air into plasma-.
So... He quite literally gave you a fingerbang? 😄 I kid, I kid. That is an interesting power, though, and I wonder where they found it? Also worrying that they opened up on him without any reaction or hesitation, though.

Ow.

And no build-up. So… So the only reason that I'm still alive is that my environmental shield can't conduct electricity so it earthed itself into the ground. I still got hit by the kinetic power-.
Because a plasma discharge like that is still a bit of a bang.

"Okay, the first two just blasted me." Heavy armour, construct armour. "I'm moving to detain."

"Oh El, that's two powerful metahumans who aren't immediately threatening anyone. You should wait for backup. Canis?"
Yes, but they also shot at him, which gives him probable cause to respond in kind.

"If I delay then the Hatter may escape."

"No, keep on Hatter."
Especially if he has some tie to this. Knocking him out may well cause these guys to stand down, for instance.

I accelerate after their car, grateful that the roads are so empty. He's not wrong about the guidelines of engagement, but notifying someone, bringing them up to speed, getting them here and then making sure that the don't die-. Area effect attacks work well against speedsters, and if they're just targetting a remote attack rather than making the attach themselves then there might not be any sort of recharging period. Batman didn't tell me exactly what they can do, so I can't be completely sure of my ability to contain them-.
Hell, each OMAC may well have its own selection of powers, depending on the subject's preference. So no telling if they can both blow stuff up with mind bullets.

"Robin, have you notified Batman?"

"I've sent an initial report. I can-."
The question, then is what's Bats going to do. Is this happening under his will or not?

"Orange Lantern to Yellow Lantern. Urgent."

That should go directly to his power ring, rather than going through whatever filtering he's got set up. Of course, he can just dismiss-
It would be a bit rude to have you on block, after all.

Call refused.

-it, but hopefully he won't do that.
So he's either busy, doesn't care, or is actively evading.

"Huh. Uh, maybe we can get-."

"Hey there!" I look up and see Kara II floating above me as we gain on the speeding car. "I'm here to help!"
...Oh, boy. The question is how much damage that help might cause.

Um.

"Robin, did you call Supergirl Two?"

"No? Is she there?"
Oh, that's not suspicious at all. Might need to ask who called her after this is sorted.

"Yes." Kara tilts her head slightly to the left. "Thank you for being here. It's really.. convenient."

"I know!" She nods excitedly. "I haven't been following you at all!"
...Or she's simply been stalking OL. Even better.

"Uh."

She look forwards. "I'll go grab them right away!"
Well, she'll have the strength advantage. But who knows what else these guys can throw at her. matter manipulation to produce effective kryptonite, for instance.

"Supergirl, w-."

She zooms forwards in a red and blue blur, and-
Ah, fools rush in where Lanterns are wary. Trusting too much in her vaunted invulnerability...

BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!

-the explosions start at once, which implies that they can still use satellite monitoring because hitting a kryptonian like that by eyeballing it is extremely difficult.
Though it does suggest that the exploder guy can place the blast where he wants it, rather than 'hit first thing in line of sight'.

Kara herself hits the road face-. Head first, digging a channel as her momentum carries her along and then flopping onto her back.

I stop just above her, scanning-. I can't see any injuries-.
Embarrassing, but unlikely to hurt anything other than her pride...

"Are you alright?"

She blinks, floats upwards into the air with her eyes glowing red and then rotates to face the fleeing car. "That wasn't very nice!"
Ah, the 'heat vision glowing' posture of the enraged Kryptonian. One of nature's simplest and most effective threat displays...

"Narrow beam, Kara! Narrow beam!"

Red rays lance out, rupturing the rubber of the rear tyres before a force field flares into being, soaking the heat.
Oh, that's just cheating. One of them has 'protect my vehicle from damage' powers.

"Okay, and stop, because-."

The force field undulates, then two red rays lance out and hit Kara right in the eyes!
And of course he can send it back with interest.

"Ow!"

She staggers in the air, shaking her head and blinking heavily. The car…Appears to be carrying on unimpeded.
Not bad considering it has at least one flat, then.

Maybe… I should-.

"Kara, are you alright?"

"I don't think my super vision is working!"
Flash-blinded, most likely. Kryptonian healing should fix it, but right now, that's bad.

"I know, and I'm sorry about that. I just need you to catch me if they hit me. Can you manage that?"

"Sure! I can navigate by sound! And smell, actually! Don't ask me how I know that! I don't need super vision!"
...There's a story there, no doubt. But now I imagine her navigating by sonar, making soft ultrasonic chirps under her breath. 😏

"I wouldn't be so sure. Perhaps hang back just in case?" She nods happily with her eyes closed. Ring, sound projector. "Would either of you gentlemen care to explain what you're doing?"

Neither of them respond, and… Their rear wheels appear to be fully functional once more.
Well, that's just insult to injury. Extending some kind of repair ability into the car, or is the vehicle itself special, I wonder?

"Gentlemen…" Ring, just in case their shield is preventing them from hearing me, flash Morse code as well.

Compliance.

"
Gentlemen, please stop your car and surrender yourselves. You are not technically under arrest-"
Covering all his bases, I see.

"But you should be!"

"-but I have reason to believe that your minds are being externally altered. If that is not the case, then we need merely have a simple conversation and you can be on your way. If you do not, then I will be forced to restrain you pending a mental health assessment."
This will be embarrassing for someone, certainly. Who that is depends on just what these guys are playing at.

Which someone who voluntarily blanked their mind wouldn't pass, but I'm doing this for show rather than because I'm obliged to.

Alright. Electromagnetic pulse.

The car judders for a moment, then resumes driving.
...All right, this isn't fun anymore.

The car looks modern enough to require electronics. They're repairing damaged components. Alright. Teleport jammer. Electromagnetic shield. Fly faster and scoop-

Blam!
The first device, at least should impair them a little if they're receiving external supply. Won't do much for a Hush Tube, but if these guys haven't used one yet, I doubt they're about to.

-and lift the car off the road so that its wheel are spinning in thin air, generate every type of interference around the box I can think of…

No more blams. Okay. That last 'blam' was weaker and more diffuse than the first, so I'm disrupting something. And they haven't tried repeating it. Their car's free floating wheels spin impotently inside my construct as I float closer.
It's like a race driver in an overturned car, foot still on the pedals and working the wheel like he can do something... 😏

"Gentlemen. Are you prepared to talk now?"

They turn to each other for a moment, and then leap through the windscreen towards me!
...Right, still super-strong, super-durable, even if they're not at Kryptonian levels.

These guys are proving recalcitrant, aren't they? It definitely suggests they're not in control of their own actions, because anyone with sense would have surrendered by now. So either whatever implanted command they're following is too strong to give way to common sense, or it's an active effect and their controller is driving them harder.
 
Rather than fire a blast out of his hand, the Operatives gestured and the air around me sort of exploded. Teleporting… Energy, converting the air into plasma-.
'Operative'
or
'their hands'

I suppose it's not shocking that if Brother Eye can teleport energy into OMACs, it can teleport it to other people too. Though it seems like Oh El might be lucky it didn't appear inside him rather than the air around him; that might have instantly killed him. Maybe the targetting by the Operatives is crude. Though in that case it's a little surprising they hit Supergirl II, so maybe it's just a limitation of the technology.
I accelerate after their car, grateful that the roads are so empty. He's not wrong about the guidelines of engagement, but notifying someone, bringing them up to speed, getting them here and then making sure that the don't die-. Area effect attacks work well against speedsters, and if they're just targetting a remote attack rather than making the attach themselves then there might not be any sort of recharging period. Batman didn't tell me exactly what they can do, so I can't be completely sure of my ability to contain them-.
'they'
'attack'
"Yes." Kara tilts her head slightly to the left. "Thank you for being here. It's really.. convenient."

"I know!" She nods excitedly. "I haven't been following you at all!"

"Uh."
Haha. Well, Paul only knows exactly why she did that, but it lends credence to that guy who thought that this Supergirl is evil, or at least acting a lot more innocent than she really is. If she is working with the Light, it would make sense for her to be assigned to Oh El, both due to his general importance and the specific fact that he seems to be going after the GPA, which they are probably very worried about.
How long has she been following him? I guess she can see him wherever he goes on Earth with her super-X-ray vision, so maybe she even followed him to the Himalayas? Would be a bit tiresome to fly back and forth whenever he teleports somewhere. Maybe she stayed in orbit so she could use her full acceleration without being conspicuous?
-and lift the car off the road so that its wheel are spinning in thin air, generate every type of interference around the box I can think of…
'wheels'
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top