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

"Short it-?" Ugh. "You're the Vulture of Freedom, because in a free economy asset stripping and short selling and debt loading are viable strategies, even if they're harmful to society as a whole."

...Vulture Capitalist. Excellent punning.

"Oh, come on Paul. How many new experiences do you think I get at my age? It's not all positive, but… What was it you said? When I'm confronted by evil, I will rejoice, because when I'm done with the evil then it won't be there any more." He looks over at the city. "This place is a mess. But if it's literally the worst parts of American history made manifest… What happens when we fix it?"

"I think it's meant to be broken."

He looks a little disappointed. "Well, now. That doesn't sound like you. What happens to America if we change things around here?"

"We… Mind control an entire country, which is something I'd rather avoid doing."

Paul does have limits and forethought! Though aww, Alan wanting to make things better. That would be especially interesting since Alan's been alive through all the events that happened from World War 2 to the modern day- Alan probably is old enough to remember American fascists marching in Madison Square Garden.

Oh yeah, happy Platinum Jubilee.
 
"Short it-?" Ugh. "You're the Vulture of Freedom, because in a free economy asset stripping and short selling and debt loading are viable strategies, even if they're harmful to society as a whole."

Shorting assets is good for an economy though? It provides an economic incentive to reduce the price of an asset, which helps prevent bubbles. Part of the reason why the housing market is basically always in a bubble is that houses can't be shorted.
 
Shorting assets is good for an economy though? It provides an economic incentive to reduce the price of an asset, which helps prevent bubbles. Part of the reason why the housing market is basically always in a bubble is that houses can't be shorted.

Reminder that Paul was severely impacted by the 2008 financial crisis to the point he couldn't hold physical money.
 
...Vulture Capitalist. Excellent punning.
I totally meant to do that.
Paul does have limits and forethought! Though aww, Alan wanting to make things better. That would be especially interesting since Alan's been alive through all the events that happened from World War 2 to the modern day- Alan probably is old enough to remember American fascists marching in Madison Square Garden.
Did you know that, because of the British Union of Fascists, it is still illegal to protest in uniforms in Britain?
 
Shorting assets is good for an economy though? It provides an economic incentive to reduce the price of an asset, which helps prevent bubbles. Part of the reason why the housing market is basically always in a bubble is that houses can't be shorted.
The ability to short assets is good for an economy that performs a necessary role in market corrections, yes. But as is always the case... you can have too much of a good thing.
 
"Oh, come on Paul. How many new experiences do you think I get at my age? It's not all positive, but… What was it you said? When I'm confronted by evil, I will rejoice, because when I'm done with the evil then it won't be there any more." He looks over at the city. "This place is a mess. But if it's literally the worst parts of American history made manifest… What happens when we fix it?"

"I think it's meant to be broken."

He looks a little disappointed. "Well, now. That doesn't sound like you. What happens to America if we change things around here?"

"We… Mind control an entire country, which is something I'd rather avoid doing."

He frowns. "Is that how it works?"

"This place is a representation of the American psyche, right?"

"Ah."

"Now, the influence is probably two-way at this point, so we can probably justify some improvements, but I don't want to root-and-branch the whole place."
OK, I have to disagree with this, on account of bad logic.

If they change things and it 'mind controls' people, any resulting mind control would be of the exact same magnitude as they are currently being mind controlled by the place existing as it is in its current form. They are not installing a new brainwashing machine.

If he is worried about the connection between the place and the populace after changes are made for the better, he should be more worried about the connection between the place and the populace when it is currently a shithole ruled and made in the image of the embodiment of political corruption. Because people are already inclined to be horrible.

I don't think any positive changes would last; human nature to turn it back into a shithole by degrees eventually, but the current negative status quo could very well be contributing to a degenerative feedback loop, Tomorrowland style. Feeding mankinds worst impulses back into themselves.
 
Dear John (part 16)
7th November 2012
Roughly 10:20 GMT -5


I stop, then turn back towards him.

"Why not? I mean, it's right there, and that much blood can't be healthy."

"Do you think it's coming from John Constanteen?"

"Ah, no, but-. Ah, it's pronounced 'Constantine'."

"Okay, Constantine. You know he's not in there, don't you?"

"Yes?"

"And Uncle Sam probably isn't either?"

"Probably not. If he'd lost that much blood I think he'd be dead. Eagle?"

"Oh yeah, dead. He can take a licking but he's only got the same amount of blood as a normal person."

"Right. And that Smiler guy isn't either. This place…" He turns his head to look at the city, then raises it slightly to try and see beyond it. "It's some sort of American nightmare, but it was here yesterday and it'll probably be here tomorrow. Maybe it would be better to stay on-task."

"Yeeeeaaah but… It's just, that can't be a good sign, right?"

"Probably not. But the way I see it, there's always going to be a worst thing about a place, and we can't change history. If we can't risk fixing the whole place then it's best to just keep going." He give me a sly smile. "Besides, don't you wanna give Smiley a blacker eye for getting you killed?"

"My death was temporary. The damage he's doing to the psyche of the human species is ongoing." I glance at the torch, but he's right. That's not of primary importance right now.

Wait a moment.

"Doctor Mist called you in, didn't he?"

"You just repainted the Statue of Liberty, Paul."

"I cleaned it! The green colour was from the rust!"

"And that's why the Justice League has a Paul Protocol."

I throw my arms up in delight! "YES!"

Alan frowns, puzzled. "Ah… I don't think I understand what you're so happy about."

"How many people can say that the Justice League have a plan specifically to deal with them?"

"A.. few dozen..? Mostly bad guys?"

I nod, still smiling. "Exactly. Washington DC next?"

"I…" Alan considers for a moment, then nods. "Can't hurt."

"Eagle? Vulture? Any anti-air weapons along the way we should worry about?"

The eagle shrugs. "I don't know. I make a point of not coming here."

"There's a metaphor about people with different points of view not talking to each other, there. Vulture?"

The vulture nods. "Washington is defended by the entire Military Industrial Complex. Weapon emplacements as far as the eye can see. Let me know when you get into range, so I can hop off and get first dibs on your remains."

Alan nods. "How about if we come in from above?"

"You could, but you'd have to avoid the Star Wars Defence Platforms."

"Underground?"

"Putrid worms. They're pretty common in Washington. They hide underground so that no one can see-."

"Yes, thank you, I worked that one out."

Alan nods. "So how do we get in there?"

The vulture ruffles her feathers. "Be a vulture? They don't bother me."

"Could we sneak in?"

"I don't know. I've never tried." … "Because I'm a vulture."

"Okay, well I don't feel like trying to fight some sort of magic reflection of America's military power. How about you?"

The eagle shakes its head. "No. Do you think we could inspire them to side with the real America?"

An interesting question, and one I started wondering about when I read The Ultimates. Skrulls infiltrate the Pentagon and give one set of orders to the American military. Then Captain America gets on the radio and asks for backup, and he's the one they choose to obey. A bit Great Manny, maybe, but it showed people doing what they thought was right rather than what they were supposed to. But…

"I don't think that's how things work here. But I suppose that we won't know until we get a closer look. If we fly that way slowly we should get some warning before we reach their cordon."

Alan nods. "Alright. South west, or along the coast?"

"Given how big the American navy is, I'd have thought that directly west and then directly south would be best."

"Over New York?"

Ah… "Vulture, how high up do you have to be before the Star Wars Defence Platform starts shooting?"

"I'm a black vulture, not a fried chicken."

Alan and I look at each other, then we both raise construct shields over the group, the eagle immediately jumping off his perch and awkwardly hovering in the exact centre of the shielded area.

And then we're off, the streets of Evil New York passing beneath us. They're like… Every idea of what grim and decaying tenements would look like, but taller and built along narrower streets and… I think the roof is bigger than the ground floor?

Alan's head jerks around as he spots something. "Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"Someone was trying to climb out of that.. window, and it kinda… Swallowed them back up."

"Vulture, are there any real people here?"

"I think of myself as a real person, yes."

"Material people, or are they all manifestations of the American psyche?"

"I think it's just you. But I haven't looked everywhere."

"Which means that's probably a living metaphor for… Poverty? Violent communities? So if as a general policy we're not touching anything we don't have to…"

"Yeah. It's just… Seeing folks in need and not stepping in…"

"Not the heroic thing to do, I know. But like you said…"

"Yeah. I kinda wanna have it out with that Smiley guy, too."
 
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"And Uncle Sam probably isn't either?"

"Probably not. If he'd lost that much blood I think he'd be dead. Eagle?"

The guy is the embodiment of a nation, so blood loss may not impact him.

"Oh yeah, dead. He can take a licking but he's only got the same amount of blood as a normal person."

Or maybe it can.

and we can't change history.

Though Paul may try.

"And that's why the Justice League has a Paul Protocol."

I throw my arms up in delight! "YES!"

Happy that they're being proactive in dealing with chaotic cases?

"How many people can say that the Justice League have a plan specifically to deal with them?"

A few, but I doubt they're thrilled by it.

Skrull infiltrate the Pentagon

"Skrulls"
 
A interesting question, and one I started wondering about when I read The Ultimates. Skrull infiltrate the Pentagon and give one set of orders to the American military. Then Captain America gets on the radio and asks for backup, and he's the one they choose to obey. A bit Great Manny, maybe, but it showed people doing what they thought was right rather than what they were supposed to. But…
That should say 'An'.
 
Honesty whatever happened to having magical wards? Is the OCD spell that powerful?

His wards only stop him being spied on by mystical means.

If they deafeat Boss Smiley they will automatically fix a large section of this nightmare, but they will necessarily have to ignore a lot of fucked up shit.

A test for Alan's compassion and Paul's Super-OCD.
 
7th November 2012
Roughly 10:20 GMT -5


I stop, then turn back towards him.

"Why not? I mean, it's right there, and that much blood can't be healthy."

Stop making excuses for your curiosity, OL. You've got more important things to do. You can come back and play with the sprinkler later, once you've introduced the asshole-in-chief's tonsils to your shoe leather.

"Do you think it's coming from John Constanteen?"

"Ah, no, but-. Ah, it's pronounced 'Constantine."
There we go, distract him by mispronouncing words. Like handling a toddler with ADHD, sometimes. :rolleyes:

"Okay, Constantine. You know he's not in there, don't you?"

"Yes?"
Things would probably not be nearly so quiet if John were around.

"And Uncle Sam probably isn't either?"

"Probably not. If he'd lost that much blood I think he'd be dead. Eagle?"
Regeneration bedamned, even Wolverine would run dry in an... Hour or so?

"Oh yeah, dead. He can take a licking but he's only got the same amount of blood as a normal person."

"Right. And that Smiler guy isn't either. This place…" He turns his head to look at the city, then raises it slightly to try and see beyond it. "It's some sort of American nightmare, but it was here yesterday and it'll probably be here tomorrow. Maybe it would be better to stay on-task."
Good, mispronounce his name, use cutesy insulting nicknames. If even those let him hear you, then let him hear you making fun of him....

"Yeeeeaaah but… It's just, that can't be a good sign, right?"

"Probably not. But the way I see it, there's always going to be a worst thing about a place, and we can't change history. If we can't risk fixing the whole place then it's best to just keep going." He give me a sly smile. "Besides, don't you wanna give Smiley a blacker eye for getting you killed?"
Because he's already going to have a matching pair of shiners once they get their hands on him, of course... :p That yellow face might be black-and-blue by the time they get done.

"My death was temporary. The damage he's doing to the psyche of the human species is ongoing." I glance at the torch, but he's right. That's not of primary importance right now.

Wait a moment.
And now even OL realises how badly he's getting distracted. Finally!

"Doctor Mist called you in, didn't he?"

"You just repainted the Statue of Liberty, Paul."
Well, technically... Maybe if he applied an anti-corrosive coating after polishing it back to original standard...

"I cleaned it! The green colour was from the rust!"

"And that's why the Justice League has a Paul Protocol."
And this may be the first time anyone's mentioned such a thing to his face. :D

I throw my arms up in delight! "YES!"

Alan frowns, puzzled. "Ah… I don't think I understand what you're so happy about."
Oh, come on. Don't you ever get a little thrill when bad guys turn and cry your name when they see your glow come up behind them?

"How many people can say that the Justice League have a plan specifically to deal with them?"

"A.. few dozen..? Mostly bad guys?"
Though for a great many of them, it comes down to 'disable exotic defences, punch in face - righteously.'

I nod, still smiling. "Exactly. Washington DC next?"

"I…" Alan considers for a moment, then nods. "Can't hurt."
I can't help thinking he feels like he just got played.

"Eagle? Vulture? Any anti-air weapons along the way we should worry about?"

The eagle shrugs. "I don't know. I make a point of not coming here."
I wouldn't be surprised to find out their version of the Pentagon is a giant death fortress...

"There's a metaphor about people with different points of view not talking to each other, there. Vulture?"

The vulture nods. "Washington is defended by the entire Military Industrial Complex. Weapon emplacements as far as the eye can see. Let me know when you get into range, so I can hop off and get first dibs on your remains."
You assume there's going to be anything bigger than ash once they get done shooting?

Alan nods. "How about if we come in from above?"

"You could, but you'd have to avoid the Star Wars Defence Platforms."
Because of course they have a working version. :p That probably consists of space fighters and guys with laser swords, because rule of funny.

"Underground?"

"Putrid worms. They're pretty common in Washington. They hide underground so that no one can see-."
Are they purple? :p Or is it a case of Red vs Blue?

"Yes, thank you, I worked that one out."

Alan nods. "So how do we get in there?"
No doubt Invisibility and Phasing won't work. The Grinning Bastard probably has protections against that.

The vulture ruffles her feathers. "Be a vulture? They don't bother me."

"Could we sneak in?"
...Maybe using giant construct vulture shells? :confused: ...It could work.


"I don't know. I've never tried." … "Because I'm a vulture."

"Okay, well I don't feel like trying to fight some sort of magic reflection of America's military power. How about you?"
And now I'm picturing giant GI Joes running around with laser-shooting M4s yelling propaganda slogans... Because rule of funny.

The eagle shakes its head. "No. Do you think we could inspire them to side with the real America?"

A interesting question, and one I started wondering about when I read The Ultimates. Skrull infiltrate the Pentagon and give one set of orders to the American military. Then Captain America gets on the radio and asks for backup, and he's the one they choose to obey. A bit Great Manny, maybe, but it showed people doing what they thought was right rather than what they were supposed to. But…
Hey, when America's Ass tells you to do something, you do it. :p

"I don't think that's how things work here. But I suppose that we won't know until we get a closer look. If we fly that way slowly we should get some warning before we reach their cordon."

Alan nods. "Alright. South west, or along the coast?"
Well, do you want to be dodging Navy flight patrols? Which I am now picturing as pulling stunts like every jet-fighter action movie of the 80's, because, you guessed it, rule of funny. Rule of Three, baby!

"Given how big the American navy is, I'd have thought that directly west and then directly south would be best."

"Over New York?"
Especially since this Big Apple is rotten to the core...

Ah… "Vulture, how high up do you have to be before the Star Wars Defence Platform starts shooting?"

"I'm a black vulture, not a fried chicken."
Vulture not known for setting altitude records, after all.

Alan and I look at each other, then we both raise construct shields over the group, the eagle immediately jumping off his perch and awkwardly hovering in the exact centre of the shielded area.

And then we're off, the streets of Evil New York passing beneath us. They're like… Every idea of what grim and decaying tenements would look like, but taller and built along narrower streets and… I think the roof is bigger than the ground floor?
Because why let physical laws get in the way of malign architecture.

Alan's head jerks around as he spots something. "Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"Someone was trying to climb out of that.. window, and it kinda… Swallowed them back up."
Probably a stand-in for the downtrodden masses.

"Vulture, are there any real people here?"

"I think of myself as a real person, yes."
Not what they meant, and you know it, Gordon.

"Material people, or are they all manifestations of the American psyche?"

"I think it's just you. But I haven't looked everywhere."
Because why put any effort in? Magic can handle the hard part of finding corpses for you to loom over and pick at.

"Which means that's probably a living metaphor for… Poverty? Violent communities? So if as a general policy we're not touching anything we don't have to…"

"Yeah. It's just… Seeing folks in need and not stepping in…"
Focus, Alan. Focus on grabbing that Yellow-headed Asshole in a big construct hand and putting your boot to his ass repeatedly. That'll do more to clean this place up than anything else you could do.

"Not the heroic thing to do, I know. But like you said…"

"Yeah. I kinda wanna have it out with that Smiley guy, too."
That's the ticket.

And so the road trip continues! With any luck, the Smiling Ponce will be so overconfident that he basically ignores them. And who knows, perhaps they'll find allies out there. Maybe they'll come across the real Uncle Sam, trapped in his worst nightmare, or meet a certain wanderer wearing a red sweater with a Presidential seal... But whatever happens, I'm sure it'll be fun to watch.
 
And that's why the Justice League has a Paul Protocol."

I throw my arms up in delight! "YES!"

Alan frowns, puzzled. "Ah… I don't think I understand what you're so happy about."

"How many people can say that the Justice League have a plan specifically to deal with them?"
I completely understand.
 
I can't help but feel LePaul is playing into Smiley's hands given if Smiley really wanted him dead he could just snap LePaul out of existence now that he's here.
 
I doubt it. There are other powers at work that oppose Smiley, one of which is the embodiment of greed her self.

I would think a bigger issue is that it would be off theme for Smiley.

Smiley is Political Corruption, or at least as close it doesn't make no never mind.

Smiting is antithetical, he doesn't get his hands dirty, he has other people do his dirty work.

With conceptual powers, that ought to be important.
 
"And that's why the Justice League has a Paul Protocol."

I throw my arms up in delight! "YES!"

Alan frowns, puzzled. "Ah… I don't think I understand what you're so happy about."

"How many people can say that the Justice League have a plan specifically to deal with them?"

"A.. few dozen..? Mostly bad guys?"

I nod, still smiling. "Exactly.
"Think about it. For them, those plans revolve around how to directly disable or counter their abilities, along with any potential plots they may have in motion. Whereas short of a situation similar to when I was fused with the Ophidian, any plan to deal with me is likely going to be a lot less 'punch-to-face' in the end. So it's either going to be a good exercise in lateral thinking, or attempting to direct me to situations that would be a more effective use of my efforts."
 
Honestly at this rate and especially since we're going to go see the Military Industrial Complex, I'm half expecting Senator Armstrong to show up.

latest
 
A thought... The DC military industrial complex has created some things the real world version hasn't. Like weapons intended to counter supervillains (and superheroes). And Major Force. And depending on how much of it was a Lex Luthor pet project and how much was government funded or intended for government end customers, arguably Kon and Match. Spiritual representations of the worst aspects and interpretations of the military industrial complex could well include created super people that could be quite nasty.
 
A while back Paul showed he could greedy-port out of the underworld. While he has a physical pathway in and out of there on paradise island, he demo'ed he couldn't properly transition when he first went down there because the local physics were wonky.

So if that place is realm apart from reality, and he can pop in and out, I guess he might have a shot doing it from the heartlands or heartless-lands here. I just don't know if you'd want to poke a hole into the plane of greed in the middle of the american subconscious.

Now that we're poking the....hmm... I guess olympus was described as a 'region of earths thamosphere formatted by the greek gods' so I guess the heartlands are formatted by american minds. So what's defining the interactions between them and reality....not just in the 'you smack a conceptual link here and somewhere in 'merica a flag falls over' but the interactions with each other.

So....earth has it's little magical bubble....picture that as a huge ocean....now you have on that ocean islands of stability around big concepts. Related concepts are closer to each other and easier to get from one to the other, (freedom eagle here was afraid that the japanese gods were infecting america with cat girls and other things enough to bridge the gab between their 'island' of faith and his own).

Honestly it's like magic is the Bleed, but in miniature. Instead of whole universes in a multiverse, you get pocket realities in one universe.
 
"You just repainted the Statue of Liberty, Paul."

"I cleaned it! The green colour was from the rust!"

"And that's why the Justice League has a Paul Protocol."

Admittedly I wonder what the people in charge of restoration/preservation would think. Huh, I can imagine a few art restorers desperately trying to get into contact with Paul now.

"How many people can say that the Justice League have a plan specifically to deal with them?"

It really is flattering! Especially since the plan isn't one for taking him down necessarily, any hero worth their salt has a 'take down another hero if they get mind controlled etc' plan.

Material people, or are they all manifestations of the American psyche?"

"I think it's just you. But I haven't looked everywhere."

"Which means that's probably a living metaphor for… Poverty? Violent communities? So if as a general policy we're not touching anything we don't have to…"

"Yeah. It's just… Seeing folks in need and not stepping in…"

"Not the heroic thing to do, I know. But like you said…"

Yeah, that's gotta sting. Superheroes tend to suck and handling powerlessness.

A thought- wasn't Alan a CEO of a broadcasting company? Would that have impact?
 

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