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

Bramble Thorn · Sep 27, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"Grandma decided that… Ah…"

"Themyscira isn't doing Christmas after what happened last year."

What happened last year?

Mr Zoat said:
M'gann got fed up with him always taking console duty on Christmas."

Feels like this story has been around forever IRL, but that doesn't mean its been going on that long in setting.

Not sure if M'gann has been around for enough Christmases on Earth to complain about his 'always' taking Console duty on the holiday. Looking at the 1st post, there have been a grand total of three. Including the current/upcoming one.

(I try and remember in setting anniversaries by the special April Fools Day episodes, and we've only had Ambush Big and My Little Pony.)

Old Knife · Sep 27, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"You're wondering about this? I once made a bio-computer to try and work out what to do about Sprout. But I didn't know much about magic. Doctor Isley helped me design this. Thinking is far easier, now. I know I should keep my head down. Don't worry about it. Merry Christmas."

Ah he's finally thinking like the Treant he is. Long term.

Vaermina · Sep 27, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"You're wondering about this? I once made a bio-computer to try and work out what to do about Sprout. But I didn't know much about magic. Doctor Isley helped me design this. Thinking is far easier, now. I know I should keep my head down. Don't worry about it. Merry Christmas."

I nod, and

vanish.

That's probably not a good thing given it means someone could use that as a way to control Swamp Thing...

Chojin Patriarch · Sep 27, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
24th December 2012
10:13 GMT +3

"Forum wrangled?"

Kon nods, glancing down towards it from the edge of the palace plaza. "Eventually. Grandma's meeting up with a guy from the State Department to… Start the process of writing up a treaty."

Aw, the whole thing was sorted out off-screen? Or is it going to take place sometime in the new year, perhaps? I can't imagine the young man can get away from family obligations at this time of year.

Heck, I hadn't even noticed the date in-universe...

I frown. "I thought they already had one."

"Yeah, but you know it was written for Mom and the occasional visitor."

...Rather than the possible parade of man-seeking Amazons. And while they aren't on Wonder Woman's level of power, some of them are very skilled fighters.

I shrug. "Sure, numbers are up, but it's not exactly a flood of Amazons."

"I dunno then. They wanted a meeting, and Grandma thought it was a good idea."

Ah, someone's got a bug up their butt about possible espionage, then...

"Is this..? After the presidential handover, or before? Horne's still in charge until next year, but I doubt a career bureaucrat is going to enact the old boss's policy when the new boss might just reverse it."

"I guess. But it's like you said; Themyscira's not that big. I guess there's a lot of stuff that the President doesn't need to get personally involved in."

And being the homeland of a Justice League founder may give them a little leverage.

"Yes. Though it would be a nice way for Horne to finish his term."

Kon frowns. "Is Knight being President going to change anything?"

Like, existing deals, that kind of thing?

"It might be slightly easier to improve American defence policy. And he gave the impression that he plans on spreading taxpayer cash around the place, so if you've got any investments it would be a good time to review them."

"I mean, about Themyscira. Or Brazil, or Atlantis."

Ah. Okay, that is a good point. I can see him being pressed to be 'more pro-active about the safety of the American People' or something like that...

"I don't think so. Brazil, maybe. He made a few noises about thinking that Horne didn't deal with Swamp Thing's attack on Gotham particularly well."

That was how his fairly mild statement was portrayed, anyway. And that's something that he understands and that I've noticed Horne doesn't. But Horne can retire knowing that he did an okay job in trying times, which is all most of us can hope for.

Let's hope all goes well, then. Especially if there's any shadowy cabals looking for an avenue of control...

Kon smiles. "I guess as long as he's not planning on attacking any more cities it shouldn't be a problem."

We look at each other for a moment.

...Eh, at worst, he might be planning on an interplanetary road-trip. Who knows?

"I'll check today." / "You should probably-."

Kon smiles, nodding. "How come he isn't in Brazil?"

Kind of surprised the Parliament of Trees isn't buzzing in his ears about it. Then again, they're expanding the Green after years of deforestation.

"Because he likes Louisiana. Or.. because he thinks that Euanthe and Doctor Isley have it covered. I don't know."

"So, what are you doing for Christmas?"

...I'd still be a little worried what they're getting up to. Especially after that whole 'make all plants on Earth burn demons...' plan.

"Jade couldn't get the time off work, so Alan, Guy and me are flying to the Reach periphery to spend the day there. Her whole squad's going to try eating traditional Earth food, so I'm.. packing extra sick bags. Paula's spending it with the Allen family. You?"

"Grandma decided that… Ah…"

Heh. I can't wait to see how they react to some of the things Humans eat.

"Themyscira isn't doing Christmas after what happened last year."

"Yeah. So Mom and me are going to spend it with M'gann and Mister J'onzz. M'gann got fed up with him always taking console duty on Christmas."

It's not like Mars does have an equivalent holiday, is it? So I can understand any awkwardness.

"So who's on duty?"

"Doctor Mist and Red Rocket. Kinda surprised, but apparently Red Rocket doesn't celebrate Christmas."

Ah, not a follower of the Eastern Orthodoxy, huh? Understandable...

"The Soviet Union used to take atheism seriously. And I guess that being posted to Siberia meant that he's used to not getting home all that often. Oh."

I take his present out of subspace and hand it over.

Yes, be a bit awkward to forget that in the middle of all this.

"Happy Christmas. Oh, and-"

An orange shimmer.

"-this one's for Wolf."

Heh. Let me guess: A chew toy rated for a Danner-enhanced canine?

I can't imagine sticks or bones lasting long in those jaws.

"Thanks! I've-" He crouches down and pulls a wrapped box out of his satchel. "-got yours here."

Hm. Cube, about five centimetres along each side. No sound when I rattle it-.

Oooh, a puzzle box, I bet.

"You gonna open it?"

"No, of course not. Christmas day is tomorrow, that would-."

Nor are you going to scan it, just for a peek? Impressive self-restraint.

Kon looks a little guilty as the paper falls off my present to him.

"Though naturally, Themyscira has different customs."

Heh, what's a little messing around between friends?

"A.. book? In kryptonese. Ah… Collection, before Vrang, stories? Kryptonian folk tales?"

"The Daxamites weren't using it."

Good practice for reading the written language. Can't rely on translations all the time.

He looks a little awkward. "Did you steal this?"

"As I understand the Daxamite religion, they consider owning information on pre-exodus society as heresy. So no, because it's-"

So, it's honestly lucky they didn't burn it or something.

He smiles, shaking his head.

"-legally unowned."

Yes, do keep telling yourself that... Packrat.

"Thanks. I'll tell them that when they come and arrest me."

"No, Kon. You say 'I've never seen this before, but some really suspicious Orange guy was hanging around here earlier'."

Though, to be fair, the likelihood of them coming looking for it is infinitesimally small.

"Yeah, I'll do that. Have a great Christmas with the Reach."

He hesitates, but I walk towards him instead and we embrace.

Yeah, not getting out of a hug that easily, O Prince.

"I'll see you when I get back. Have fun with M'gann."

I

step out, homing in on the odd feeling of Swamp Thing's emotions before

I bet that's a fascinating experience. What do the wants of someone so utterly divorced from the human experience feel like?

appearing in Louisiana.

24th December 2012
02:17 GMT -5

"Merry Ch-."

Hopefully you're not bursting in in the middle of something... Intimate between him and his wife...

He's sitting amongst a series of plants I don't recognise, vines running from them to his spinal area. It's dark, but the area is dimly illuminated with bioluminescent plants.

"Christmas, Swamp Thing."

Oooh, has someone been working on a biological internet connection?

"Hello, Orange Lantern. What brings you here?"

That was a surprisingly normal couple of sentences.

I bet he even sounds more human, rather than his usual sepulchral groan...

"President Elect Knight made noises about being unhappy about Gotham. I thought that I'd check in with you just in case you had other problems you were getting annoyed about."

"No, I'm fine, Tefé is fine, and so is Abigail. Thank you for checking."

"We're all fine here, thank you... How are you?"

"Um."

"You're wondering about this? I once made a bio-computer to try and work out what to do about Sprout. But I didn't know much about magic. Doctor Isley helped me design this. Thinking is far easier, now. I know I should keep my head down. Don't worry about it. Merry Christmas."

Hopefully he won't go doing anything else irrational, like the aforementioned road-trip. Assuming he hasn't already taken it years ago...

I nod, and

vanish.

...Yeah, that's about the best reaction you could take in this. Smile, nod, and back away to a safe distance.

Well, a pleasant little bit of catching up with old friends. And a surprising turn on the part of Swamp Thing. The joy of the story focusing almost solely on OL's point of view, I guess: Things come right out of left-field sometimes. In the meantime, I suppose we get a bit of fun and games involving the Lanterns tomorrow. And while I doubt the 'Christmas' thing will catch on amongst their friends, it's still an excuse to party.

Dur'id the Druid · Sep 27, 2022

Wow. I'm suddenly remembering Orson Scott Card's later Ender books, where they discovered a method of FTL by growing special trees groves at a planet, and those acted as beacons and processors for directly jumping near any planet with such a grove. There was also an truce with the formic queens at the time that also made true FTL possible, and necessary as they used their psychic abilities and near hive-mind to link everything together to form and direct FTL jumps. And yes, that all makes more sense as you read the series, not my one paragraph of a complicated series of events that lead to that point.

Wonder what a Swamp Thing with bio-computers can do.

Ngamer11 · Sep 27, 2022

Bramble Thorn said:
What happened last year?

The Silver City attacked.

Dur'id the Druid said:
Wonder what a Swamp Thing with bio-computers can do.

Since he said he got help from Pamela Isley, and that he didn't actually know magic before, it might be more accurate to call it a magic bio-computer.

NightmareWarden · Sep 27, 2022

Wait a second. Paula still hasn't left Earth before, has she? What a spoilsport! She is missing a chance to take cheesy holiday photos of Jade with her coworkers! To learn about entirely different cultures! To hit on one of Jade's friends! Oh well, hopefully Artemis will visit sometime in the future…

DAT_NOOB · Sep 27, 2022

Bramble Thorn said:
What happened last year?

Paul insulted capital G God on Christmas, and the silver city (heaven) objected. (Themysciran PoV)

Or you could put it as Paul convinced an angel to abandon his duty and seek guidance regarding his orders and the silver city objected to it.

Either way, they responded in a culturally Greek god way, so IDK why Themyscira is worried about it.

Windona · Sep 27, 2022

DAT_NOOB said:
Paul insulted capital G God on Christmas, and the silver city (heaven) objected. (Themysciran PoV)

Or you could put it as Paul convinced an angel to abandon his duty and seek guidance regarding his orders and the silver city objected to it.

Either way, they responded in a culturally Greek god way, so IDK why Themyscira is worried about it.

Perhaps because of the whole 'IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE REPENT' and Themyscira might have learned a thing or two about how Christianity became such a globally massive religion. They might put in their treaty a rule against allowing missionaries to the island, and even then it would be a tempting target.

Coda · Sep 27, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
President Elect

President-Elect

Mr Zoat said:
But it's like you said; Themyscira's not that big.

Strictly speaking, this should be a comma instead of a semicolon. This isn't grammatically wrong, but the second part describes "like you said" as an additional detail instead of just being a related-but-independent statement. (Yeah, I know, it's not entirely obvious.)

Duke Long · Sep 27, 2022

Windona said:
Perhaps because of the whole 'IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE REPENT' and Themyscira might have learned a thing or two about how Christianity became such a globally massive religion. They might put in their treaty a rule against allowing missionaries to the island, and even then it would be a tempting target.

They might ban missionaries for being annoying, but I don't see why they'd be a threat to the Amazons. They're extremely unlikely to summon angels or whatever, and they're even less likely to convert an Amazon. Also, they'd probably want to ban Islamic and Jewish missionaries too (do Jews do that stuff?) since they're all worshipping the same thing in this universe.

Windona · Sep 27, 2022

Duke Long said:
They might ban missionaries for being annoying, but I don't see why they'd be a threat to the Amazons. They're extremely unlikely to summon angels or whatever, and they're even less likely to convert an Amazon. Also, they'd probably want to ban Islamic and Jewish missionaries too (do Jews do that stuff?) since they're all worshipping the same thing in this universe.

Judaism is an ethnoreligion/closed one. Famously it takes a lot of work to convert. And Judaism is interesting in that it's more about law than faith, as devout Jews can be atheist.

Missionaries have done infamous things to get banned, or tried to do stuff like try to proselytize to an uncontested tribe risking infecting them with disease they have no resistance towards, or disseminating really racist stuff on a Reservation. It could easily cause an Incident if a missionary went to Themescyra. Though given the Helenist proselytizing happening, there could be other reasons for conflict.

Mr Zoat · Sep 27, 2022

Coda said:
President-Elect

Thank you, corrected.

Strictly speaking, this should be a comma instead of a semicolon. This isn't grammatically wrong, but the second part describes "like you said" as an additional detail instead of just being a related-but-independent statement. (Yeah, I know, it's not entirely obvious.)

I'm... Just going to change it. Otherwise I'd have to try and understand what you just wrote.

Mr Zoat · Sep 28, 2022

25th December 2012
13:47 GMT -7

I grin as I jog alongside Sarah, hands prepared to catch her if she somehow manages to overbalance on her new bicycle. Beside me, Luna in pony mode canters alongside Clare as she does the same.

"You know, this reminds me of-"

Sarah wobbles and I'm this close to grabbing her before I remember that she has stabilisers and they're fine, it's fine.

"-when I got my first bike."

"Oh? Do they make them that large?"

"No, no, this was on Earth-. Steer, honeybun, steer!"

She turns the handlebars too far and the bike stops, nearly causing her to tumble over.

As soon as she's stable, she looks up at me in protest.

"Daaaddyyyy! Not meant to do that!"

"Then why did you do it?" I reach down and turn the steering column to a more conservative angle. "Turn it a little bit. You need to keep practicing until you learn how to do it right, then you can keep up with Maeve."

"Wanna keep up with Bethany."

"That will take longer, but I'm sure that you'll get there if you work hard at it. Now, off you go!"

She sets her shoulders with an expression of comedic seriousness on her face and pushes her right leg down, pedalling down the trail. I had the g-gnomes come by earlier to clear off the snow because Colorado, but the surrounding landscape is near-pristine white.

Clare actually stopped to wait for her sister, and Luna looks at me expectantly as we return to our place alongside them.

"On Earth Prime. My sister and I got them the same Christmas, and we cycled around the concrete area of our back garden. Until a moment's inattention from my Granddad resulted in me cycling into a rose bush."

"I somehow doubt that the rose bush came off the better."

"Come on, Luna. You know I didn't look like this on Earth Prime. It actually hurt, and I was moving too slowly to cause the bush any harm in retaliation."

"Didst you revenge yourself 'pon it later?"

"No, it's a bush. Or, was. I outlived it." I frown. "Can't remember if it died before the pond got put in or if it was dug up to make way for the pond, but it definitely wasn't a going concern when I left."

I sigh at the recollection.

"The nettles were-"

"You have a call, Lantern Grayven."

"-worse. Who is it?"

"Director Armstrong."

"Ah. Your superior." Luna cocks her head to the side as she smirks at me. "Perhaps she is contacting you to wish you a merry Christmas."

"She's.. not that thoughtful. I'm.. sorry, can you look after Sarah for a moment?"

Her horn glows as a thin band of midnight blue appears around Sarah's waist.

"Thank you." I stop walking and raise my right hand to the side of my head. "Answer."

"Grayven, what the hell's going on in Atlantis?"

Sinestro, location?

The Department of Metahuman Affairs building in Washington DC.

"Katarina, are you working on Christmas day?"

"America's enemies don't rest, so neither do I."

"That sounds like a good way to have a heart attack in your forties. Look, do you want to do this in person? Colorado's beautiful at this time of year. You could do some sightseeing. Join us for tea."

"Did you know about Arion?!"

I look around as Sunset animates a snowman to chase around a group of local children, to their screaming delight.

"Can you be more specific? I've been having the g-dwarves go through-."

"Don't insult my intelligence, Grayven. That he's in Poseidonis right now."

"You've got sources in Poseidonis? Oh, well done! That can't have been easy."

"Start sharing information or I have your children denied diplomatic status and your pet horse barred from the US."

Oh, she's doing a Jonah Jameson and I'm about to get fired. But she's by and large doing a good job. So I don't point out that I can have her fired and get her job. I don't make the observation that I knew a fortnight ago and she clearly didn't because if she had then she'd have had a go at me about it then.

"A colleague of mine mentioned something about that. So far I'm just observing and waiting."

"You're supposed to pass information like that on to the DMA! It's in your God-damned contract!"

"One moment."

"Don't you dare hang up on me."

"No, I just need to check my contract, because as far as I'm aware the wording-."

"He's the US's Most Wanted. He murdered US service personnel and your Un-Men friends."

"Yees, I kn-."

"And as such, your job is to kill or capture him."

"My job is to improve human civilisation. And right now, my contacts are trying to decipher what King Orin is playing at. Once I know, and know for a fact that we're not going to blunder into the middle of an ongoing operation against an extremely dangerous magician, I will apprise you and inform you what -if any- further assistance I require. Of course, if you want to handle it differently then you are at liberty to do so. Now, it's Christmas day. If there's nothing else, then-."

"You want to carry on teaching your kids to ride bikes."

Hm.

Yes, obviously that was supposed to be a low-grade implication-of-threat, but being fair about it I know what she does every moment of the day. I know who she has monitoring Rifle and none of them are outside the normal psychological profile for that sort of work. Most would abduct or murder my children if they were ordered to do so, but none of them would do it for fun. Nifty thing about having Sam in charge of superhuman defence is that he doesn't believe in free will subversion. Not having to worry about Manchurian Candidate-style attackers is a weight off my mind.

"Certainly. Good exercise, and gets them out of the house. Plus, it gets Luna out and about. Hanging around Canterlot Palace the whole time was doing a number on her haunches."

From about half a mile away Luna's head swivels so that she can glare at me. Luna, I happen to know that the reason why Celestia stopped wearing her golden battle armour is that it doesn't fit any more, a piece of information Sunset shared with me for reasons entirely separate from her ongoing Celestia-related emotional tornado.

"So, anything else?"

I hear the beep as she disconnects.

"Merry Christmas. Hope you liked the pet rock."

Lazurman · Sep 28, 2022

Is she trying to die?

Lord Ernest · Sep 28, 2022

This lady really likes to poke and prod the dragon, even after it gave her a key to the hoard and told her to play with the coins if she wants. That is not a chip on the shoulder, that's the whole freaking tree!

Nervaqus987 · Sep 28, 2022

Lazurman said:
Is she trying to die?

In the comics, she fake ordered a nuclear strike on US soil so that when Amanda Waller would try and stop it, she'd be acting against US interests and so Armstrong could have her arrested.

That is the level of galaxy brain in action here.

Her doing something that she thinks will make Renegade obey her only for him to pull her apart like a wishbone is not a matter of if, only when.

Handlewithcare · Sep 28, 2022

Wow. This lady needs a How-Not-To-Die-By-Suppervillain course run by Waller.

And when Waller is the less confrontational option, well...

Sceptic · Sep 28, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"Merry Christmas. Hope you liked the pet rock."

He got her a pet rock? I'm not sure she's the type to be able to look after even that low maintenance a pet.

Chojin Patriarch · Sep 28, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
25th December 2012
13:47 GMT -7

I grin as I jog alongside Sarah, hands prepared to catch her if she somehow manages to overbalance on her new bicycle. Beside me, Luna in pony mode canters alongside Clare as she does the same.

Aww, that's adorable. I bet they'll be tooling around on those new bikes for days to come, riding them everywhere they can, because it's a new thing to do. No doubt the older kids have had their laughs at the littles being so awed by it...

"You know, this reminds me of-"

Sarah wobbles and I'm this close to grabbing her before I remember that she has stabilisers and they're fine, it's fine.

Never underestimate a child's ability to get into trouble, though. I bet they're feeling very confident with Daddy and his pretty pony princess keeping them safe.

"-when I got my first bike."

"Oh? Do they make them that large?"

Ha! The joy of being eight feet tall and four feet wide.

"No, no, this was on Earth-. Steer, honeybun, steer!"

She turns the handlebars too far and the bike stops, nearly causing her to tumble over.

Ah, yes, the old mistake. Kids never do anything by halves...

As soon as she's stable, she looks up at me in protest.

"Daaaddyyyy! Not meant to do that!"

...And of course she's blaming the bike for messing up.

"Then why did you do it?" I reach down and turn the steering column to a more conservative angle. "Turn it a little bit. You need to keep practicing until you learn how to do it right, then you can keep up with Maeve."

"Wanna keep up with Bethany."

Guessing she's tooling around on a mountain bike at high speeds... Though given that they're somewhat tougher than the norm, crashing isn't as big a risk, is it?

"That will take longer, but I'm sure that you'll get there if you work hard at it. Now, off you go!"

She sets her shoulders with an expression of comedic seriousness on her face and pushes her right leg down, pedalling down the trail. I had the g-nomes come by earlier to clear off the snow because Colorado, but the surrounding landscape is near-pristine white.

At least she'll have a soft landing when she has her first crash. Better than say, a concrete gutter and rough asphalt.

That was not a fun day for me.

Clare actually stopped to wait for her sister, and Luna looks at me expectantly as we return to our place alongside them

"On Earth Prime. My sister and I got them the same Christmas, and we cycled around the concrete area of our back garden. Until a moment's inattention from my Granddad resulted in me cycling into a rose bush."

...Ow.

Okay, that might have me beat.

"I somehow doubt that the rose bush came off the better."

"Come on, Luna. You know I didn't look like this on Earth Prime. It actually hurt, and I was moving too slowly to cause the bush any harm in retaliation."

Sounds like a prickly situation...

"Didst you revenge yourself 'pon it later?"

"No, it's a bush. Or, was. I outlived it." I frown. "Can't remember if it died before the pond got put in or if it was dug up to make way for the pond, but it definitely wasn't a going concern when I left."

Either way, it's woodchips and you're still around.

I sigh at the recollection.

"The nettles were-"

"You have a call, Lantern Grayven."

Let's hope it's just a well-wisher...

"-worse. Who is it?"

"Director Armstrong."

...Well, damn. Here's trouble.

"Ah. Your superior." Luna cocks her head to the side as she smirks at me. "Perhaps she is contacting you to wish you a merry Christmas."

"She's.. not that thoughtful. I'm.. sorry, can you look after Sarah for a moment?"

Let me guess, Anderson's totally the 'evil never rests, so neither will I' type?

Her horn glows as a thin band of midnight blue appears around Sarah's waist.

"Thank you." I stop walking and raise my right hand to the side of my head. "Answer."

Now, will he take the chance to troll a little for interrupting his private time, or is this an emergency?

"Grayven, what the hell's going on in Atlantis?"

Sinestro, location?

Nothing bad, other than an arsehole hanging around. If there were trouble, I would assume Clea would have called.

The Department of Metahuman Affairs building in Washington DC.

"Katarina, are you working on Christmas day?"

...There are a few words for people like that. 'Workaholic' is one of the nicer ones.

"America's enemies don't rest, so neither do I."

"That sounds like a good way to have a heart attack in your forties. Look, do you want to do this in person? Colorado's beautiful at this time of year. You could do some sightseeing. Join us for tea."

Forties? Good luck lasting that long, if her reputation is anything to go by.

"Did you know about Arion?!"

I look around as Sunset animates a snowman to chase around a group of local children, to their screaming delight.

Heh. They'll probably remember this as their best Christmas ever... Until the next one, anyway.

"Can you be more specific? I've been having the g-dwarves go through-."

"Don't insult my intelligence, Grayven. That he's in Poseidonis right now."

Is he wrecking shit right now? No? Then it's being handled.

"You've got sources in Poseidonis? Oh, well done! That can't have been easy."

"Start sharing information or I have your children denied diplomatic status and your pet horse barred from the US."

...That is impressive. I'm guessing Atlanteans with sympathies towards America, rather than some kind of sleeper agent.

Oh, she's doing a Jonah Jameson and I'm about to get fired. But she's by and large doing a good job. So I don't point out that I can have her fired and get her job. I don't make the observation that I knew a fortnight ago and she clearly didn't because if she had then she'd have had a go at me about it then.

"A colleague of mine mentioned something about that. So far I'm just observing and waiting."

Yeah, I doubt her voice would get any more pleasant when she starts shrieking imprecations at him...

"You're supposed to pass information like that on to the DMA! It's in your God-damned contract!"

"One moment."

"Don't you dare hang up on me."

Perhaps a reminder who's in charge of who around here?

"No, I just need to check my contract, because as far as I'm aware the wording-."

"He's the US's Most Wanted. He murdered US service personnel and your Un-Men friends."

...And his vengeance will be swift and painful. But the time is not right, I'm guessing.

"Yees, I kn-."

"And as such, your job is to kill or capture him."

She's not even remotely curious as to what Arion is doing there? Or does she simply assume 'he stops existing, anything he planned will too'?

"My job is to improve human civilisation. And right now, my contacts are trying to decipher what King Orin is playing at. Once I know, and know for a fact that we're not going to blunder into the middle of an ongoing operation against an extremely dangerous magician, I will apprise you and inform you what -if any- further assistance I require. Of course, if you want to handle if differently then you are at liberty to do so. Now, it's Christmas day. If there's nothing else, then-."

Very strategic of the Renegade. Aquaman might be running a long con, letting Arion dig himself a deeper hole... Or he might be controlled himself. Either way, better to know beforehand before steaming in like a game of Rainbow Six: Siege with complete idiots...

"You want carry on teaching your kids to ride bikes."

Hm.

...Okay, that's crossing the line, lady. I know you're a paranoid lunatic with little restraint, but maybe telling the ~~man~~ New God who would pop your head off with two fingers you're watching him and his kids might be a little much?

Yes, obviously that was supposed to be a low-grade implication-of-threat, but being fair about it I know what she does every moment of the day. I know who she has monitoring Rifle and none of them are outside the normal psychological profile for that sort of work. Most would abduct or murder my children if they were ordered to do so, but none of them would do it for fun. Nifty thing about having Sam in charge of superhuman defence is that he doesn't believe in free will subversion. Not having to worry about Manchurian Candidate-style attackers is a weight off my mind.

Plus the implicit threat of what he might do if his family were threatened, much less harmed, is a good deterrent.

"Certainly. Good exercise, and gets them out of the house. Plus, it gets Luna out and about. Hanging around Canterlot Palace the whole time was doing a number on her haunches."

From about half a mile away Luna's head swivels so that she can glare at me. Luna, I happen to know that the reason why Celestia stopped wearing her golden battle armour is that it doesn't fit any more, a piece of information Sunset shared with me for reason entirely separate from her ongoing Celestia-related emotional tornado.

...That's some good hearing. I certainly doubt the Renegade was talking that loud...

"So, anything else?"

I hear the beep as she disconnects.

"Merry Christmas. Hope you liked the pet rock."

Gee, I can't imagine why she's in such a grumpy mood. Then again, I doubt his gift was any kind of contributing factor...

Heh. A nice fluffy moment of family bonding, with a crunchy filling of plot. And a good reason for the Renegade to not be steaming into Poseidonis, all guns blazing, to take Arion's head. After all, if the old sorcerer has the people under control, they'd be obliged to defend him. And I doubt he's willing to commit that sort of atrocity to take Arion's head. Besides, teaching his little girls how to ride bikes is more fun.

Pinklestia · Sep 28, 2022

Let me guess, the pet rock ran away?

Stsword · Sep 28, 2022

Armstrong is so obnoxious that when the Birds of Prey showed up en masse to strike, Lady Shiva was there.

So Miss "Blue and Orange Morality lady who kills martial arts masters for fun" heard what a psycho-bitch she was and showed up to lend her support for not putting up with her anymore.

Which was surprising.

"Who called Shiva? Seriously, who called Shiva?"

Khornelius · Sep 28, 2022

Nervaqus987 said:
In the comics, she fake ordered a nuclear strike on US soil so that when Amanda Waller would try and stop it, she'd be acting against US interests and so Armstrong could have her arrested.

That is the level of galaxy brain in action here.

i don't know the context of this plan to judge it appropriately. But it sounds like your using sarcasm here.

A nuclear strike on US land seems unwarranted and should be stopped at all cost. Her plan is basically using an under cover cop to bust a drug deal. But in this case, she's faking extreme circumstances and is trying implicate someone for a manufacturer crime. It doesn't sound like it would hold up in court to me. Now if JLU has taught me anything it's that Waller shouldn't be antagonized.

Old Knife · Sep 28, 2022

...She's on a powertrip. I hope she realizes how badly its going to get.

Masked Menace · Sep 28, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
. Nifty thing about having Sam in charge of superhuman defence is that he doesn't believe in free will subversion. Not having to worry about Manchurian Candidate-style attackers is a weight off my mind

Which Sam does he mean here? Because if he means Uncle Sam then isn't he being impersonated by his evil twin right now?

DAT_NOOB · Sep 28, 2022

Masked Menace said:
Which Sam does he mean here? Because if he means Uncle Sam then isn't he being impersonated by his evil twin right now?

I think he means Sam Lane?

TodaBruh · Sep 28, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"Merry Christmas. Hope you liked the pet rock."

Tfw your subordinate is more bossy than you are. Kinda weird how comfortable she is threatening a guy who could past her any moment, anywhere, with a single thought. Talk about dead self-preservation instincts.

Pinklestia · Sep 28, 2022

Masked Menace said:
Which Sam does he mean here? Because if he means Uncle Sam then isn't he being impersonated by his evil twin right now?

Sam Lane, Lois Lane father.

Uncle Sam can't directly work for the USA government due to technically not being a person.

Bud-E · Sep 28, 2022

Why is Aquaman giving Arion sanctuary? Does Arion have some leverage over him?

jasonh23761 · Sep 28, 2022

.....I strongly prefer Waller to Armstrong.

Never thought I'd actually want The Wall anywhere near power outside of the apocalypse but there we are.

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