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

Chojin Patriarch · Dec 13, 2022

(Delayed somewhat by a storm-induced blackout down my way...)

Mr Zoat said:
Earth 534834

8th February 1992
10:28 GMT -6

"Now, okay,-"

There's a whum sound as the steel girder flies past me-

Ah, Lantern and Magneto? There's an interesting combination of characters. Though I expect Magnus' tolerance of non-mutant supers isn't much higher than his tolerance of regular humans. Which is amusing, given the times he's appeared in other heroes' shows...

"-I can see-"

-and a screech as it twists and doubles back, attempting to envelop me. I drop down beneath it, creating a bat construct and knocking it for six.

The fun of dealing with someone who has an almost instinctive control of their power, and a very large radius of effect.

"-that you're not pleased-"

Shots of rebar come flying at me next, and I briefly consider that maybe I shouldn't have mentioned railguns last time we met. He just seemed so put out that Professor Xavier hadn't turned up that I thought it might… Jolly him up a little.

...Rail Guns.

It's your own fault, Lantern.

"-to see me, but-."

From behind is full face helmet which now includes a gas mask, Erik Lehnsherr glares at me.

Ha! I bet he made that change after said previous encounter with Lantern.

"I will do to you what your forebears once did to the Neanderthals."

…

Okay, have you ever actually read a history book more modern than, say, 1960, Maggie?

That-. Agh! Okay, he distracted me enough that he managed a glancing hit. Guess he hasn't quite got the hang of aiming with his new technique yet.

"Look, I'm sure you're a smashing bloke, but unless your mutation covers a lot more than magnetism that just isn't possible."

And he's pulled some crazy applications of that out of his ass before. So it's not unbelievable.

"The extermination of man will not be a swift endeavour, but it will come. History is on our side."

Hang on, I'm in the nineties. Even with all the advanced technology that didn't exist in my nineties, do they not-?

Hell, Doctor Doom has a goddamn Time Machine. If he wasn't so focused on stroking his ego and messing with Richards!!, just imagine how he could contribute to historical studies.

"The modern European man is descended from the interbreeding of Neanderthalis and Sapiens. We've both got Neanderthalis genes in us." I smile. "And… While you're a… Perfectly presentable man… For you age… I'm seeing-"

I shoot upwards in the air to evade a large sheet of scrap metal that zooms past me.

Which is quite a bit younger-looking than his canonical age of... 65-ish? 75 or so? Mutants age damn well.

"-someone? Ah, Anne-Marie? Rogue? With the green and yellow bodysui-?"

"I remember."

I nod, grinning. "Pretty memorable, isn't it?"

That it is.

Let's not speak about the romantic teasing between Magneto and Rogue in the comics...

He stops attacking, moving his projectiles into an orbit around both me and him. "If a handful of genes are all that remains of their people, then there is little difference between this and utter extermination. If you marry Rogue, then in all likelihood your children will be mutants."

"Could well be. Honestly, I like the idea of my children having superpowers. Sure, some things -like Anne-Marie's power- can create… Problems, but I'm sure that we can work through it. Pax?"

Honestly, that seems like a fun way to conquer humanity. Fuck super-powered punch fights. Just swan around all smoking hot in that skin-tight spandex and watch the men and women drool...

"What does Charles want with me?"

"An open, honest and peaceful exchange of views, leading to an agreement concerning the utility and legitimacy of violence in the civil rights struggle and the opening of an ongoing channel of communication."

Wouldn't that be a butterfly? Xavier and Magneto working together again.

"And he sent you?"

"No, I'm here for completely different reasons. He doesn't-. I mean, he could be tracking us on Cerebro or something, but I didn't tell him."

Not unless he's added a search mode for 'exotic emotional energy signatures' to Cerebro's sensors.

Except that Cerebro is designed to find x-gene mutants and Mr. Lensherr's helmet protects him against that sort of thing. Which.. means that he doesn't know where we are. That wasn't clever of me.

"Then why are you here?"

Honestly, if you got into more trouble than you could handle, it's not all that hard to leave. Not much can pin a Lantern down when they want to go somewhere...

"Did you see the adverts for Genosha?" I think he nods. The helmet makes it a little hard to tell. "Long story short, it was a trap to lure in people with super powers there for them to enslave." Several pieces of metal crumple. "Not sure if it would have worked, because I don't think other countries would tolerate them doing that to their citizens, but the X-Men dealt with it anyway. So there are a lot of mutants who don't really have anywhere else to go on the island, and… I was just wondering if you wanted to take a look at the place? See if you can make separate but equal work? There's a bit of a leadership vacuum at the moment."

And as noted before, it wouldn't be the first time he's ruled Genosha, or made a safe homeland for mutant-kind. Though all those occurrences never seem to end well. Either he fouls it up by being all Super-Villainy about it, or someone else ends up doing it.

"A homeland for mutants. I had considered the idea before."

"Ah… More a place of refuge for people with the x-gene in places where they're being oppressed. I mean… I know that having a homeland for Jews hasn't exactly encouraged peace and good will since World War Two, but-."

Old politics... But that's mostly because the European powers and America stuck their beak into the Middle East again.

And we all know how well that always goes...

"Given that Senator Kelly intends to place all mutants in America in internment camps should he win the next presidential election, we may need it sooner than later."

"You.. do realise that even if he gets elected, he wouldn't have the authority to do that, right? It would be completely unconstitutional. Whether people with the x-gene are treated like other people with super powers or as a new species of human, there's no legal grounds-."

Now see, there's an issue with that.

Mostly 'writers can't get politics right...' But in this universe, there's bound to be all manner of antagonising factors...

"You will find that means very little when people are afraid."

I smile. "Good show! As a British person, I thoroughly look forward to seeing Americans take up arms against a tyrannous government that isn't mine."

Hey, they only did that once...

Didn't they? ...Oh, right.

"You would fight your own kind?"

"Sometimes, in the face of evil, you have to plead the second. The United States has a constitution that guarantees its citizens certain consideration. If that's ignored, then there's no reason for the citizens to take any notice of any of the laws empowering the people who violate it. And this time I'm not letting the Canadians have all the fun."

To be fair, it probably was a hell of a time... A young nation still trying to find its footing, while swinging its big stick trying to establish an international reputation... Of course someone's gonna take exception that that.

"Then why not deal with him before the election?"

"Because at the moment all he's done is be a mouthy git, and that's not worth killing someone over. Even if he tries to pass those laws, I'm not going to condemn the whole system unless it actually gets approved."

Free speech, after all. You can say what you like, but that doesn't stop someone else from having their say in response.

Though if they do it violently, well...

"And when it does?"

"They can take Anne-Marie to an interment camp over my cold dead body. Ah, before we drown in negativity, I… Did have something else I wanted to talk to you about."

Lucky Magneto had calmed down. If his ring had blinked off like that during the initial exchange of greetings...

"What is it?"

"It's… It's a bit awkward. I… None of my friends are married. In fact, the only person I've exchanged more than a few sentences with who even.. was-."

Sadly, the super-hero community of the Marvel universe isn't as interconnected as the DC universe is.

"Are you-? Coming to me for marital advice?"

"You have three children. Presumably, you did something right."

...Technically, four. But the one you're not counting is probably something of a sore spot for Maggie, even today...

The floating pieces of metal stop.

"Three-. What are you talking about? I only have one child, and I sired her for the purpose of creating a strong mutant. My relationship with her mother was purely transactional."

Not that that's stopped the comics flip-flopping on that fact for decades...

What? Does he not-?

Oh, sugar. I guess… That hasn't happened yet. As far as I know, neither Pietro nor Wander Maximoff were ever members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, so-. Oh, he didn't know.

...Let's hope he doesn't come on too strong when he goes looking for them. Especially Wanda, if she's working with Tony Stark right now...

"Ah. Congratulations?"

"How could you possibly know-?"

Ah, if only he'd coined his catchphrase here. Say it with me: 'Power Rings are awesome.'

"The ring can scan genes. I don't even need a blood sample. Ah. I didn't-. I've no idea what Magda Lensherr's genes look like, but there are two mutants in Europe who have half your DNA. Sorry, I didn't realise that you didn't know."

He considers that for several moments.

Ah, so Wanda hasn't joined Force Works yet. (And what is with that name? Seriously, 90's...)

"How old are they?"

"About twenty?"

A bit older than they were in the comics when Magneto met them, if I remember right... It wasn't really declared outright, after all...

"That would-." Pieces of metal start dropping out of the air as distraction takes hold. "If-."

He turns away, waving his right arm.

Heh. Bit of a mood, learning you have kids you didn't know about out there...

"Leave me. I must consider what you have said."

Well. Cheaper than Mr. Creed, at least.

To be fair, you won't know if he'll stay bought until the wedding...

What a juxtaposition between plotlines. OL getting embroiled in messy diplomatic stuff... While Lantern here is trying to navigate the minefield of super-heroic romance.

And honestly, I don't know which I prefer more. Lantern's probably causing more butterflies than anyone could predict, though... I shudder to imagine what Cable is thinking.

From behind is full face helmet...

From behind his full face helmet...

Perfectly presentable man… For you age… I'm seeing-"

Perfectly presentable man… For your age… I'm seeing-"

Oglymogly · Dec 13, 2022

I am enjoying this story line, thank you for the update!

Bud-E · Dec 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
From behind is full face helmet which now includes a gas mask, Erik Lehnsherr glares at me.

I'm guessing this Paul used some type of sleeping gas last time he met Mags.

BR549 · Dec 13, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
I shudder to imagine what Cable is thinking.

I suspect this is a good representation of Cable right...about...now.

Doccer · Dec 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"You will find that means very little when people are afraid."

Good thing the Senator has such a big scary mutant that kills people for reasons he dislikes and he can point to to keep his constituents paralyzed with fear isn't it? I mean can you imagine how far he would get if he didn't have you Maggie?

Bud-E · Dec 13, 2022

Is the sublime a thing in this reality? I don't think it was a thing in Wolverine and the X-Men either, but Zoat could be doing his own thing.

Mr Zoat · Dec 13, 2022

Citizen said:
Wanda, I presume?

Chojin Patriarch said:
From behind his full face helmet...
Perfectly presentable man… For your age… I'm seeing-"

Thank you, corrected.

I shudder to imagine what Cable is thinking.

Cable is mostly puzzled. He found out on canon Genosha that what he thought he knew about history wasn't completely correct, and at the moment nothing huge has happened.

Doccer said:
Good thing the Senator has such a big scary mutant that kills people for reasons he dislikes and he can point to to keep his constituents paralyzed with fear isn't it? I mean can you imagine how far he would get if he didn't have you Maggie?

No, he thought that anyway.

Darko · Dec 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Not sure if it would have worked, because I don't think other countries would tolerate them doing that to their citizens,

You'd be surprised what people from the Marvel universe can tolerate.

Mr Zoat said:
and… I was just wondering if you wanted to take a look at the place? See if you can make separate but equal work?

That's not going to be problematic.

No siree.

Mr Zoat said:
"You.. do realise that even if he gets elected, he wouldn't have the authority to do that, right? It would be completely unconstitutional. Whether people with the x-gene are treated like other people with super powers or as a new species of human, there's no legal grounds

That hasn't stopped people and governments from the Marvel universe from doing it before.

Mr Zoat said:
You will find that means very little when people are afraid.

Sad but true.

Also true in the real world.

Darko · Dec 13, 2022

PrinceJonathan said:
I said this once, I'll say it again. This dude made Asteroid M without anyone noticing. Why couldn't he just use it as a launching point to colonize the rest of the Solar System? Form a sort of underground railroad to get mutants off Earth, and then send them to Mars and call it Planet M. Leave Earth and its constant conflict with normal humans behind.

Let humanity fight and squabble over a ball of dirt all they want while Magneto and the rest of his mutants conquer the stars. By the time humanity gets its collective shit together and steps out onto the galactic stage, they won't even be able to find a place at the table because mutants got there first and humanity is considered a laughing stock.

Magneto has two motivations for his life.

See mutants survive and prosper, and killing all humans for revenge.

True, what you proposed would see mutants prosper and allow him to get his revengeon humanity by denying them the universe.

However the revenge he wants is a bit more visceral and bloody.

Bloodalchemy said:
Magneto: but that would mean I can't kill innocent people to pay for the sins of a few idiots.

Also this.

Darko · Dec 13, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
Though I expect Magnus' tolerance of non-mutant supers isn't much higher than his tolerance of regular humans. Which is amusing, given the times he's appeared in other heroes' shows...

Heck, it may actually be worse since he could think they're trying to copy mutants.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Okay, have you ever actually read a history book more modern than, say, 1960, Maggie?

To be fair, a lot of people may think that.

Plus, it does make for a cool line.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Which is quite a bit younger-looking than his canonical age of... 65-ish? 75 or so? Mutants age damn well.

Not to mention he's probably been rejuvenated a few times.

ForeverShogo · Dec 13, 2022

Taking all the mutants and fucking off into space . . . I mean, it's an idea. Albeit an idea that implicitly declares equality and civil rights and all that other stuff is completely useless and the real answer was apparently segregation all along.

But that's okay. Marvel basically came to the same conclusion with shit like Krakoa.

Though they had a fun bit where it's being claimed that in every single timeline the mutants inevitably lose to humanity. And not because of extermination, but because human technology just advances to the point that mutants become completely irrelevant.

"Who cares if one mutant awakens when we can freely create superhumans."

Advanced technologies including cybernetics and more AIs and the like allow humanity to just completely bypass the so-called "evolutionary future" people like Magneto never shut the fuck up about . . . And all mutants have to look forward to is being placed in a glorified zoo. Curiosities for the rest of humanity to look and laugh at for thinking that they were the future.

NightmareWarden · Dec 13, 2022

ForeverShogo said:
Taking all the mutants and fucking off into space . . . I mean, it's an idea. Albeit an idea that implicitly declares equality and civil rights and all that other stuff is completely useless and the real answer was apparently segregation all along.

But that's okay. Marvel basically came to the same conclusion with shit like Krakoa.

Though they had a fun bit where it's being claimed that in every single timeline the mutants inevitably lose to humanity. And not because of extermination, but because human technology just advances to the point that mutants become completely irrelevant.

"Who cares if one mutant awakens when we can freely create superhumans."

Advanced technologies including cybernetics and more AIs and the like allow humanity to just completely bypass the so-called "evolutionary future" people like Magneto never shut the fuck up about . . . And all mutants have to look forward to is being placed in a glorified zoo. Curiosities for the rest of humanity to look and laugh at for thinking that they were the future.

I was just about to have lunch! There goes my appetite.

megrisvernin · Dec 13, 2022

ForeverShogo said:
Taking all the mutants and fucking off into space . . . I mean, it's an idea. Albeit an idea that implicitly declares equality and civil rights and all that other stuff is completely useless and the real answer was apparently segregation all along.

I rather liked the idea of moving to Mars myself, but that would abandon the remaining mutants on earth.

Doccer · Dec 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
No, he thought that anyway.

Sentence confuses me...
Do you mean: Not that he thought if anyway.
With he meaning either the senator or Magneto?
Or: No, he thought if that already.
With he meaning either Magneto or more likely Paul and Paul had already used that argument?

Also what of the argument that humans, mutants or not, are already getting powers or inventing advance shit out the wazoo so more likely as a long as there are humans there will be mutants?
If the sentinels go Days of future past will Paul be using that as further proof of killing mutants as an asinine decision? Because all they're really doing is killing themselves?

Someguy Somewhere · Dec 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
And this time I'm not letting the Canadians have all the fun."

*cough*

BrotherofaStudio · Dec 13, 2022

What did Paul do to make Magneto THAT hostile I wonder? And the fact that Paul went to Magneto for marriage advice... Wow.

Mr Zoat · Dec 13, 2022

Doccer said:
Sentence confuses me...
Do you mean: Not that he thought if anyway.
With he meaning either the senator or Magneto?
Or: No, he thought if that already.
With he meaning either Magneto or more likely Paul and Paul had already used that argument?

The Senator thought that anyway.

Also what of the argument that humans, mutants or not, are already getting powers or inventing advance shit out the wazoo so more likely as a long as there are humans there will be mutants?

Yes, but that's a tiny number compared to the number of mutants.

If the sentinels go Days of future past will Paul be using that as further proof of killing mutants as an asinine decision? Because all they're really doing is killing themselves?

I like to think that he'd rise above that impulse.

_The_Bomb · Dec 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
In fact, the you're only person I've exchanged more than a few sentences with who even.. was

It took me a bit to figure out what he was trying to say without this word.

Coda · Dec 13, 2022

_The_Bomb said:
It took me a bit to figure out what he was trying to say without this word.

That's not a valid correction, and that's not what he was saying. He was saying that aside from Magneto there was only one other person he'd talked to at length who had been in that kind of relationship.

Wivk · Dec 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
The Senator thought that anyway.

This is true but i think the person originally brought up magneto and the brotherhood of evil mutants' existence validating this belief not because a single politician believes it but due to its ability to sway others to that position as well.

One nutjob screaming about the dangers of mutants doesn't do much to turn off logic with fear nationwide if he can't point to a large super powered international terrorist organization. So magneto and his team not giving the nightly news a new killing spree to show would help his cause more than assasinating elected officials.

Mr Zoat · Dec 13, 2022

_The_Bomb said:
It took me a bit to figure out what he was trying to say without this word.

Thank you, corrected.

Wivk said:
This is true but i think the person originally brought up magneto and the brotherhood of evil mutants' existence validating this belief not because a single politician believes it but due to its ability to sway others to that position as well.

One nutjob screaming about the dangers of mutants doesn't do much to turn off logic with fear nationwide if he can't point to a large super powered international terrorist organization. So magneto and his team not giving the nightly news a new killing spree to show would help his cause more than assasinating elected officials.

Mr. Lensherr only started doing that after the anti-mutant protests started. This isn't one bad politician starting a campaign, this is an opportunist politician connecting to the popular mood.

Duke Long · Dec 14, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
We need to find some minor gods no one will miss.

Wonder why this was black. Killing intent? Because I wouldn't think that Paragon would feel bad about killing some evil deities.

Mr Zoat said:
The SI doesn't actually like using that ability, because it's really in-your-face that you just super-murdered someone.

Shame. It's my favourite part of the powerset.

Mr Zoat said:
"Gravyen does not talk to his enemies. We reached his fleet ahead of our re-enforcements."

'reinforcements'?

Mr Zoat said:
I tape the case with my right forefinger.

'tap'

Mr Zoat said:
The ones that do fire at me chip away at my shield construct, but point defences are designed to do small amounts of highly accurate damage at my construct is merely mildly ablated.

'so my construct'?

Mr Zoat said:
"The modern European man is descended from the interbreeding of Neanderthalis and Sapiens. We've both got Neanderthalis genes in us." I smile. "And… While you're a… Perfectly presentable man… For your age… I'm seeing-"

If Paragon means to be using the Latin species name, it should be 'neanderthalensis', I think. Unless the name was different in the past? Also shouldn't be capitalised, I think, for both neanderthalensis and sapiens.

BR549 · Dec 14, 2022

Duke Long said:
Also shouldn't be capitalised, I think, for both neanderthalensis and sapiens.

Correct. Genera are capitalized; species and subspecies are not. Hence (for the latter, for instance) Homo sapiens sapiens is the correct formatting

(Also scientific names are always italicised).

Cuchulin · Dec 14, 2022

Mags doesn't seem to understand that a small number of Genes is all that separates Humans from Mutants, so they are genetically less separate from modern humans than Neanderthals.

Stsword · Dec 14, 2022

Cuchulin said:
Mags doesn't seem to understand that a small number of Genes is all that separates Humans from Mutants, so they are genetically less separate from modern humans than Neanderthals.

Considering mutates aren't considered separate from humans, it's actually a single gene difference.

The X-Gene is a single gene, on Earth-616 stated to be on the 23rd genome. The X-Men met mutants from another universe where the X-gene is on the 13th chromosome, though, so that's not a constant.

Which causes the body to produce a mutagenic enzyme, aka mutant growth hormone, which causes further mutated DNA, apparently tied into one's own biochemistry, hence mutations often being variations on a theme in families.

Using Magneto as an example- Lorna, also magnetic, Wanda, also an energy manipulator, and Quicksilver? His speed it turns out is energy based- He met a much faster future version of himself who was faster because he learned how to fuel his speed with the electromagnetism he inherited from Magneto.

That is until Wanda and Pietro were retconned in a way that makes no damn sense whatsoever.

One of Pietro's feats is using magnetism to break out of manacles. While his eyes glow with electromagnetic like Magneto's. So Pietro inherited magnetism powers from someone who isn't his father, uh huh....

Mr Zoat · Dec 14, 2022

Duke Long said:
'reinforcements'?
'tap'
'so my construct'?
If Paragon means to be using the Latin species name, it should be 'neanderthalensis', I think. Unless the name was different in the past? Also shouldn't be capitalised, I think, for both neanderthalensis and sapiens.

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · Dec 14, 2022

Earth 534834

8th February 1992
11:55 GMT -5

"Ah… Look… Buddy." The guard at the gate doesn't look unsympathetic, but he's also carrying an assault rifle and I've switched to normal clothing. "Even if there was someone by that name here, without some kind of authorisation I can't even let you make a phone call."

"Okay, so…" Um. "Okay, if I wrote a letter, would that get delivered, if it turned out that there was someone on the base by that name?"

"We check all the letters for explosives and chemicals, and anything that shows up gets destroyed."

"And I applaud your thoroughness, but if it's just pen and ink?"

"Oh, that'd go through. And even if the person it was addressed to wasn't on the base, we'd try and track 'em down so they get it."

He nods in a reassuring way, still smiling, still with his finger about a centimetre from the trigger of his rifle. Sure it wouldn't do anything to me, but it would be unnecessarily confrontational for me to set him off. And it might genuinely change popular opinion on people with super powers at a time when attitudes are… Under stress.

Now, I know perfectly well that Ms. Dane is on the base. I can literally see her in training with… A couple of people I vaguely remember from… Some Marvel comic I once read. Set after… M-Day, I think? Multiple Man threw himself of a building, and something about Layla McGuffin? Can't remember what the team was called, though it is interesting that even while the legislature and executive are pounding the table about 'unstable mutations', whatever part of the military-industrial complex is sponsoring this place is… Well, sponsoring this place.

"What if it was a matter of life and death? Or-. Nonono, not me, not me. Not me." He'd started to raise his gun slightly, though now he's just frowning. "I mean, if a person had particular information about a threat, and wished to relay it to a trusted party."

"Listen… You're not getting in. If you've got some sort of intelligence you wanna pass on, I can get you a number to call? But that stuff won't get dealt with here."

I sigh.

I could just fly in there. In testing anti-tank weapons would break my barrier, but even American military bases don't have those laying around the place ready to go. But… No.

"Alright. Thank you. Sorry for making your life unnecessarily diff-."

"What seems to be the problem here?"

A blonde man in fatigues walks up to the gate from inside the base. I don't recognise him, unlike Ms. Dane who like her boyfriend and fellow ex-X-Man Mr. Drake has pictures in various places in Professor Xavier's mansion.

The guard draws himself up. "Nothing to worry about, sir. The guy's just leaving."

He regards me for a moment, then recognition dawns. "Don't you usually glow orange?"

"It's not compulsory."

"I'm gunna need a little more than that. There's a mutant terrorist known as Mystique, and she's a shapeshifter. For all I know, you could be her."

"That's a fair point." I hold out my left hand, ring glowing. Then I float off the ground. "I don't believe that Ms. Darkhölme can replicate non-physical abilities?"

"That works. What did you want?"

"To speak with Ms. Lorna Dane. Current X-Man to former X-Man, concerning a matter which I believe concerns her."

"There a reason why you couldn't phone ahead?"

"There are elements of the United States government that are a bit down on people with the x-gene at the moment, and I didn't want to say anything that might be overheard."

"That shouldn't be a problem here. I'm a mutant myself."

"Would you mind if I verify that?"

He raises his right hand and… A field of golden plasma manifests around it.

I shake my head. "There are other ways to do that. Do you mind? The ring is perfectly capable of detecting the x-gene."

"Like a handheld Cerebro." He shrugs. "Go ahead."

Ring, show me his DNA. Ah, yes, that's the x-

Partial match found.

-gene-. Ah. Who?

Scott Summers. Most likely relationship: sibling.

I blink. Oh, sometimes you pull a thread and the whole world comes apart.

"I'm… Sorry, this is probably going to… Sound like it's coming out of nowhere, but… Is your name Alexander Summers?"

"It was. I changed it to Alex Blanding after I got adopted. Do you..? Know me?"

"I work with your brother." I find myself smiling. "He thinks you're… You died in the plane crash. He'll-."

"Scott-!" He gawps for a few moments. "Wha-? What d'you mean, he's-. He's not dead?"

"No. Look." I take a team photograph out of subspace and hold it up to the gate. "The big bloke in-"

His hand is shaking as he takes it.

"-the blue and yellow, with the visor. Um. I'm a bit surprised that Ms. Dane didn't mention him, actually. They were on the team at the same time."

"Cyclops is… Ah."

"Yes. Um, do you want his number? I… Think he's probably at the Mansion right now. Did-? Did you know who Cyclops is?"

"Lorna…" He shakes his head, eyes fixed on the photograph. "Lorna called him 'Scott' a couple of times. I didn't-. I didn't think it was him."

"I guess that's understandable."

"I haven't-. I haven't spoken to him for… Not since-."

"Well…" I generate a card with the Mansion's number on it. "Take a moment to get yourself together, and-" I pass it over. "Phone him."

"Right. Ah." He stares at it for a moment, then shakes his head. "We.. can't let you on the base, but I can… Ah. Go see if there's anyone called 'Lorna Dane' inside who's willing to come out here."

"Thank you, I'd appreciate it."

He slides the card into his fatigues, and points his hands downwards and blasts off, falling with style towards the building where Ms. Dane is exercising her powers.

The guard's just sort of staring at me.

"This sort of thing happens a lot in this job. You just sort of learn to roll with it."

"Uh-huh. Don't suppose you're actually authorised to view classified information, are you?"

"I'm not even authorised for a green card."

"Is that legal?"

I shrug. "I'm here on a student visa, and British people don't actually need-."

Ms. Dane flies out of their training room and heads in our direction.

"Don't need visas for short stays. Polaris!"

"Orange Lantern." She shakes her head. "I can't believe I didn't realise that Scott was his brother. Ah, you wanted something?"

"Speaking of brothers, can I assume that you aren't aware of having a half-brother and a half-sister living in Europe at the moment?"

"What?"

"Because I told your natural father and it appeared to come as a shock, so…"

"What?"

Duke Long · Dec 14, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"This sort of thing happens a lot is this job. You just sort of learn to roll with it."

'in this'

Bloodalchemy · Dec 14, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"What?"

Lantern is really good at creating these situations.

Bud-E · Dec 14, 2022

Was Havock in the 90's X-Men cartoon? I don't remember him also is this some type of military base?

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

Veteran Lurker

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Stand up so I can push you down!

This is filth! FILTH!!

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Stand up so I can push you down!

Dedicated ragequitter

Connoisseur.

Connoisseur.

Connoisseur.

Not too sore, are you?

Versed in the lewd.

Connoisseur.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

The Critical Fumbler

Know what you're doing yet?

Dedicated ragequitter

Getting sticky.

Versed in the lewd.

Know what you're doing yet?

Dedicated ragequitter

Glomerulus

This is filth! FILTH!!

Versed in the lewd.

Versed in the lewd.

Dedicated ragequitter

Dedicated ragequitter

Glomerulus

Versed in the lewd.

Stand up so I can push you down!

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