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

It's weird that the Vat Lord, being such an important person (maybe the third most important in the universe from our protagonist's point of view) doesn't get asked for and referred to by his name.
The vats are one of the most important parts of sheeda civilization, and he's the best there is at using them.

If I were him, I'd be sure to constantly remind everyone that I was irreplaceable too. Just so they don't forget.
 
How did I manage to accidentally forget to read my comics and serials for two days? o_O

You're getting better with these! :D

Dust rains down on me, and a chunk of coral finishes cracking off and falls to the ground just behind me.

I give myself an eight. Maybe an eight point five.
My dyslexia made this even better. I read it in this order:

Dust rains down on me. I give myself an eight.

And a chunk of coral finishes cracking off and falls to the ground just behind me.

... Maybe an eight point five.

KNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!
Okay, Loki.

as her anti-disarming wards cooks off
Either "ward cooks" or "wards cook"

her planet or origin
of
 
I thought we already established that it was Nega-Plastic Man all along?

You're think too small friend! It's quite clearly Nega-Plastic Man, who has been corrupted by Anti-Life, received White and Black Lantern rings, reaching Enlightenment with both and housing their respective Entities, was turned into a member of The Parliament Of Fire, then a Vampire, all while disguised as a Mickey Mouse made of gravy that's then disguised as Starbreaker, Renegade, and Darkseid, in that order.

(I'm struggling to fit any more of our theories in here, feel free to chime in with you're own ideas in that front.)
 
You're think too small friend! It's quite clearly Nega-Plastic Man, who has been corrupted by Anti-Life, received White and Black Lantern rings, reaching Enlightenment with both and housing their respective Entities, was turned into a member of The Parliament Of Fire, then a Vampire, all while disguised as a Mickey Mouse made of gravy that's then disguised as Starbreaker, Renegade, and Darkseid, in that order.

(I'm struggling to fit any more of our theories in here, feel free to chime in with you're own ideas in that front.)

Don't forget his merging with Super Kami Guru.

After that he just drank the universe around him.
 
So let's not use someone who not even the end of the universe could kill permanently, instead let's use the evil version of a Hero instead!

What a classic!
 
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I mean, this is just a kind of standard superhero thing it's assumed they can deal with.
That's always been a mild peeve of mine, that a Superman/Black Mercy or Picard/The Inner Light kind of experience is the sort of thing that should stick with you for a while, rather than being back to normal by the next episode.

TV tropes link about this problem
 
all while disguised as a Mickey Mouse made of gravy that's then disguised as Starbreaker, Renegade, and Darkseid, in that order

What, like one of those scooby-doo villains with all of the masks stacked one atop the other?
No matter how many faces masks you take off you'll never reach their real face!
"You thought it was Darkseid but it was I, Batman!" *maniacal laughter*

edit: all jokes aside, 'Obsidian Age' shows Plastic Man surviving being disintegrated and having his molecules dispersed all over the bottom of the Atlantic for over 3000 years before getting reassembled and acting like nothing significant happened. The kicker is... He was apparently conscious the entire time. So this joke plot is actually not completely impossible.
 
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What, like one of those scooby-doo villains with all of the masks stacked one atop the other?
No matter how many faces masks you take off you'll never reach their real face!
"You thought it was Darkseid but it was I, Batman!" *maniacal laughter*

edit: all jokes aside, 'Obsidian Age' shows Plastic Man surviving being disintegrated and having his molecules dispersed all over the bottom of the Atlantic for over 3000 years before getting reassembled and acting like nothing significant happened. The kicker is... He was apparently conscious the entire time. So this joke plot is actually not completely impossible.

He did apparently go insane during that time, but like Paradox from Ben 10 he eventually got bored and became sane again.

I also think he decides to spend more time with his son and left the League, so something significant happened.
 
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Summer's End (part 17)
Where We
Stood


If I close my eyes and listen, I can hear it.

Not the generators themselves. Those are near-silent, and even with my ability to feel exotic effects I only really notice them when they're close by. Not the greater illumination. Even those poor unfortunates with electrosensitivity wouldn't feel anything from the super-efficiently shielded living lights parasitising on the city's blood network. Not the giant aerial box jellyfish who lift the mists up from ground level so that the lines of sight are a little more sensible, nor the growing planetary nervous system we're building to improve data transmission.

No. What I hear is civilisation. Growing civilisation. Strong civilisation. Growing, vibrant, peaceful civilisation. One that doesn't need my constant input to remain so. In a universe burned down to nothing, Artemis and I have surpassed Red Son Superman.

And so my unrest grows as progress slows.

And from the way Artemis is looking at me, she knows where my thoughts are heading.

"We can go whenever you want."

I nod slowly. "What can I say? I'm a completionist."

With improved lines of sight, our ability to travel via rainbow bridge has expanded hugely. And with clear vision granted by the eyes of new generations of space-dwelling Sheeda creatures, getting into space is easy.

If only there were somewhere to go. If only it was this simple back in the past.

But she's right and she knows it and she's already heading for the balcony and notching an arrow. It could be because our souls are responding to one another, but equally we've been together for a… Long time in the ongoing 'now' of Sheeda civilisation. A burst of rainbow light, then she stows her bow and… Offers me her right hand with a mock-condescending smirk.

I roll my eyes, and take it.

Even reducing military expenditure to next to nothing, we don't have anything like enough biological material to support a space elevator. We could just about make one by devoting almost all Sheeda biomass into it -including the humanoid Sheeda population- but that would rather defeat the object.

It would also weaken me, and since I'm the point man in this exercise that rather takes precedence.

I take Artemis's proffered hand and we walk across the rainbow bridge into the sky, emerging in the space-based vat station which has been creating our solar probes and has nearly completed our sun diver. Vat Masters and functionaries turn and bow in our direction, and we give them a polite nod of dismissal to return them to their duties.

"I guess…"

I raise my eyebrows. "What?"

"We're nearly done, aren't we?"

"It was just a matter of time once the war finished."

She tilts her head back slightly, staring at nothing.

"Gotham Academy."

"I can lend you the g-gnomes if you need to swot up on things."

"No… It's not that. I'm not.. sure… How to go back to it." She shakes her head and then looks up to me, shrugging. "School. And.. not-."

I smile, nodding. "Not being queen."

"It's not that being queen's been.. super-great, but I've kinda gotten used to it."

"You don't have to go back. Depending on what sort of time machine we end up using, you might be able to commute. Or-."

"You told your followers you wouldn't stay."

"Sure, but you didn't tell yours that. You could oversee the change from autocracy to oligarchy, and become a mere constitutional monarch."

She looks away again.

"I used to really look forward to it. I wanted to get the mission over with, and see Mom and… Tao, again. And it's not like I don't want to… I'm just… Not who I was when I left."

"That's growing up for you. Some change is inevitable. And this probably isn't the most extreme thing that could happen to you, given our careers." Hm. "Speaking of careers -and certainly not speaking of the fact that you mentioned your mother and boyfriend and not your sister- can I-?"

"I hadn't seen Jade since she started working for you. And I saw her, like, twice? Since she left home." Something occurs to her. "Did you tell her about your new girlfriend yet?"

"No. I don't really think she's a pony person."

"Actually, Dad did take us riding a couple of times."

"In Gotham? Were you riding sewer crocodiles?"

"No, the mutant sewer guppies ate all of those." She takes a deep breath. "But that all depends on what sort of time machine we get a hold of."

"True." I look around at the staff. "Vat Lord, are we in position to launch solar probes?"

The woman stops pointedly ignoring our conversation and approaches, giving us a deferential nod as she does so.

"We can, now that you are here. My lord, you will need to reinforce the protective spells. My lady, if you assist us with the launch we will have the results far more swiftly."

Artemis nods. "Show us where we need to be."

The Vat Lord turns aside and beckons. Two Vat Masters approach, one bowing to me and the other to Artemis. I follow my guide over to a fairly standard looking Sheeda organic console with New God additions. Some parts of this station were salvaged from the Sheeda's last group of New God visitors, the ones who gave them the Castle Revolving in the first place. As a result it's far easier for both Artemis and I to connect to it than Sheeda organisms with ersatz rune work.

"Here, Lord."

The Vat Master steps aside and I feel all of the ways this device is a part of the civilisation Artemis and I have built. All of the people who have worked on this, and prepared the raw materials and who harvest the food that sustains them.

I lay my hands on the console as I extend my purpose through the mechanism.

"All ready here. What's the spread on what we're going to find?"

"I'm afraid that 'malevolent super powered human' is far in the lead, lord."

"You think that the progenitor of the Sheeda was human?"

"Super powers sometimes manifest with physiological oddities, lord. And humans have shown a tendency to develop unusual abilities of tremendous power."

"No super Sheeda?"

"None save those which were deliberately designed, lord."

"Anyone betting that it's me?"

"There…" She looks away. "May be some, lord."

"A Sheeda using a time loop?"

"I believe that the former king Melmoth's name was mentioned in that capacity. Of course, this is all purely speculative. It is more likely to be something none of us have considered."
 
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Artemis and I have surpassed Red Son Superman.

Wait until the civilization you helped build lasts for billions of years and you can say that.

Red Son's ideas did help that version of Lex with his rule.

the eyes of new generations space-dwelling Sheeda creatures, getting into space is easy.

If paragon gets Melmoth to help the Atlanteans with some of their magic and tech then he may get his arcane spaceships.


'tell' not told'

"In Gotham? Were you riding sewer crocodiles?"

"No, the mutant sewer guppies ate all of those."

I know this is meant to be sarcasm, but it is highly likely that crocodiles were eaten by mutated guppies in Gotham.


'than Sheeda'
 
We could just about make one by devoting almost all Sheeda biomass into it -including the humanoid Sheeda population- but that would rather defeat the object.
Unless this is some phrase variation that I'm just not familiar with, I would have thought it would be "point", or at least "objective".
 
Why do you think we haven't seen Weylon Jones in this story yet?

Ohh no.

Enchantress won't have her romance with him now.

You can dislike the n52 all you like, but that romance was one of the most beautiful things in it.

When Croc became Roy's AA sponsor was also both one of the most heartwarming, and funny, things in comic history.

On a serious note I think Robin mentioned being hit by him in the face and the Danner enhancements made sure Croc broke some of his fingers.
 
Ohh no.

Enchantress won't have her romance with him now.

You can dislike the n52 all you like, but that romance was one of the most beautiful things in it.

When Croc became Roy's AA sponsor was also both one of the most heartwarming, and funny, things in comic history.

On a serious note I think Robin mentioned being hit by him in the face and the Danner enhancements made sure Croc broke some of his fingers.
And then the guppies swarmed. They smelled weakness.
 
What I hear is civilisation. Growing civilisation. Strong civilisation. Growing, vibrant peaceful civilisation. One that doesn't need my constant input to remain so.

Nice dream! The only main problem with it is that all of your subjects are discount Drow. If they don't collapse back into Game of Thrones the moment it becomes apparent you're not coming back any time soon I'll eat my gasmask.

. "What can I say? I'm a completionist."

I getcha! I suffer from the same affliction :/

we've been together for a… Long time in the ongoing 'now' of Sheeda civilisation.

Oh My! All the following talk about going back to their gfs/bfs in the Past seems kinda hollow in the light of this. Or is it one of those 'What happens in Post-Apocalyptic Future stays in Post-Apocalyptic Future' kinda deals?

Depending on what sort of time machine we end up using, you might be able to commute.

Why are they talking about going back like it's a done deal? I thought that nonexistence of another time machine is the whole reason they stayed in this blasted place for centuries? Planning to deal with the Vamp-Ra is nice an all but a) isn't their problem and b) doesn't automatically gets them a way home.

I'm just… Not who I was when I left."

Worry not Arty! You live in a comicbook-inspired setting. You'll be back to who you are (a teenage super pointy stick launcher) as soon as you step back into the Present!

"In Gotham? Were you riding sewer crocodiles?"

Nah man, that's New York!
 
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Wait until the civilization you helped build lasts for billions of years and you can say that.

Red Son's ideas did help that version of Lex with his rule.

Saying that because some of Red son superman idea's helped Lex, therefore, he gets to claim credit for Lexism (I think that's what it was called it's been a while since I read that comic) is like claiming Augustus gets credit for the Magna Carta because some of his (empire's) idea's influenced the country that made it.

I would mention the mass lobotomization but I'm pretty sure Grayven has done worse than that.
 
Saying that because some of Red son superman idea's helped Lex, therefore, he gets to claim credit for Lexism (I think that's what it was called it's been a while since I read that comic) is like claiming Augustus gets credit for the Magna Carta because some of his (empire's) idea's influenced the country that made it.

But you can't deny that his ideas did help Lex with his rule.

I would mention the mass lobotomization but I'm pretty sure Grayven has done worse than that.

Well he genocided the Citadelians, but they were evil, and the ones Red Son lobotomized was that evil son of Stalin and a bunch of guys who could have just been bomb throwing anarchists.
 
Where We
Stood


If I close my eyes and listen, I can hear it.
The sound of a civilisation forcibly dragged out of the gutter its' people's instincts were throwing it into? Yes, quite reassuing, I'll wager.

Not the generators themselves. Those are near-silent, and even with my ability to feel exotic effects I only really notice them when they're close by. Not the greater illumination. Even those poor unfortunates with electrosensitivity wouldn't feel anything from the super-efficiently shielded living lights parasitising on the city's blood network. Not the giant aerial box jellyfish who lift the mists up from ground level so that the lines of sight are a little more sensible, nor the growing planetary nervous system we're building to improve data transmission.
I wonder if the generators produce enough power to allow direct energy-matter conversion, produce more biomass to enable more people, more biotechnology... But that would probably draw the attention of the Vampire Sun...

No. What I hear is civilisation. Growing civilisation. Strong civilisation. Growing, vibrant peaceful civilisation. One that doesn't need my constant input to remain so. In a universe burned down to nothing, Artemis and I have surpassed Red Son Superman.

And so my unrest grows as progress slows.
That other shoe, still spinning in the air and hemming and hawing about it's intention to come down again, eh?

And from the way Artemis is looking at me, she knows where my thoughts are heading.

"We can go whenever you want."

I nod slowly. "What can I say? I'm a completionist."
I know that feel, that drive to do everything possible in a game, even the mutually exclusive things. It's not always easy to set it aside for more important business...

With improved lines of sight, our ability to travel via rainbow bridge has expanded hugely. And with clear vision granted by the eyes of new generations space-dwelling Sheeda creatures, getting into space is easy.

If only there were somewhere to go. If only it was this simple back in the past.
Since Sheeda are more forgiving of things like stamping out opposition and rebellion... You're still stuck doing it the hard way on other worlds...

But she's right and she knows it and she's already heading for the balcony and notching an arrow. It could be because our souls are responding to one another, but equally we've been together for a… Long time in the ongoing 'now' of Sheeda civilisation. A burst of rainbow light, then she stows her bow and… Offers me her right hand with a mock-condescending smirk.

I roll my eyes, and take it.
x3 Oh, my. What will Princess Luna say when she hears about this? But seriously, the best kind of friendships are forged in hard times...

Even reducing military expenditure to next to nothing, we don't have anything like enough biological material to support a space elevator. We could just about make one by devoting almost all Sheeda biomass into it -including the humanoid Sheeda population- but that would rather defeat the object.

It would also weaken me, and since I'm the point man in this exercise that rather takes precedence.
It would be excessive, to put it mildly. A giant-ass railgun or launch vehicle should do the rick, especially since Artemis' technique can get a lot more distance now.

I take Artemis's proffered hand and we walk across the rainbow bridge into the sky, emerging in the space-based vat station which has been creating our solar probes and has nearly completed our sun diver. Vat Masters and functionaries turn and bow in our direction, and we give them a polite nod of dismissal to return them to their duties.

"I guess…"
Let me guess, a pod with magical fire resistance out the wazoo? And magical sensors, because visual would be worthless inside the big ball of plasma.

I raise my eyebrows. "What?"

"We're nearly done, aren't we?"
There's still the matter of getting home, barring a Deus Ex Machina like Rip Hunter or someone turning up in a time-craft.

"It was just a matter of time once the war finished."

She tilts her head back slightly, staring at nothing.
Yeah, whatever happens, there's going to be scars. She's going to have about a thousand years of memories in a teenage body... Becasue i have no doubt this will play out by Faerie rules, centuries passing in a moment... Still better than the opposite, though. That's caught out many a visitor as they crumble into dust as time catches up with them upon leaving the hidden world.

"Gotham Academy."

"I can lend you the g-gnomes if you need to swot up on things."
Nice try, Grayven, but I don't think jokes are gonna ease the tension.

"No… It's not that. I'm not.. sure… How to go back to it." She shakes her head and then looks up to me, shrugging. "School. And.. not-."

I smile, nodding. "Not being queen."
"It all seems so petty now. Who's dating who, the latest fashions... I mean, I wasn't really into that stuff before, but now..."

"It's not that being queen's been.. super-great, but I've kinda gotten used to it."

"You don't have to go back. Depending on what sort of time machine we end up using, you might be able to commute. Or-."
Nah, this place has gotten boring now. I bet she hasn't had to shoot anybody in a week!

"You told your followers you wouldn't stay."

"Sure, but you didn't tell yours that. You could oversee the change from autocracy to oligarchy, and become a mere constitutional monarch."
Or, gods forbid, she try setting up the American system. Though I suppose it'd distract all those dirty-dealing, backstabbing and mud-slinging instincts Sheeda have... :rolleyes:

She looks away again.

"I used to really look forward to it. I wanted to get the mission over with, and see Mom and… Tao, again. And it's not like I don't want to… I'm just… Not who I was when I left."
Huh, no violet? Has it been that long that she's cooled off on him, or is she just tired of this shit.

"That's growing up for you. Some change is inevitable. And this probably isn't the most extreme thing that could happen to you, given our careers." Hm. "Speaking of careers -and certainly not speaking of the fact that you mentioned your mother and boyfriend and not your sister- can I-?"

"I hadn't seen Jade since she started working for you. And I saw her, like, twice? Since she left home." Something occurs to her. "Did you told her about your new girlfriend yet?"
Oh, wouldn't it be funny if Jade's been quietly x3 squeeing x3 over the pretty pony princess that Grayven's been seen with... And then threatening anyone who saw it with a long, painful death.

"No. I don't really think she's a pony person."

"Actually, Dad did take us riding a couple of times."
No doubt as training for operations somewhere they wouldn't be able to count on having motor vehicles, I suppose.

"In Gotham? Were you riding sewer crocodiles?"

"No, the mutant sewer guppies ate all of those." She takes a deep breath. "But that all depends on what sort of time machine we get a hold of."
Hey, at least it wasn't mutant turtles! Those ones are a pain, especially the ninja ones.

"True." I look around at the staff. "Vat Lord, are we in position to launch solar probes?"

The woman stops pointedly ignoring our conversation and approaches, giving us a deferential nod as she does so.
The previous one's successor, or several generations removed, no doubt. It must get weird, seeing the faces of their servants constantly changing as time goes on.

"We can, now that you are here. My lord, you will need to reinforce the protective spells. My lady, if you assist us with the launch we will have the results far more swiftly."

Artemis nods. "Show us where we need to be."
Straight down to business. Things are getting serious, i see.

The Vat Lord turns aside and beckons. Two Vat Masters approach, one bowing to me and the other to Artemis. I follow my guide over to a fairly standard looking Sheeda organic console with New God additions. Some parts of this station were salvaged from the Sheeda's last group of New God visitors, the ones who gave them the Castle Revolving in the first place. As a result it's far easier for both Artemis and I to connect to it that Sheeda organisms with ersatz rune work.
Ah, some of Auracles' old tech, eh? Dragged out of some old museum and grudgingly brought into working order through long, careful repairs.

"Here, Lord."

The Vat Master steps aside and I feel all of the ways this device is a part of the civilisation Artemis and I have built. All of the people who have worked on this, and prepared the raw materials and who harvest the food that sustains them.
Dozens of Sheeda generations, all brought together into one grand purpose. I bet that's an empowering sensation, especially for him.

I lay my hands on the console I extend my purpose through the mechanism.

"All ready here. What's the spread on what we're going to find?"
Place your bets now, folks. Remember, someone's already managed to call it.

"I'm afraid that 'malevolent super powered human' is far in the lead, lord."

"You think that the progenitor of the Sheeda was human?"
Well, it depends on how you stretch your definition of Human. DC Metas have some crazy shit going on.

"Super powers sometimes manifest with physiological oddities, lord. And humans have shown a tendency to develop unusual abilities of tremendous power."

"No super Sheeda?"
As if the Queen would allow anyone power she didn't grant. If someone spontaneously developed powers in finest DC fashion, they'd likely be dead in a day.

"None save those which were deliberately designed, lord."

"Anyone betting that it's me?"
Yeah, he's genre-savvy enough to think of that.

"There…" She looks away. "May be some, lord."

"A Sheeda using a time loop?"
That'd have to be some upgrade.

"I believe that the former king Melmoth's name was mentioned in that capacity. Of course, this is all purely speculative. It is more likely to be something none of us have considered."
And we'll be finding out soon, I hope... The blue-balls ache.

Well, things really are coming to a head soon. Unless Mr Zoat cockblocks us, we'll know what the Vampire Sun is by the end of the weekend... And I for one am looking forwards to it, if only to see what obscure, yet blatantly obvious, DC character he's managed to dig up that could be involved...:D


I lay my hands on the console I extend my purpose through the mechanism.
Could probably use a full stop, as those sentences don't exactly flow together.


That Godspeech:
"Here, Lord."

The Vat Master steps aside and I feel all of the ways this device is a part of the civilisation Artemis and I have built. All of the people who have worked on this, and prepared the raw materials and who harvest the food that sustains them.

I lay my hands on the console I extend my purpose through the mechanism.
 

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