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

It shouldn't really matter, since Black Lanterns are reanimated without souls.
The SI doesn't remember Blackest Night all that well. He knows that Nekron has somehting to do with undeath, and he knows a fair amount about how souls work. Laying the dead properly to rest seems like a good way to prevent anything untoward happening. Even if it does nothing to Nekron, maybe to Lady Styx.
 
Well normally.

Some of the cases would seem to indicate the soul was there, or the Black Lantern ring did the job of emulating the dead person's mind too well.

Osiris summoned a lightning bolt to destroy his ring.

Johnny Quick spent father daughter time with Jesse, no emotional torture or attempted homicide.

Driq was brought back as half a black lantern and half a green lantern, his green ring fighting to resist his black power ring.
More significantly, Black Rings couldn't bring back Dove because he was at peace. I'm not sure if you have to be at peace when you die or if you can find peace in the afterlife but it can't hurt to try.
 
Perhaps I should just save a file or something with these instead of making individual posts? I'm re-reading the story and noticing typos or things that didn't carry over from SV, is all.
Pro tip: The quote mechanism on XenForo (so both SV and QQ) works across threads. Highlight the area needing correction and click the "+ Quote" link that pops up. This will queue the quote up for posting, and an "Insert Quotes..." button appears below the quick reply box. Next time you're going to reply to the thread anyway (or if you need to unload the stored quotes so you can post in a different thread) you can come to this thread and push that button. The quotes that it creates include links back to the posts they're from, so Zoat can click on the up-arrow icon in the quote box to jump to the post that needs fixed.

If you've got a lot of them, some of us proofreaders have developed a habit of putting historical corrections in a suitably-labeled spoiler.
 
The fact that the hot tub time machine is in that collection invalidates the whole thing.

I was thinking the fact that I count at least 3 time machines that don't actually go with the time traveller - one of which only ever time travels via almost impossible set of coinciding occurrences or by leveraging future knowledge to create such a coincidence - invalidated it.

Is Paul trying to boost Hades numbers because he hates the Silver City? Given long enough Hades could outpace heaven.

There's a plausible chance he already has. Consider that there have only been around 105 billion humans EVER. Now consider that the SIlver City is based on the Abrahamic religions, none of which is more than 4000 years old, barely a blip on the 100,000 year history of the human race, and all of which hold that only their people are allowed into heaven. Plus most Christian teachers will tell you that not everyone who goes to church every week will make the cut, so the number is even lower.

So realistically the number of people in the Silver City isn't going to be all that high. And Paul handed over billions of souls who died on Mother of Mercy.

More significantly, Black Rings couldn't bring back Dove because he was at peace. I'm not sure if you have to be at peace when you die or if you can find peace in the afterlife but it can't hurt to try.

Dove was always at peace. It was kinda his whole schtick. Not too many people would live up to that standard.
 
Random question: anyone know what happened to Graak, Lantern Xal's lawyer? Last I heard he was dropped off with Xal on the ice fortress and then never mentioned again.
 
Random question: anyone know what happened to Graak, Lantern Xal's lawyer? Last I heard he was dropped off with Xal on the ice fortress and then never mentioned again.
Last time we saw him, he was in Icon's civilian identity's office, and he was listed as Xor's former lawyer at that point.
 
More significantly, Black Rings couldn't bring back Dove because he was at peace. I'm not sure if you have to be at peace when you die or if you can find peace in the afterlife but it can't hurt to try.

Dove's successor was also shown to cut through Black Lanterns with her light which definitely implies that Dove's patronage by a Lord of Order ties Dove to the White Light of Life.

Creating a superpowered zombie when that superpower provides a direct pipeline to the zombie disintegrating force that banished Nekron out of the universe in the first place is kind of a losing proposition.
 
I get a half second to see the stealth fighter thing flying towards me before the chin-mounted energy weapons open fire, striking my construct armour hard enough to actually okay I'm jinking now. Additional weapon hardpoints open fire as it moves past me, the lasers flickering across my faceplate. Huh. A Nightwing-wing. Why didn't somebody tell me he had one of those-?

Second link is broken, sadly. Kind of wish I'd begun paying attention to these before this point in the story; I actually began at the beginning and I'm doing a full read-through.

Also thanks for the tip about the quotes.
 
A heat vision shot, a green beam and a shot from Barda's Mega Rod all hit me in the back at once, causing me to stagger forwards and reach out with both arms to stop myself hitting the ground as I stumble, adding a bubble shield to my rear arc. A second later the pressure is gone as the drones attack the distracted Leaguers and down them all. Really? Mediocre. Miss Harmon and Marvel are forced to do pick up duty, which -thankfully- means I don't have to be obvious in pulling my shots. I have a group of blaster drones shoot out a section of White House wall as I trample over a low row of bushes and head into the building. Hm, should be out of the camera's line of sight now. No reason not to pick up the pace a little. Now, where are they? Ah, not the bunker. They're heading towards a concealed teleportation platform. Not a problem. Transition.

Marvel and Supergirl are starting to move as I rip upwards, pulling the false flesh on the front of his skull from the metal and Apokoliptian circuitry beneath. They stop dead the moment they see it. "I give you Gonzo the Mechanical Bastard, Apokoliptian infiltration mechanoid. Senator Horne was killed and replaced with this-" I toss him to the ground. "-months ago. Well before the election. The actual President is whatever hanger-on got the Vice Presidential nomination."

Violet light flows from the Star Sapphire down the length of the staff to where it touches the inscription on the floor. Violet… It's not exactly fire. It flickers too slowly and wafts in accordance with local emotional resonances rather than the movements of the air. Violet non-fire flares up as power from the Star Sapphire flows across the diagram, first from the containment and binding charms around the outside, then onto the functional components towards the centre. Finally the Star Sapphire symbol in the centre flares a brilliant violet and Zatanna lifts her staff from the floor, breaking the external connection.

Hokai, I'm gonna go take a nap and stop reading for a bit. Cheers!~
 
Jiggity-Jig (part 12)
8th February
22:14 GMT


I dismiss my giant orange arrow construct as the nervous gordanian refugees get moving. They'd taken cover in what appears to have been a pre-takeover karnan fortification, and swiftly had any further line of retreat cut off by the slave uprising. I can only assume that the fleet didn't atomise it because they want to keep it intact for cultural reasons, but there were karnan regular troops heading this way before they got word from the Supreme Commander that the war was going on hold for a little while. Getting the mob to pull back to allow the gordanians to retreat took the officer in command a little while, but with the assistance of a small orange light show from me they were eventually successful.

It's the same story more or less across all of Karettah. Whatever reservations Gaharrugh has about further dealings with the gordanians he appears to be genuine about this part. Travelling at night will be slow going for the gordanians-.

My ring blinks.

"Yes?"

Guy's face appears, his expression torn between frustration and amusement. "Paul, why did I just get a call from Green Man 'bout you taking over a planet?"

"I don't know. Probably because he needed to refer his question to someone, you're in the Honour Guard and he knows that you know me."

"Are you takin' over a planet?"

"What would I do with another planet?"

"Come on, Paul. Don't try pullin' that shit with me-."

"No, I'm not taking over a planet. The karnan puppet navy the Crown Imperium's been supporting is trying to retake Karna and I'm trying to bring about a negotiated settlement."

"Thought you were gunna talk t' the Spider Queen."

"I'll.. get there. But I wanted to check on my maroonees first, then I went to Tamaran, and… You know, Karna. Come for the catgirls, stay for the brutal world-spanning war."

"Did you do somethin' t' make that happen?"

"Destroying Citadel Complex led to gordanian infighting, which may have resulted in the karnans deciding to invade. Personally, I think that letting the gordanians fight it out would have been a more sensible thing to do, but the karnans saw an opportunity..."

"Right. And you want to let some a' them get outta town because..?"

"Most of the gordanian clans are willing to surrender, but a few aren't. I want to have voluntary exile as an option."

"Uh-huh. And you wouldn't be settin' them all up t'get killed, like you did with those Citadelians?"

"Uh… Well, the Crown Imperium isn't a party to the negotiation, so there's nothing to stop them killing the exiled clans the moment they leave Vega. But the Crown Imperium is pretty obviously trying to establish a presence in Vega now that the Citadel is gone. With Amalak and Co. in the border region I doubt that they'll do something which would risk riling them up." I shrug. "Given what they've done I won't exactly be sorry if they get killed, but that's not my main objective here."

"An' I guess there's too many t' maroon them."

"I'm negotiating the surrender of people with a lot of hostages and strategic weapons. I'm not even going to imply that I'm planning that."

"You gunna keep an eye on them?"

"The karnans and Imperials are going to do that. And I'm sure that Green Man will as well. I've already promised them that I'll handle it if they make a nuisance of themselves."

"Right." Guy looks away a little, thinking it over. He nods to himself, then turns back to me. "I'll okay it on one condition."

"And that is?"

"Green Man gets access t' Vega."

I shrug. "I'm not stopping him. Given what the Guardians did with Larfleeze and the psions I'm not going to help him establish himself, but I won't just throw him out." I frown. "Doesn't the Guardian treaty with the psions still hold?"

"I'm hopin' we can talk tha Guardians outa it. Or catch the psions breakin' their end now you're takin' their toys away from 'em."

"I'll keep an eye out. Can I tell the Gizzard Spikers they can go?"

"I'll tell Green Man I think it's okay. That's all I'm doin'."

"Fair enough. Thanks, Guy."

"Don't forget tha spiders."

"Next thing I do. Illustres out."

I lower my hand and look around again. Gordanians on their way, karnans staying where they're supposed to…

I transition upwards, stopping high enough in the upper atmosphere that I can see pretty much all of the continent. The cease fire is… Holding. I'm not expecting it to hold perfectly, but they're… Doing a reasonable job so far. The gordanians are heading towards the pick-up points…

I transition to the other side of the planet. Ships are sending their cargo shuttles down, and scared karnans are being escorted towards the landing fields. Given that most of them don't live particularly close to the landing fields and that the gordanians don't have a huge number of civilian transportation aircraft available there's a certain amount of shuttling back and forth. But… They do appear to be holding up their end of the deal.

Communications…

Jamming has been discontinued. Official communications are unencrypted and limited to permitted topics.

Unofficial communications?

Primarily short range personal messages.

And I suppose that if the karnans were going to kick off about that they would have done so by now.



I'm a little surprised that I got this far without mentally altering anyone, but I'm not going to look a gift-horse in the mouth.

Hm. I wonder if any of the people who read my book will make decent candidates? A quick look around didn't show anyone with the desire-channelling instinct required. Even Kalista and Pren were more green-blue than anything. I suppose that until recently Vega has made it so easy to indulge in the self-indulgent forms of avarice use that the sort of people I'd like to recruit haven't really had a chance to come to the fore.

Jarko's going to hate the idea of being surrounded by Crown Imperium territory. I should… Drop in, and make sure that no one is going to do anything unfortunate. Amalak probably won't care. If anything, I imagine that he's relatively well positioned to take advantage of an increased level of die-off amongst the old school raiders and pirates. Particularly if them being driven away from Vega causes more of the surrounding polities to retain his services. The Queen's position… Don't know.

Alright, itinerary. Visit Jarko last, because I suspect that he'll want to make a big deal of it. Guy's going to be watching the Spiders, so they're the next stop. Then Emana, because that could explode and I'd rather get ahead of things this time. Amalak after that.

I give Karna another scan. Things are still much as they're supposed to be.

Hang on. Do I actually need to be here? Sure, I need to be here when the actual hand over starts, but… I'm just hanging around now. I'm not seeing any signs that anyone is planning to betray anyone, Gaharrugh and the Council were genuinely accepting this…

It shouldn't hurt if I disappear for a little while.

I raise my right hand to my forehead and focus on the desire network of Strand-Captain Fhomalhopos. And… There he is. Feels like he's in the general vicinity of their Control Nest. I should get a general idea of how the treaty is panning out before I meet with the Queen.

I step out
 
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They'd taken cover in what appears to have been a pre-take over karnan fortification...
The gap is a little awkwardly worded. Usual spelling is 'takeover' or perhaps 'conquest' would suffice?

It's the same story more or less across all of Karettah. Whatever reservations Gaharrugh has about further dealings with the gordanians he appears to be genuine about this part. Travelling at night will be slow going for the gordanians-.
Well, at least the fellow is honorable. Can you trust his lowest subordinates to be the same, though?

Guy's face appears, his expression torn between frustration and amusement. "Paul, why did I just get a call from Green Man 'bout you taking over a planet?"
"What'd you do this time, kid?"

...is trying to retake karna and I'm trying to bring about a negotiated settlement."
is trying to retake Karna and I'm trying to bring about a negotiated settlement."

You know, karna. Come for the catgirls, stay for the brutal world-spanning war."
You know, Karna. Come for the catgirls, stay for the brutal world-spanning war."

"Right. And you want to let some a' them get outa town because..?
'Outta' and a Missing Quotation mark.

"Uh-huh. And you wouldn't be settin' them all up t'get killed, like you did with those Citadelians?
Missing Quotation mark. Again.

"I'm negotiating the surrender of people with a lot of hostages and strategic weapons. I'm not even going to imply that I'm planning that."
It would end up in some atrocities, I suspect.

I shrug. "I'm not stopping him. Given what the Guardians did with Larfleeze and the psions I'm not going to help him establish himself, but I won't just throw him out." I frown. "Doesn't the Guardian treaty with the psions still hold?"
Huh, I jumped the gun on my previous comments on Vega's off-limit status, didn't I?

"Don't forget tha spiders."
I detect some unspoken teasing here. Something about the spider queen's spiracles...

I transition to the other side of the planet. Ships are sending their cargo shuttles down, and scared karnans are being escorted towards the landing fields. Given that most of them don't live particularly close to the landing fields and that the gordanians don't have a huge number of civilian transportation aircraft available there's a certain amount of shuttling back and forth. But… They do appear to be holding up their end of the deal.
On pain of death, after all.

I'm a little surprised that I got this far without mentally altering anyone, but I'm not going to look a gift-horse in the mouth.
The joy of diplomancy speccing.

Hm. I wonder if any of the people who read by book will make decent candidates?
Hm. I wonder if any of the people who read my book will make decent candidates?

I quick look around didn't show anyone with the desire-channelling instinct required.
A quick look around didn't show anyone with the desire-channelling instinct required.

Jarko's going to hate the idea of being surrounded by Crown Imperium territory. I should… Drop in, and make sure that no one is going to do anything unfortunate. Amalak probably won't care. If anything, I image that he's relatively well positioned to take advantage of an increased level of die-off amongst the old school raiders and pirates. Particularly if them being driven away from Vega causes more of the surrounding polities to retain his services. The Queen's position… Don't know.
Heh. Juggling allegiances. always fun.

It shouldn't hurt if I disappear for a little while.
Famous last words!

Well, this should be entertaining. Wonder if the Queen has had any work done...
 
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"I didn't have to brainwash anyone this time."

Of course, that almost always makes me think of the reason why Paul failed to convince Lex Luthor to leave the Light. Which is a shame. I liked their interactions and wish it hadn't suddenly dead ended like that.

And for the forgetful among you . . . Lex knew about Paul's ability to rewrite the desires of others and, in his paranoia, assumed that was the reason he was considering going straight.
 
"I didn't have to brainwash anyone this time."

Of course, that almost always makes me think of the reason why Paul failed to convince Lex Luthor to leave the Light. Which is a shame. I liked their interactions and wish it hadn't suddenly dead ended like that.

And for the forgetful among you . . . Lex knew about Paul's ability to rewrite the desires of others and, in his paranoia, assumed that was the reason he was considering going straight.
Was that a thing that early on? He learned how to brand after merging with the Ophidian, but I thought that his development of subtle manipulation was much more gradual.
 
No, Paul, one task after the other! Shouldn't a power ring fix ADHD?

What I would really like to see, purely for self-indulgence mind you, would be an earth politician and/or JL members accompanying Paul to the wider galaxy one day.

"We are from earth"

"Never heard of i...wait. Isn't that the Place where the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps is from? DO YOU KNOW HIM? CAN I GET AN AUTOGRAPH?!?!"
 
No, Paul, one task after the other! Shouldn't a power ring fix ADHD?

What I would really like to see, purely for self-indulgence mind you, would be an earth politician and/or JL members accompanying Paul to the wider galaxy one day.

"We are from earth"

"Never heard of i...wait. Isn't that the Place where the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps is from? DO YOU KNOW HIM? CAN I GET AN AUTOGRAPH?!?!"
Spider Queen: "Perhaps his contact information? Reestablishing a line of dialogue has been difficult, and I'd like to renew intercourse with him."
 
The gap is a little awkwardly worded. Usual spelling is 'takeover' or perhaps 'conquest' would suffice?
...is trying to retake karna and I'm trying to bring about a negotiated settlement."
is trying to retake Karna and I'm trying to bring about a negotiated settlement."
You know, karna. Come for the catgirls, stay for the brutal world-spanning war."
You know, Karna. Come for the catgirls, stay for the brutal world-spanning war."
"Right. And you want to let some a' them get outa town because..?

'Outta' and a Missing Quotation mark.
"Uh-huh. And you wouldn't be settin' them all up t'get killed, like you did with those Citadelians?
Missing Quotation mark. Again.
Hm. I wonder if any of the people who read by book will make decent candidates?
Hm. I wonder if any of the people who read my book will make decent candidates?
I quick look around didn't show anyone with the desire-channelling instinct required.
A quick look around didn't show anyone with the desire-channelling instinct required.
Thank you, corrected.
 
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