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

Anti-Thesis (part 7)
11th July 2012
Hopefully


Ugh.

I blink as my eyes focus on… A Leentniar deck plate. And my personal lantern. Excellent.

Generations of my people have laboured to build this space, and I want to add to it in order to ensure that it is preserved for generations more.

Ugh again. Not one of my desires. But I definitely remember something happening. I rise to my feet, picking up the lantern and… Wave at the other members of the crew, who-.

Ah. No. Right.

Ring, am I whole again? Judge using the metric of the person for whom Hinon created you.

Match imperfect. All indicated parts present, in addition to surplus material.

Sounds promising. I

step out, seeing the desires of the Leentniar all around me and enshrouding me. With a feeling of gratitude I unshroud myself, the desires I borrowed flowing back into their proper place. I'd sigh in relief if breathing was a thing here. Then I fly, following the patterns I remember and the beacon planted by Lantern Coutara. No, not her. This… Place is a beacon in the orange light of the conflicting desires 'do it' and 'make this not happen'. And… It's a little clearer why they had those desires. I think… It's easier for me to intuit the connections… I can study that later. I

step back into the centre of my ritual space.

I take a moment to make sure that there's no residual energy flares, then spread my arms wide and look up at my audience.

"Let joy be unbound, for I am returned."

I float upwards, erasing my markings on the stone as I do so. This area is nominally under the control of L.E.G.I.O.N., but it's a ruin of no strategic importance. It wouldn't do for someone to try their hand at amateur spell casting with my help.

"And as far as I can tell, at full mission fitness. Ladies and gentlemen?"

The wizards raise their hands, their use of magic no longer restricted to their personal reserves. Lantern Gozzi looks slightly relieved, while Ragnar-.

"Do you want your first rematch right now, or are you prepared to wait?"

"I… It would be better to wait until your health is confirmed. I would sully my challenge by acting prematurely."

"Alright. I respect your growing wisdom." I float over the rim and land amidst the party. "And if you want guidance on your next step..?"

"Of course, Illustres."

"You've developed a good self-awareness. My enlightenment comes from perfect self-awareness, not just from understanding the origin of my strongest desires but from also understanding and accepting my weaker ones. If that is the path you want to take, you'll have to try to do the same."

"I'm… Not sure that I can, Illustres. I've wanted what I want now for a very long time."

"Perhaps you could start by trying to understand your brother's desires and motives. Learn to imagine yourself in his position."

"That.. is not easier." He smiles. "But such is the path of the warrior. I struck at my swordmaster a thousand times before I hit him even once. And I hit him a thousand times before I bested him even once." He frowns. "I am… Better at hitting things than I am at wisdom."

"But you weren't always. And once you beat me, you won't have beating me to look forward to."

He nods, mollified, as I turn to the wizards.

"So?"

Dr. Damon shrugs. "Your soul structure appears to be more whole than it was before the ritual, though it's not quite the same as our records."

"That which does not kill us makes us stranger."

"But it did kill you. Your behaviour is.. different to every shade I've studied." He throws up his hands. "How do you feel?"

I blink, empathic vision showing-

I need this to pay off. I need.. some recognition. I need something that tells me that I haven't wasted my career, because it's getting harder to convince myself.

-more than it used to.

"My empathic abilities feel a little more intense. I think I'm empathising with the desires I see more than I did before. They feel like mine rather than someone else's that I'm just looking at. Otherwise, I feel much as I did before."

I look down at my left hand.

"Ring? How am I doing now?"

"Orange light abilities within expected parameters."

"How does this..?" Dr. Wilsone considers-

I can learn things that no one else can and someone else is taking the risks.

Heh.

-me carefully. "How does this compare to how you died last time?"

"Far less painful, didn't involved a giant would-be god with a smiley face for a head and escaping didn't involve my brain slowly suffocating while stuck in a robot body. Of the two, I definitely preferred this one. I definitely preferred the Honden to the Source."

"You don't feel any lasting negative effects from not being alive?"

"No. Not that I'm noticing. I don't know why my empathic vision has changed, so I suppose that… Could be a negative effect."

"I've read about techniques for coming back from the dead repeatedly. The cumulative effects are supposed to be horrifying."

"But I'm not using any of them. And even if I lost part of my soul, these tattoos will regenerate it as long as I spend time on a thaumically active world. Right?"

"In theory, yes. In practice, you are the only one to ever have this arrangement. I'm… Worried."

I nod. "Light duties, and check in with Hades. Got it. Lantern Gozzi, Lantern Ragnar, I'll see you back on Maltus."

I raise my right hand to my forehead

step out and

reappear in front of the Central Power Battery.

What a relief.

"Ophidian, c-."

"Illustres!" I turn as Kalmin stomps in wearing full.. armour. Ah-. "Are you prepared to depart?"

"I only just got my power back after dying again."

"But you do have your power back?"

"Yes. But-."

He raises his hammer.

"Anti-matter conversion now!"
 
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Missing an . at the end.

My empathic abilities feel a little more intense. I think I'm empathising with the desires I see more than I did before. They feel like mine rather than someone else's that I'm just looking at. Otherwise, I feel much as I did before."

Looks like whoever said he was going to get double enlightenment was right in a sense.

Just hope these desires don't overwhelm him.

preferred the Hondon to

'Honden'

I've read about techniques for coming back from the dead repeatedly. The cumulative effects are supposed to be horrifying."

I think he pulled an Odin.

As in died but got stronger from it, like Odin hanging himself for runes.

He raises his hammer.

"Anti-matter conversion now!"

I'm imagining them going through an anime like transformation now.



And just like Gary he's becoming a better version of himself.

Hopefully.
 
Missing an . at the end.
'Honden'
Thank you, corrected.

Regarding Ted and Dan: Ted has never been Blue Beetle in this timeline. He tried activating the scarab a couple of times and nothing happened. He believes it to be a magic artefact. More recently, he's tried probing it with some of his new magic equipment and while they're picking up something, he can't tell much about it. His present assumption is that it's a different school of magic and while he's curious about it he's too busy doing more applicable things to focus on it.
 
11th July 2012
Hopefully


Ugh.

I blink as my eyes focus on… A Leentniar deck plate. And my personal lantern. Excellent.
Material objects within the Honden? Definitely shows that he managed at least a partial transfer. Odd that there's a piece of deck plate from a Leentniar ship, though. Debris pulled through along with the Lantern or something more concerning?

Generations of my people have laboured to build this space, and I want to add to it in order to ensure that it is preserved for generations more.

Ugh again. Not one of my desires. But I definitely remember something happening. I rise to my feet, picking up the lantern and… Wave at the other members of the crew, who-.
Or is he somewhere in the corporeal universe? Man, this is confusing... Though if I were a Leentniar, I would have been concerned if some alien artifact popped up aboard my ship...

Ah. No. Right.

Ring, am I whole again? Judge using the metric of the person for whom Hinon created you.
A very sensible qualifier. I suspect his soul is tangled up in a big cobwebby mess of Leentniar desires right now...

Match imperfect. All indicated parts present, in addition to surplus material.

Sounds promising. I
Yup, thought so. Presumably that stuff will get subsumed back into the Honden when he...

step out, seeing the desires of the Leentniar all around me and enshrouding me. With a feeling of gratitude I unshroud myself, the desires I borrowed flowing back into their proper place. I'd sigh in relief if breathing was a thing here. Then I fly, following the patterns I remember and the beacon planted by Lantern Coutara. No, not her. This… Place is a beacon in the orange light of the conflicting desires 'do it' and 'make this not happen'. And… It's a little clearer why they had those desires. I think… It's easier for me to intuit the connections… I can study that later. I
...Runs before he knows if he can walk. I know you wanted to be whole, OL, but this is getting a bit hasty...

step back into the centre of my ritual space.

I take a moment to make sure that there's no residual energy flares, then spread my arms wide and look up at my audience.
"Are you not entertained?" Show-off. Save the theatrics for when you know your spiritual structural integrity is back to 100%...

"Let joy be unbound, for I am returned."

I float upwards, erasing my markings on the stone as I do so. This area is nominally under the control of L.E.G.I.O.N., but it's a ruin of no strategic importance. It wouldn't do for someone to try their hand at amateur spell casting with my help.
Admittedly, fooling around with the Orange Light is likely to get any would-be dark lords nommed by Best Snek... :confused: Oh, and the Quotes are back. Welp, fun while it lasted.

"And as far as I can tell, at full mission fitness. Ladies and gentlemen?"

The wizards raise their hands, their use of magic no longer restricted to their personal reserves. Lantern Gozzi looks slightly relieved, while Ragnar-.
Now I'm picturing him eagerly rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet like he's half-ready to leap into the fray...

"Do you want your first rematch right now, or are you prepared to wait?"

"I… It would be better to wait until your health is confirmed. I would sully my challenge by acting prematurely."
Good, we still don't know if the effective 'Restore from backup' process worked or not...

"Alright. I respect your growing wisdom." I float over the rim and land amidst the party. "And if you want guidance on your next step..?"

"Of course, Illustres."
Anything to make him a better warrior, of course.

"You've developed a good self-awareness. My enlightenment comes from perfect self-awareness, not just from understanding the origin of my strongest desires but from also understanding and accepting my weaker ones. If that is the path you want to take, you'll have to try to do the same."

"I'm… Not sure that I can, Illustres. I've wanted what I want now for a very long time."
Heh. Few people are really prepared to behold their basest, most unknowing desires, are they?

"Perhaps you could start by trying to understand your brother's desires and motives. Learn to imagine yourself in his position."

"That.. is not easier." He smiles. "But such is the path of the warrior. I struck at my swordmaster a thousand times before I hit him even once. And I hit him a thousand times before I bested him even once." He frowns. "I am… Better at hitting things than I am at wisdom."
And that swordmaster did the same thing you did once upon a time. Learning takes effort. If you want this, you have to work for it.

"But you weren't always. And once you beat me, you won't have beating me to look forward to."

He nods, mollified, as I turn to the wizards.
Like a dog chasing a car, he has no idea what to do with himself once he gets it, does he? That's a big question to ponder: What next?

"So?"

Dr. Damon shrugs. "Your soul structure appears to be more whole than it was before the ritual, though it's not quite the same as our records."
What few records you have of it. Remember, OL: Off-site backups!

"That which does not kill us makes us stranger."

"But it did kill you. Your behaviour is.. different to every shade I've studied." He throws up his hands. "How do you feel?"
Yeah, I don't think Nietzsche ever contemplated people who could come back from the dead.

I blink, empathic vision showing-

I need this to pay off. I need.. some recognition. I need something that tells me that I haven't wasted my career, because it's getting harder to convince myself.

-more than it used to.
That sort of detail used to take a deeper gaze, didn't it? Not a quick flick of the eyes like this.

"My empathic abilities feel a little more intense. I think I'm empathising with the desires I see more than I did before. They feel like mine rather than someone else's that I'm just looking at. Otherwise, I feel much as I did before."
Which could be something to be careful of. Looks like he did manage to level up his Enlightenment slightly. Which makes sense, I suppose he would have levelled up after the whole debacle...

I look down at my left hand.

"Ring? How am I doing now?"

"Orange light abilities within expected parameters."
Yeah, that sounds good and all, but just how wide are those 'expected parameters'? What metric could you even use for that?

"How does this..?" Dr. Wilsone considers-

I can learn things that no one else can and someone else is taking the risks.
I wonder if she's even aware of that aspect to her desires...

Heh.

-me carefully. "How does this compare to how you died last time?"
As far as deaths go, getting disintegrated by Qwa-matter probably stings quite a bit more than having a giant flaming sword planted in your skull, if not for as long.

"Far less painful, didn't involved a giant would-be god with a smiley face for a head and escaping didn't involve my brain slowly suffocating while stuck in a robot body. Of the two, I definitely preferred this one. I definitely preferred the Honden to the Source."
But you don't plan on making a habit of it? Once is fair, twice smacks of carelessness.

"You don't feel any lasting negative effects from not being alive?"

"No. Not that I'm noticing. I don't know why my empathic vision has changed, so I suppose that… Could be a negative effect."
Maybe you did subconsciously re-spec in there. Nudge a few skill points from, say, Cooking to Empathic Vision: Avarice?

"I've read about techniques for coming back from the dead repeatedly. The cumulative effects are supposed to be horrifying."

"But I'm not using any of them. And even if I lost part of my soul, these tattoos will regenerate it as long as I spend time on a thaumically active world. Right?"
There's still the matter of memory loss, though. Maybe you should go through a diagnostic and defrag before heading out anywhere?

"In theory, yes. In practice, you are the only one to ever have this arrangement. I'm… Worried."

I nod. "Light duties, and check in with Hades. Got it. Lantern Gozzi, Lantern Ragnar, I'll see you back on Maltus."
'Light Duties'? Like hell any Narrative will allow that. When was the last time you saw a Superhero able to take it easy without something interrupting?

I raise my right hand to my forehead

step out and

reappear in front of the Central Power Battery.
Well, that works as expected, at least.

What a relief.

"Ophidian, c-."
And immediately checking in on Best Snek? Such a good boy, OL.

"Illustres!" I turn as Kalmin stomps in wearing full.. armour. Ah-. "Are you prepared to depart?"

"I only just got my power back after dying again."
I mean, Kalmin does know he got ashed by Qwa-matter, doesn't he? Or did that just fly in one ear and out the other as he ran his little gearing-up montage? :p

"But you do have your power back?"

"Yes. But-."
Oh, goddammit, Kalmin, he just got his ass out of the repair shop...

He raises his hammer.

"Anti-matter conversion now!"
Not even giving him a moment to take a shakedown cruise, or look over his character sheet to make sure all his points are where he left them? Nope! There's heretics in need of smiting!

Man, Kalmin must be pissed over the whole Qwa-matter thing if he's in this much of a rush... I get the feeling he's about to engage in some regime change, Weaponer-style. Now we get to see how much of OL's character build got changed up.. in the heat of combat!

...stuck in a robot body.
Double space.
 
Well, that was as anticlimactic as expected. The pre-quest power up was just as expected :/ He's back in the saddle even quicker than the last time he got killed so... Yay?
Look on the bright side, Zoat has now officially reached the point of having a faster main character resurrection then even official DC comics.

And of course the fact that he's died mean's he's the Black Light's bitch when the Blackest Night hits.
 
Look on the bright side, Zoat has now officially reached the point of having a faster main character resurrection then even official DC comics.

And of course the fact that he's died mean's he's the Black Light's bitch when the Blackest Night hits.
Paul was already eligible to be affected by a Black Ring when the angels killed him. All this did was temporarily inconvenience him and possibly enhance his powers.
 
Thank you, corrected.

Regarding Ted and Dan: Ted has never been Blue Beetle in this timeline. He tried activating the scarab a couple of times and nothing happened. He believes it to be a magic artefact. More recently, he's tried probing it with some of his new magic equipment and while they're picking up something, he can't tell much about it. His present assumption is that it's a different school of magic and while he's curious about it he's too busy doing more applicable things to focus on it.

And it's not the abilities Garett is known for are particularly unique.

Jade has the same power set thanks to her darkstar uniform-flight and energy blasts, strength and armor.

Or a Nth metal armor like Silver Scarab.

Or Rocket Red armor

Or Lexcorp power armor

Or Hardware armor if he ever gets around to making it.

Or Aztek's technomagic armor.

Ted could duplicate Dan just by going the Iron Man route ala his Kingdom Come doppelganger.
 
Ngl, I was all hype for Ophi-chan, and then Kalmin comes and meta-cockblocks me! }:C

I'm not sure Paul dearest is 'complete' yet, w/out Ophi giving him a look-over.
...No lewds implied, the Best Snek knows how his soul is supposed to be better than a ring, I'd wager.
 
I recently discovered this story and am enjoying reading it. I am just wondering about a couple if things. I am currently up to "25th November11:21 GMT -5" and have a few questions.
I have been skipping the "Renegade" chapters, as I do not like them as much. Will this bite me later? Will the two different versions interact somehow?
Additionally, Paul has mentioned a mission to the Cadmus labs a couple of times up to the point I am at. I quote from "25th November11:21 GMT -5": "The Cadmus Labs building has been completely repaired since the last time our team was here five months ago." I went through all chapters before this one in detail and there was no mission to Cadmus labs except the one that was mentioned, in which Kon got rescued. Was there an additional mission which was never shown in the story? Paul spoke about a mission in which he was personally involved a few times up to now. Could someone explain?
 
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