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That should say 'too'."Bloody convenient if they could. Because there was an investigation going on, wasn't there. After a few to many prisoners in for minor offences got their brains mangled by your suppression system."
Interesting. Wonder if it's anyone known in the comics? At any rate, making sure there's no ticking time bombs is definitely a good idea. Even if the Dominators never expected Earth to come for their stolen people, I wouldn't be surprised if there were things put in them to prevent any rebellious ideas.21st November 2012
15:02 GMT -5
I watch out of the window of the secure detainment facility's office as a woman is embraced by her tearful family after a fifteen year absence. Parents and sisters, in this case, people who had long since assumed that they'd never see her again. She has a relatively minor superhuman pyromantic ability that resulted in her getting abducted by the dominators when their snatch squads went through the local version of Gotham. She's not being let go yet; unlike most of the people we recovered she isn't being kept for fear that she'll return to a life of crime but rather because she hasn't finished going through 'decontamination' yet. That will involve checking her for implants, mind control effects and genetic alterations, as well as providing her with therapy and…
Yeah, that's not an insignificant amount of time. Teenagers would be approaching their mid-thirties, and older folks would be hitting middle age. Some of them might have kids they've never met who are now in their teens...And working out how to integrate people back into society after a fifteen year gap.
"What do you plan to do with the former prisoners?"
Well, at least they recognise that things can't have been pleasant for the taken. By comparison, prison with hard labour would have been a holiday camp, I bet. Let me guess, though: 'Get with the program' is a euphemism for 'sign up with the JSI'?"Depends on what they were in prison for." Commander Scott is looking like his old self, though I've noticed that he's occasionally touching his ring in a way that he wasn't before. "Everyone who's served their sentence is being treated like a civilian. Everyone who was served more than fifteen years… I think a little leniency is in order, if they get with the program."
I nod.
Oh, really? If you were in that position, would you want your rescuers to just leave you stuck in a power-dampening machine?"And Mister Rice?"
Interceptor snorts. "We should leave him as he is."
Probably doesn't trust himself to hold back. Even if his relationship to Todd 'Obsidian' Rice isn't public knowledge, the man is officially a criminal...Commander Scott doesn't show any particular emotion. I give him a moment to respond, but… Nothing. Alright then.
"Might I ask 'why'?"
Even in the wonderful realm of DC Comics, huh? Except for the rare few how are undiagnosed telepaths, or learn to turn it into a superpower somehow... And even then, that's not 'curing' them..."Do you know what the cure rate for schizophrenia is?"
"As far as I know, it doesn't get cured. Sufferers learn to cope with it, usually assisted counselling and psychoactive drugs."
...OL, I don't think it'll be a method that most people would willingly make use of..."Yeah. Because schizophrenia is the result of the human brain not making the right levels of neurotransmitters. It's not something you can fix with injections. You can't even reliably suppress it with drug injections, just reduce the impact. We've managed to properly cure a handful of people using cybernetics-."
"That's great! Can I-? Would you mind giving me a copy of your records before we leave?"
...Seriously, OL? What about quality of life? Then again, Maltusian tech could make the cybernetics much safer...Interceptor frowns. "We had to take their brains out of their skulls and wire them into a pharmacy. It's a functional solution, but it's not exactly something you can apply to a whole population."
"It's still an option, and it's better than nothing."
...What's the bet they discover how to turn them into Purple Death Rays inside a year?Commander Scott nods. "We can share medical technology if you don't mind reciprocating."
"Right, you don't have purple healing rays, do you."
How has that been going, by the way. Any pushback from medical unions or the like?I take one of my spares out of subspace and deposit on the meeting table, along with full documentation.
"We're still doing testing prior to mass implementation, but there haven't been any problems so far."
Quite useful for a superheroic army, really. Especially for those who aren't bullet-proof.Commander Scott looks at it for a moment. "That's very kind of you. What does it 'heal'?"
"Any organic damage. It won't completely regrow missing parts, but anything short of that will knit back together."
...Well, that's a very nice sentiment, but...Interceptor's posture relaxes slightly, though she still has a stern expression.
"My point is that we can't cure his schizophrenia. Given how his physiology works, we can't use cybernetics, and give how powerful he is, we can't risk depending on drugs or therapy. It makes more sense to use him as a perfect power suppressor system at the new Slab than it does to try turning him back."
Heh, a nice bit of Skywalker snark there.Whaw.
I agree with everything she just said, but completely disagree with her conclusion.
And if he can learn to do the 'power blackout' thing on demand, well...There are magic means to treat mental illnesses, though none of them are reliable either. Given the risk he poses and the crimes he's already committed, it isn't right to risk the lives of everyone on the planet by letting him out. And he is more reliably contained at the moment than the JSI could do with the resources at their disposal.
"Still, I think it's worth the risk. The dominators will have backup up their research, and right now he's the only superhuman that you know it won't effect." I look towards Commander Scott. "You said that his reports said he was getting better. Does he present a threat?"
To be fair, I suspect Commander Scott's gauge is just a little biased towards the former than the latter..."He didn't, before he was a prisoner of the Dominion for fifteen years."
"But you're talking about turning a person into an accessory. We had that in my parallel, when someone turned a telepath called Doctor Cizko into an intelligence suppressing machine. It doesn't inspire confidence in people. There's a difference between 'this person is a clear and present danger' and 'this person's brain is a useful paperweight'."
And just distract the people with some bread and circuses, will you? Toss a bit more 'two minutes of Hate' aimed at the Dominators and they'll cheer you on?Interceptor shrugs. "Then we don't tell people. It's not like most people bother finding out what our actual rules of engagement are. If we turn up with a new power suppressor, no one's going to think anything of it."
I blink.
...You knew he was there the whole time, didn't you, OL?"This is what I sound like to other people, isn't it?"
"Yeah mate." John Constantine plops himself down in the chair next to me. "It is."
...I suspect the Black Diamond would be very securely contained, so no?Interceptor blinks. "How did-?"
"Wizard. Amazing where I can get, especially when people are all looking the other way. And I've been getting all sorts of places. Listening. Learning." He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a smooth black stone. "Know what this is?"
And John's got an anti-Lantern Construct spell now? I see he's been dredging Quinn's memories for a few new tricks."The Blackrock." Commander Scott generates construct manacles and tries to clamp tem around John, only for the construct to decay into static before it reach him. "Don't even think about using that."
"Using it? No. Not my style. But it's a dead useful tool. Did you know that it records every single electromagnetic transmission on Earth? Has done ever since Silverstone created it."
...Welp. And I had high hopes that things were better than they seemed.John leans forward, resting his chin on his hands.
"Funny how different the version of your chat with the dominators it recorded was compared to the version that got released to the public. You want to explain that, Commander?"
Letting himself dig his grave a little deeper, Commander? Bad move, but then, you've never met a Constantine, have you.Commander Scott's eyes narrow slightly.
"I don't know what you think you've found out from the tool of a well known supervillain, but if you think it's important then you might as well tell us."
...And I'm guessing there was quite a few. JSI seems very much an 'If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem' kind of organisation.John lifts is head off his hands, and glares Commander Scott with genuine anger in his eyes.
"You sold them out. The Slab, Basement One Oh One, all those other places I never heard of until I heard you tell them about them. Every JSI-run prison, you handed the lot off to the Dominion."
Ah... Sort of a 'they weren't exactly making themself useful' kind of reaction, eh?Interceptor huffs. "We don't keep the locations of our prisons secret, Wizard. The dominators were in orbit. I'm sure they could work out what was in the buildings with 'JSI PRISON KEEP OUT' written on the side on their own."
"Bloody convenient if they could. Because there was an investigation going on, wasn't there. After a few to many prisoners in for minor offences got their brains mangled by your suppression system."
...A once-over with a little side-eye towards 'correcting' some inconvenient memories?Commander Scott glares back. "That's enough."
"Which got shut down right afterwards. Investigating the people keeping the world safe at a time like that? Just not done. Plus all the evidence was on the other side of the galaxy. Do any of the ones we got back know, or is Brainwave going to give them a one-over first?"
Oh, you'll happily use a sentient being as a power suppressor, but tossing some super-criminals to the dogs is too much? Someone has skewed sensibilities..."No. We handed them over because it was best for Earth."
Interceptor's face falls, and she looks at Commander Scott in horror.
Everyone who has served more than fifteen years…
...usually assisted by counselling and psychoactive drugs."
The dominators will have backups of their research...
...and tries to clamp them around John...
John lifts his head off his hands...
As far as I understood it, the Dominators basically had the Earth under siege without the Earth being able to really do anything about. If the JSI had to throw supervillains under the bus to end the siege, who the fuck cares? Like, seriously, should they have just let the Dominators keep attacking without the means to retaliate? Cutting a deal was the sensible move.
Wait, Interceptor is surprised by this? She doesn't exactly strike me as a naïve idealist.
I can already hear the fascist counter; 'at least the trains ran on time'.I get it, in a utilitarian kind of way. Handing over Earth incorrigibles to the Dominators. It was probably one of the things that made them leave, getting test subjects. Plus it gave Earth a rallying base 'Remember the Lost', and all that. The JSI seem to have made a more orderly world in the meantime. But then again, so did the Justice Lords.
He can but that can only work when he cares about the person he's working on and it's nowhere near a practical solutions that could be applied on larger scale, I think he's only done so once. Also seems like he did, it seems that Green Laterns are rarely good fathers.Why is Paul so enthused about their pseudo-cure for shizophrenics? Can't he rewrite brain chemistry with his ring? Or can't like a dozen other super-scientists on his paralel?
Also, we now know why they were so keen on killing Dominators.
Also also...did Scott sell out his own son?
Interceptor seems to have a simplistic view of the world, I think it might be less that she's found her inner humanitarian rather than she's had her image of Commander Scott tarnished somewhat. He's likely been portrayed as the greatest protector of humanity against the Dominion and now he's found to have actually negotiated and given away humans to the enemy.Oh, you'll happily use a sentient being as a power suppressor, but tossing some super-criminals to the dogs is too much? Someone has skewed sensibilities...
If this mission pushes Paul to take a good hard look at his current philosophy and reconsider where it might take him. It's a good one. Hopefully we see a bigger Justice League but one without fascistic overtones.
Eh. I would say you're worse."This is what I sound like to other people, isn't it?"
"Yeah mate." John Constantine plops himself down in the chair next to me. "It is
It's a matter of scale, and the fact that they used it as a rallying cry for fifteen years.Wait, Interceptor is surprised by this? She doesn't exactly strike me as a naïve idealist.
The SI doesn't know the source.
Thank you, corrected.
He doesn't know enough about neurology to only change the bits he needs to change.
Well...
Not quite, but still wrong.
Thank you, corrected....usually assisted by counselling and psychoactive drugs."
The dominators will have backups of their research...
...and tries to clamp them around John...
John lifts his head off his hands...
When this is all said and done this is the moment Paul added +1 to his Supergirl collection, isn't it.Interceptor's face falls, and she looks at Commander Scott in horror.
And, yeah, why is Interceptor horrified? She just described using Obsidian as a power suppressor system because the guy is unfortunately sick; she's on the same wavelength as her Commander.
Is everyone who ever paid a ransom because someone else had a gun, and was pointing it at peoples heads?There's a teeny, tiny, difference between "this supervillian we can't cure was stuck in this machine by evil aliens and he's too dangerous to take out of it, we might as well make use of him" and "the world's greatest hero willingly handed over thousands of prisoners to an alien invasion force as tribute and then claimed they were abducted".
The coverup may be what Interceptor is most upset about. She's (arguably) a fascist, but she's an honest fascist (and now I'm imagining her having a conversation with Overgirl, and having another horrifying revelation).
I think they were going in without her first to make sure that the locals were OK with her going back, or something like that, so she's still on Earth-16p.On one hand we don't know why he did these things in the first place.
On the other hand... Wait a minute. Where is demon supergirl?
Having more options lets you choose the most humane method, and refine the others.Why is Paul so enthused about their pseudo-cure for shizophrenics? Can't he rewrite brain chemistry with his ring? Or can't like a dozen other super-scientists on his paralel?
Themyscira, Reformation Island. They wanted to check the destination before they took her back.
I wouldn't call her a fascist. The JSI doesn't control the economy, and there's no 'enemy within'.The coverup may be what Interceptor is most upset about. She's (arguably) a fascist, but she's an honest fascist (and now I'm imagining her having a conversation with Overgirl, and having another horrifying revelation).
"Depends on what they were in prison for." Commander Scott is looking like his old self, though I've noticed that he's occasionally touching his ring in a way that he wasn't before
Everyone who was sentenced to more than fifteen years… I think a little leniency is in order, if they get with the program."
Interceptor shrugs. "Then we don't tell people. It's not like most people bother finding out what our actual rules of engagement are. If we turn up with a new power suppressor, no one's going to think anything of it."
I blink.
"This is what I sound like to other people, isn't it?"
"Wizard. Amazing where I can get, especially when people are all looking the other way
way. And I've been getting all sorts of places. Listening. Learning
Thank you, corrected.
Wait, Interceptor is surprised by this? She doesn't exactly strike me as a naïve idealist.
And, yeah, why is Interceptor horrified? She just described using Obsidian as a power suppressor system because the guy is unfortunately sick; she's on the same wavelength as her Commander
Although now I'm curious why John is springing this confrontation now, what is it in aid of
Why is Paul so enthused about their pseudo-cure for shizophrenics? Can't he rewrite brain chemistry with his ring
I can already hear the fascist counter; 'at least the trains ran on time
OL, I don't think it'll be a method that most people would willingly make use of...
What's the bet they discover how to turn them into Purple Death Rays inside a year?
How has that been going, by the way. Any pushback from medical unions or the like?
And John's got an anti-Lantern Construct spell now? I see he's been dredging Quinn's memories for a few new tricks.
Oh, you'll happily use a sentient being as a power suppressor, but tossing some super-criminals to the dogs is too much? Someone has skewed sensibilitie
Well, this has taken a turn for the grim-dark, hasn't it? To be fair, I kind of expected it, given the source material held this reality up as 'wrong' due to the lack of the Big Three. I suppose this is why. What's the bet John's cottoned on to the spell that erased them from this history, and is about to tug on a loose thread or two? He's certainly got the power to manage it, if nothing else
This should be oranged.
As far as I understood it, the Dominators basically had the Earth under siege without the Earth being able to really do anything about. If the JSI had to throw supervillains under the bus to end the siege, who the fuck cares? Like, seriously, should they have just let the Dominators keep attacking without the means to retaliate? Cutting a deal was the sensible move.
Did Commander Scott offer the prisoners so the Dominators would stop attacking earth as a sort of trade agreement? Cause if so what about the non-criminal Metas were they captured before or after the deal was made?