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

Mr Zoat · Feb 17, 2024

Irked said:
...Fowler does remember that this procedure is also to help Shockwave as well right?

How on earth has he not thought of the implications of giving the currently reforming mad scientist Decepticon the impulse and emotional control of a child?

Shockwave's problem isn't controlling his emotions. Shockwave's problem is his inability to feel emotion. Small children are very good at feeling emotion. Shockwave could easily spend a thousand years sitting at a workbench making superrust. Him being easily distracted is a good thing for the universe.

Soul Shocker said:
I'm more curious how this kid got that level of security clearance...

Well, when it comes to transformers Jackson Darby has a higher clearance than most US senators and generals. A higher rating doesn't necessarily mean that the government wants you to know about something. If Jack got kidnapped for example, it wouldn't be the local police investigating. It would be the NSA.

Rafin said:
That doesn't really jive with how ot works IRL. Greeks learn the hellenic myths in school at third grade. Being Orthodox is more about national identity than it is about piety and theological thought for most. And Hellenism is part of that identity. They don't actually believe in those myths (except for for a few oddballs and a few even bigger weirdos who manage to somehow believe in muddled parts of it while still calling themselves Orthodox Christians), but they are still damn proud of it.

That said, in a world where they clearly know that the Greek Gods are real, yet turned away from them for Christianity regardless and constantly have to compromise with the actual mythical creatures that are still around and have been preventing the government from controlling several of the Greek islands all of this might be very different.

In universe, the Greek Orthodox Church had a bit of an episode the first time they found out about Wonder Woman and have been amping up the anti-pagan rhetoric. Pride in your history is one thing, but they've been quite emphatic about why Greece stopped doing certain things.

Vaermina · Feb 17, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"I'm-. Yeah. I'm probably not going to live as long as you. My brain just isn't as sturdy as your brain module. I don't mind-. Nebulan synthetic organs. When I eventually need them. I'm not rejecting.. every change. Subtle changes are just easier to accept."

I'd point out here it's actually not that hard to actually turn a human into a Transformer.

deccan2008 · Feb 17, 2024

I never understood how the relationship between head and body works for Headmasters.

Prince Charon · Feb 17, 2024

deccan2008 said:
I never understood how the relationship between head and body works for Headmasters.

I'm kind of vague on that as well, though it doesn't help that every writer who tries to go into it (all of the ones that I'm aware of are fanfic writers) has a different idea of how it works. The exception is Transtectors, since the only brain in that body is the organic one.

Chojin Patriarch · Feb 17, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
5th February 2014
20:14 GMT

Slipstream drums the fingertips of her right hand against the railing between us and the operating area. It's all… Pretty automatic at this point, though I admit that seeing Shockwave walking around with his head off was a little disconcerting. He's had to remove quite a lot of his torso plating while the machine works…

Not that a missing head is usually that big a concern to a cybertronian. They don't keep much of importance in it, after all, with all their critical systems tucked away in their torso. I expect Shockwave is using secondary limb-mounted optic sensors or remote cameras to handle moving about if needed.

Kyansa… Well, he hasn't regained consciousness at any point. Given the amount of damage he'd received… I'm not sure if it was from the original explosion or from exploration by the Chinese scientists working on him, or some combination of the two. Whatever it was, Shockwave decided that replacing several organs with Nebulon-based cybernetics was the best avenue for treatment. And since transformers don't have a psychological aversion to seeing transformer internals and given that Cybertron is almost completely sterile, Shockwave had the chirurgical machine start cutting without any sort of coverage.

Ick. Still, he'd have needed surgery anyway for the conversion to a Headmaster. And it's not even the first time a kid's gone under the knife that way in a 'Transformers' series.

I'm not used to seeing humans internals like that.

"I… I need to ask you something."

After all, there's a fine line between the visuals of surgery and butchery.

I look up at her with a frown, trying to feel what she's thinking. She's definitely unsure and.. worried about something, but I can't quite work out what.

I reach over and pat her on the shin "You can ask me anything, Slipstream."

Because of course Shockwave's lab isn't fitted with mini-bot- or human-friendly walkways. And I doubt Paul is interested in walking around on a benchtop.

"When… Shockwave…" She looks down at me for a moment, then returns her attention to the operating theatre. "Offered to make you my Headmaster, you… You hated the idea. Did I..? Did I do something wrong?"

Oh, she did feel that. I was wondering… "No, of course not."

The joy of being so intimately linked to someone else. The slightest slip of the mind can be misunderstood so easily.

Her expression and the feedback I'm getting from our bond suggests that she isn't convinced. "I… We're bonded, and I-. I think of you as my conjunx endura, even if-. You don't have a spark case, so we can't-."

"I know." I nod. "I feel the same way. You-" I tap my spinal implant. "-know I do."

Since in the fandom, spark-to-spark contact is often equated to sex between cybertronians... Just wait until she experiences the human version from the female side.

"Then why did-?" She steps away from the railing, facing me. "Why did the idea of become that close to me disgust you? I don't… Understand."

…

Right. Because that's something that transformers do. Merging… Hm.

'Til All are One' is sometimes more literal than mere cultural co-habitation. Normally it just refers to sparks coming together within the Well of All Sparks, but I've read a fic or two where instead of Cybertron transforming to battle a revived Unicron, all the Transformers combine.

"Slipstream, do you remember when you found out that humans shed hair and skin cells constantly?"

She recoils in disgust. "Why did you have to bring that up?"

And this is probably why some 'bots dislike organics: They're just so... Unhygenic.

"Because it's the nearest equivalent. Why is it that you find it disgusting?"

"Because it's… It's like you're… Falling apart the whole time."

Which is a horrifying idea for cybertronians, after all. Their bodies don't regenerate. Edit: At least, not in the way our bodies do...

"For humans it's perfectly normal. We discard damaged parts from our exterior and grow new ones from the inside. But for a transformer it's… Well, if they're empathic, it's disgusting, because you don't grow replacement parts like that. Right?"

"Y-es?"

Not without some seriously abnormal circumstances, like Bumblebee in the Prime finale. (An injury that lasts all of two minutes so do enjoy.

) Usually in the form of divine intervention.

"But what if you could? It would save on repairs and spare parts-."

"Ew! Are you.. going somewhere with this, or are you just trying to see if you can get me to do an emergency oral fuel evacuation?"

I don't think Paul has that sort of fetish. And any kind of fluids you could provide would just make any illness worse.

"Humans don't naturally plug into each other like that. For our ancestors, being locked in place like that would mean that they were helpless and doomed or a burden on their tribe. And the idea of effectively becoming one person… If I was going to do it with anyone it would be you, but-. Having parts of myself…"

I find myself glancing towards Kyansa's torso, skin and muscle pinned back for better access.

Heh. The kid's going to be able to claim he got ripped open and lived. As for them combining, I suspect Paul would rather maintain his autonomy, given the inevitable bleedthrough involved.

"Removed, or radically altered so my… Outline changes. Humans don't-" I shake my head. "-transform. That's… Not something I can accept. Psychologically."

Slipstream's face relaxes a little, but she's still clearly unhappy. "Oh. But-. Nothing?"

Since, if I remember right, this one did start with an Orange Ring way back when, expending its charge to revive Slipstream and later modify himself...

...Wonder if any Cybertronian artifacts could recharge it...

"Nothing..?"

"You can't… Change. You don't want to…" She shakes her head. "You're-. You-. Humans…"

It's one of those fascinating differences between human and 'bot. The latter are all about change. A new frame can be like putting on new pants, albeit via transplant surgery.

"Slipstream?"

"You don't… Live.. long. Not.. anything like as long as we do." She crouches down, bring her face closer to mine. "Even if Shockwave makes you a.. transformer body of your own, your body will wear out in-. Less than a vorn. I don't-. You're the only reason why I'm not still in stasis lock… The only reason why I don't just put myself back in stasis lock."

A Vorn being 83 Earth years, for reference. Cybertronian timekeeping is weird. And oddly focused on multiples and factors of 83. Blame mythology gags.

I nod, reaching out to put my hand on her cheek.

"I'm-. Yeah. I'm probably not going to live as long as you. My brain just isn't as sturdy as your brain module. I don't mind-. Nebulan synthetic organs. When I eventually need them. I'm not rejecting.. every change. Subtle changes are just easier to accept."

There are ways around that, after all, though whether they exist in this universe is still up in the air.

She nods. I think she's… Not better, but…

"Is there something else?"

Another tricky part of a bond like theirs. No hiding things easily.

She nods again. "Alright, since we're doing this now. You were surprised when I brought up forming a team. We talked about getting other transformers to come to Earth. I told you about my old team mates. Why were you surprised?"

"I'm not clear-. I got the impression that conjunx endura relationships were… One to one."

Not impossible that there were multiple-connection partnerships.

If they were close enough, they might well even merge into one spark in multiple bodies. An origin for 'bots like Reflector, maybe?

She nods. "Yes. At.. least… I think so."

I shake my head. "What do you mean by that?"

Ha, it's even uncertain in-universe, eh? And given that one of the Thirteen primes was a Combiner... It's not impossible that his 'tribe' enjoyed such multi-part relationships.

"Slaves don't get love. Slaves don't get told how it.. works. I've.. read stories, but I don't really… I haven't… Had anyone I've.. felt about how I feel about you. Before this, my relationships with my team mates were the.. closest thing."

"Are 'people we work with' the same as a 'team', or is it different?"

And she's not kidding about slavery. The old Autobot High Council era was not kind. There's a good reason Megatron began his rebellion.

"A team is people we work with a lot. I don't think we'll be that close to.. whoever it is right from the start, but… We should get that close."

"Right. It's-. Some of the things I… I'd like to do once you get a human-scale avatar are the sorts of things I.. thought I'd only do with you, my conjunx endura, and not with team members. Because while they're both close, one is closer."

Not unless you're into polyamorous relationships.

"Right! Human mating." She frowns. "Wait, you think that's weird? What about all those videos we watched?"

"Ah…" Yes… Those. "Slipstream, those were… Paid actresses portraying a fantasy to… Stimulate an audience. That's not something-. Well, alright, a few people do that, but it's pretty uncommon. You know what I said about using the internet as a guide-."

Indeed! Why, some things posted on the Internet aren't true!

"Yes, I know, it's not always obvious what's real and what isn't. But you seemed to like watching them."

"Yes?"

Ah, Humans. Always good at their fiction.

"And transformers don't reproduce like that. So it doesn't have the same significance for me. Maybe with humans you can only do that with your… What do humans call it?"

"Wife."

Unless you have a very relaxed or open relationship. But you'd better be really clear with your partner about it. One thing cybertronians get right: Communication is important.

"Right, but I don't care. I enjoy it because we're linked and you enjoy it, but I don't have human breeding-instincts." She frowns, but I can feel that she's a lot less disturbed. "Why would you only have one 'wife' if you were human? It takes nine months for human women to fabricate new humans. I know you can perform bio-injections more than once every nine months."

Oh, that's a whole other kettle of fish that I doubt Paul wants to get into.

"Resources. Humans focus resources on a small number of children. Our biology pretty much requires it. So while a human man can impregnate many human women, that effectively makes them all competitors for the resources he can provide. The more they can get, the better provisioned their offspring will be. And while the man's genetic material passes on through all of his children, the woman's is only passed on through the children she gives birth to. One-to-one generally works better."

Or it should. Sadly, people can't always be rational about these things, or pick poorly, or make terrible parents... Really, it's amazing Humanity made it this far.

"Huh." She thinks, then shakes her head. "None of that applies to me. I don't mean I.. want you to, but it's not a problem for me. Does that mean they don't need to be light frames with high pitched voices?"

"I think we should focus on skills and personality compatibility over that. Like you would for a normal team." She nods. "Feeling better?"

After all, if you can't get along with your team, it's going to be a tense relationship.

"A little. It's a bit… Intense."

"Where am I?" Slipstream and I blink at each other, then she picks me up and stands, looking into the chirurgical suite where Shockwave is.. standing up. "Why am I so high up?"

And presumably not speaking with the emotionless voice they're familiar with. Since that too was part of his modifications.

And then I see Shockwave's face, purple and silver and unnervingly expressive as he stares around at the laboratory.

"Where am I? Who are you?"

Handsome fellow. Though it's probably a matter of personal taste to get things customised. I always picture Knock Out as the cybertronian equivalent of a cosmetic surgeon pre-war.

He-. I assume this is Kyansa, raises his hands and stares at them.

"This is crazy."

"Yes." Shockwave's voice comes from his chest. "I suspect that this is indeed what insanity feels like."

And there's the original bot. No doubt he's configured things so that his mind controls their combined body.

So, it's done, and the first proper human Headmaster has been made. Along with a bit of surprisingly uncertainty and concerns from Slipstream and comforting from Paul. And some fascinating insights into cybertronian culture. Now, to see how Shockwave and Cancer handle their new situation... Hopefully the lad takes it well.

deccan2008 said:
I never understood how the relationship between head and body works for Headmasters.

Prince Charon said:
I'm kind of vague on that as well, though it doesn't help that every writer who tries to go into it has a different idea of how it works. The exception is Transtectors, since the only brain in that body is the organic one.

It can vary from continuity to continuity. Here's the Wiki page.

To sum up: In cases where the body has an existing personality, the original mind and the partner form a sort of hybrid persona of the two. This is how the American cartoon and comics handled it.
Sometimes it's an improvement, such as two scientifically-minded partners (Brainstorm and Arcana, for example) becoming even smarter and more inventive. Others... If the pairing isn't good, they can conflict badly. Say, an intellectual paired with a thug (Highbrow and Gort.) They fall into arguing amongst themselves, and struggle to focus on a single objective without disagreement on how to handle it.

An alternative is the Japanese continuity's style, where all the personality is in the mini-bot head, and the 'Transtector' body is just a frame to interact with larger 'bots and serve as transport, often considered interchangable. Kyansa here is a counterpart of a human playing the mini-bot role in one of the Japanese series.

Sockmonkey · Feb 17, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
Which is a horrifying idea for cybertronians, after all. Their bodies don't regenerate.

Not to Wolverine levels like Bumblebee experienced that one time, but the pseudo-organic way they function in the Prime series does include the ability for the "biological" aspects of their internals to self-repair and maintain themselves. I interpret their external armor shell as being like a bird's feathers. Capable of being manipulated and maintained by the internal squishier protoform, but not fully "alive" the way their internals are.

It's one of the reasons they run so much of their critical stuff on energon instead of easier to find fuel sources.
It allows it to maintain itself and not just wear out.

BrotherofaStudio · Feb 17, 2024

You are doing a really good job displaying how a relationship between a human and a Cybertronian is very complicated yet can still work.
From some things that were said by Slipstream and Knockout I have to ask... Is Paul going to have an additional romantic partner alongside Slipstream?
Also, if Paul gains a Cybertronian body what will he transform into and what will he look like?

Darko · Feb 17, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Why did the idea of become

"becoming"

Mr Zoat · Feb 17, 2024

BrotherofaStudio said:
From some things that were said by Slipstream and Knockout I have to ask... Is Paul going to have an additional romantic partner alongside Slipstream?

I have no plans for him to do so. If anything like that happened, it would probably be in the far future when he was more machine than organic human.

Also, if Paul gains a Cybertronian body what will he transform into and what will he look like?

Some sort of heavy transport vehicle. He'd probably look like a Fall of Cybertron era Ultra Magnus recolour, but longer.

Darko said:
"becoming"

Thank you, corrected.

BrotherofaStudio · Feb 17, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
I have no plans for him to do so. If anything like that happened, it would probably be in the far future when he was more machine than organic human.

I see. If anything were to happen. Who do you see bonding with him and Slipstream in such a manner?

Mr Zoat said:
Some sort of heavy transport vehicle. He'd probably look like a Fall of Cybertron era Ultra Magnus recolour, but longer.

I see. What colors would be included? And speaking of Ultra Magnus, apart from when Paul told the Autobots about Shockwave, have they ever had any time to get to know each other and if so what are their impressions of one another?

Duke Long · Feb 17, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
A engineering workshop that got hit by… Lots of things with claws. And acid, it looks like.

'An engineering'

Mr Zoat said:
Huh. The compass in pointing straight down here.

'compass is'

Mr Zoat said:
I can see one smaller setup making cybernetics while another appears to be working on robot, another on guns-. And that one is actively applying enchantments, that's brilliant!

'a robot' or 'robots'?

Mr Zoat said:
"Maybe. See how it goes." He glance around and then takes a few steps away from the machinery. "Here alright?"

'glances'

Mr Zoat · Feb 17, 2024

Duke Long said:
'An engineering'
'compass is'
'a robot' or 'robots'?
'glances'

Thank you, corrected.

BrotherofaStudio said:
I see. If anything were to happen. Who do you see bonding with him and Slipstream in such a manner?

I have no particular transformer in mind. I could see Axlegrease joining them on Earth, but she's not a transformer either. She's just scavenged lots of parts from them.

I see. What colors would be included?

Dull green, probably.

And speaking of Ultra Magnus, apart from when Paul told the Autobots about Shockwave, have they ever had any time to get to know each other and if so what are their impressions of one another?

Ultra Magnus was a bit puzzled by the whole idea, and then dismissed them as irrelevant.

Vaermina · Feb 17, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
Which is a horrifying idea for cybertronians, after all. Their bodies don't regenerate.

They do in pretty much every continuity including Prime.

Mr Zoat · Feb 18, 2024

30th March 2013
01:10 GMT +2?

Zagreus loops his rope around the allegedly-immortal hydra head for a fifth time, and pulls it tight.

"Did that escape recently, or are there a lot of Greek missing person reports we can clear up?"

"It never left the lake, but it only gained the power to conjure its shade heads to its side recently." He ties off the rope and walks around to its front, looking it in the left eye. It tries to bite him, but the rope holds it tight. "I wonder if it's more intelligent than the beast we all assumed it to be."

"No."

"You're certain?"

"Power rings translate all languages. If it grunted with meaning, I'd hear words. I haven't even heard a single one. Even a cat or a dog can manage 'hungry' or 'mine'."

"Perhaps the most intelligent thing may sometimes be-" He looks pointedly at me. "-to say nothing."

"I'm honest enough to admit that I'm never going to believe that. Are the shade heads under control now?"

Zagreus lays both hands on the hydra head's snout and closes his eyes.

"Not… Yet…"

He draws back his right hand and slams his palm into its nose, making it jerk with discomfort.

"Now. Any I didn't reduce to ethereality with my arrows are there now."

"And the shades they ate to power themselves?"

"Weakened, but separated. They should…" He looks at the lake shore, as the foam… The translucent figure of a man weakly pulls himself out of the water, flopping onto the sandy beach. "Be able to pull themselves free, though it will be some time before they regain their full strength."

"Thank you."

"It is my duty. Or are you thanking me because you find it reassuring that in the fullness of time I will protect your shade with equal fervour."

"I'll quite understand if you hesitate a moment or two in my case. The portal?"

He walks over to the waterline and pulls the fallen shade up, patting him on the back. The shade's gaze is.. fairly vacant as a result of lacking animus, but there's a vague recognition as he staggers up away from the lake. Then Zagreus crouches down and puts his bare left hand in the water.

"Gone. It wouldn't have stayed open this long if the hydra wasn't using it. There were heads on this side too, hunting shades to fuel the link."

"Darn it." I shake my head. "Why did it take sixty years to find out?"

"Father's realm has a great many people in it, and he doesn't control every part of their lives. Not any more. And of course you brought him so many new subjects that he couldn't if he wanted to."

"And the greatest hunter in Erebos was running a safari in Africa."

"Yes. I was." He stands and turns back to me. "Perhaps the Greeks should have asked for an angel to guard the souls of their forebears, since clearly they don't need us."

"Don't be childish, Zagreus. Your responsibilities don't just vanish because people stop nagging you to fulfil them. At the very least you should have gotten someone to cover for you."

I don't labour the point, but he's clearly uncomfortable. And irritated.

"Why are you here?"

"Why is Themyscira still outside of the world? We dealt with the Anti-Life. Its grip on Earth is dispelled. Heck, I thought it would be back once we dealt with the Aztecs."

"No. We brought in the Amazons to cut off the reinforcements. The Aztecs were not the only pantheon… Afflicted."

"Olympians were Anti-Lifed?" He hesitates, but nods. "Who? How? You.. should be harder to affect than humans."

He nods, then looks around the lake. A handful more shades are crawling to safety, but there are almost certainly many more still inside.

"Charon, please aid our guests in leaving the water."

Charon -who had edged slightly away- nods. "And what about the hydra shades?"

"Orange Lantern can deal with those once he's recharged himself."

"But of course." I reach out my right hand… Nothing. No personal lantern. "But that might be a while."

Zagreus looks curious. "Are you helpless?"

I wave my right hand, releasing Gary and a couple of construct lantern aliens. I gesture, and they spread out to watch our surroundings. "Not completely, but you shouldn't expect too much. So who got Anti-Lifed?"

"Akhlys was the first." Oh heck. "Much like the Aztecs, not all of us are as far from the Anti-Life as we might like."

"But… Hephaestaean fixed her suffering. She looked good last time I saw her."

"She kept that machinery." He shakes his head. "I don't know exactly what happened. I can only imagine that no longer suffering herself didn't change how she thought."

"And she's still at full power? What's that… Like?"

"A terrible dread grips your heart, as your body feels every injury you have ever received and your mind feels every shame and sadness you have ever known. We now know what it is like to be her at her worst." He shakes his head. "I.. admit that I… Thought unkind things about what a 'more powerful' Akhlys would be like. Having seen the truth I will not make that mistake again."

"Where is she now?"

"Near to Olympus when last I saw her. But I have not tracked her."

"And that's it? We deal with her, and Themyscira returns to Earth."

"Yes."

Hm. How can I get an edge?

I look out across the water as Charon rows out towards a struggling shade.

Ah.

"Do you need those shade heads?"

"Need? Why?"

I smile.

Ngamer11 · Feb 18, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Yes. I was." He stands and turns back to me. "Perhaps in Greeks should have asked for an angel to guard the souls of their forebears, since clearly they don't need us."

That should say 'the'.

Mr Zoat said:
I wave my right hand, releasing the hellwraith and a couple of construct lantern aliens. I gesture, and they spread out to watch our surroundings. "Not completely, but you shouldn't expect too much. So who got Anti-Lifed?"

The hellwraith was permanently destroyed by Demon Nabu. The only construct-lanterns left are Morrow, a Saremite, a few Reach thralls, Demon Nabu, Gary of the Rot, and a Karrakanian Shipmaster. I assume Morrow was left somewhere else, but Paul should still have the rest with him.

Mr Zoat said:
I look out across the water as Charon rows our towards a struggling shade.

Ah.

"Do you need those shade heads?"

"Need? Why?"

I smile.

Good to see Paul's going to get a few new useful construct-lanterns out of this adventure.

Chojin Patriarch · Feb 18, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
30th March 2013
01:10 GMT +2?

Zagreus loops his rope around the allegedly-immortal hydra head for a fifth time, and pulls it tight.

"Did that escape recently, or are there a lot of Greek missing person reports we can clear up?"

A good question, OL. I suppose it depends on how well-travelled the lake was recently. Though if ghostly hydra heads were lurking around before the Anti-Life, it might well have gotten a reputation for being dangerous for boating.

"It never left the lake, but it only gained the power to conjure its shade heads to its side recently." He ties off the rope and walks around to its front, looking it in the left eye. It tries to bite him, but the hope holds it tight. "I wonder if it's more intelligent than the beast we all assumed it to be."

"No."

It doesn't have to be intelligent to be crafty. Or vicious...

"You're certain?"

"Power rings translate all languages. If it grunted with meaning, I'd hear words. I haven't even heard a single one. Even a cat or a dog can manage 'hungry' or 'mine'."

Is it reliable around high-magic creatures, though? Did you ever test that?

"Perhaps the most intelligent thing may sometimes-" He looks pointedly at me. "-to say nothing."

"I'm honestly enough to admit that I'm never going to believe that. Are the shade heads under control now?"

As the song goes: "You say it best, when you say nothing at all..."

Zagreus lays both hands on the hydra head's snout and closes his eyes.

"Not… Yet…"

Ah, exerting a lesser part of his abilities, to wrangle beasts he's captured?

He draws back his right hand and slams his palm into its nose, making it jerk with discomfort.

"Now. Any I didn't reduce to ethereality with my arrows are there now."

The only way that could have been more amusing was if he pulled out a rolled-up newspaper to do that.

"And the shades they ate to power themselves?"

"Weakened, but separated. They should…" He looks at the lake shore, as the foam… The translucent figure of a man weakly pulls himself out of the water, flopping onto the sandy beach. "Be able to pull themselves free, though it will be some time before they regain their full strength."

Ah, there's one now. So, good end all round. But what of OL's companions?

"Thank you."

"It is my duty. Or are you thanking me because you find it reassuring that in the fullness of time I will protect your shade with equal fervour."

Greasing the wheel a little with flattery never hurts.

"I'll quite understand if you hesitate a moment or two in my case. The portal?"

He walks over to the waterline and pulls the fallen shade up, patting him on the back. The shade's gaze is.. fairly vacant as a result of lacking animus, but there's a vague recognition as he staggers up away from the lake. Then Zagreus crouches down and puts his bare left hand in the water.

I suppose with his father indisposed, he's been having to take a little more commanding role in the Underworld's operations.

"Gone. It wouldn't have stayed open this long if the hydra wasn't using it. There were heads on this side too, hunting shades to fuel the link."

"Darn it." I shake my head. "Why did it take sixty years to find out?"

Remember the epithet 'He who has many guests'? Yes, turns out having the largest kingdom of the three brothers has its drawbacks.

"Father's realm has a great many people in it, and he doesn't control every part of their lives. Not any more. And of course you brought him so many new subjects that he couldn't if he wanted to."

"And the greatest hunter in Erebos was running a safari in Africa."

In other words, Zaggy, he isn't alone in his neglect, accidental or otherwise.

"Yes. I was." He stands and turns back to me. "Perhaps the Greeks should have asked for an angel to guard the souls of their forebears, since clearly they don't need us."

"Don't be childish, Zagreus. Your responsibilities don't just vanish because people stop nagging you to fulfil them. At the very least you should have gotten someone to cover for you."

That'd be an awkward position. Who could he even ask to do that job?

I don't labour the point, but he's clearly uncomfortable. And irritated.

"Why are you here?"

Well, he technically-maybe died, didn't he? Or did he come through the portal before it shut, at the cost of his ring charge?

"Why is Themyscira still outside of the world? We dealt with the Anti-Life. It's grip on Earth is dispelled. Heck, I thought it would be back once we dealt with the Aztecs."

"No. We brought in the Amazons to cut off the reinforcements. The Aztecs were not the only pantheon… Afflicted."

Ah, good (or maybe bad) to have that confirmed.

I wonder how many other forgotten or abandoned realms were lost before Mannheim went down...

"Olympians were Anti-Lifed?" He hesitates, but nods. "Who? How? You.. should be harder to affect than humans."

He nods, then looks around the lake. A handful more shades are crawling to safety, but there are almost certainly many more still inside.

Harder, but not impossible. After all, what are the Olympians but humans writ large, their virtues and their vices, their faults and flaws and failings alongside their talents, triumphs and 'truths'.

"Charon, please aid our guests in leaving the water."

Charon -who had edged slightly away- nods. "And what about the hydra shades?"

Since, you know, it's easier if there's no risk of being eaten...

"Orange Lantern can deal with those once he's recharged himself."

"But of course." I reach out my right hand… Nothing. No personal lantern. "But that might be a while."

Seriously, what ate all that charge? The Hydra shades?

Zagreus looks curious. "Are you helpless?"

I wave my right hand, releasing the hellwraith and a couple of construct lantern aliens. I gesture, and they spread out to watch our surroundings. "Not completely, but you shouldn't expect too much. So who got Anti-Lifed?"

In a pinch, he could maybe forcibly consume them for the ring charge to make a fresh Lantern. But that would mean sacrificing an asset.

"Akhlys was the first." Oh heck. "Much like the Aztecs, not all of us are as far from the Anti-Life as might like."

"But… Hephaestaean fixed her suffering. She looked good last time I saw her."

Yeah, that scans. It probably aligned so well with her spiritual domains it went right in and stuck.

"She kept that machinery." He shakes his head. "I don't know exactly what happened. I can only imagine that no longer suffering herself didn't change how she thought."

"And she's still at full power? What's that… Like?"

Oh, boy. A goddess who's kind-of mainlining all the compatible aspects of the Anti-Life. Just when you think you're rid of it entirely...

"A terrible dread grips your heart, as your body feels every injury you have ever received and your mind feels every shame and sadness you have ever known. We now know what it is like to be her at her worst." He shakes his head. "I.. admit that I… Thought unkind things about what a 'more powerful' Akhlys would be like. Having seen the truth I will not make that mistake again."

Yes, well... Can't really know someone until you walk a mile in their shoes...

"Where is she now?"

"Near to Olympus when last I saw her. But I have not tracked her."

Too dangerous a prey for the great hunter?

"And that's it? We deal with her, and Themyscira returns to Earth."

"Yes."

You hope, anyway? I mean, nothing's all that certain, is it?

Hm. How can I get an edge?

I look out across the water as Charon rows our towards a struggling shade.

...Oh, this is going to look like a terrible plan, isn't it?

Ah.

"Do you need those shade heads?"

Not sure they can safely be weaponised, OL...

"Need? Why?"

I smile.

...Unless you're going to tie them to a stick or something as a nasty flail.

It figures something would get stuck in Anti-Lifed mode, even after the White Light Event. So in pulling Olympus away from Earth, Hephestean messed up their ability to reconnect. Then again, with the Olympian realms separated, the Light probably never shone here. Who knows what it would have done to the Shades of Erebus, for one thing?

"Perhaps the most intelligent thing may sometimes-" He looks pointedly at me. "-to say nothing."

Looks like something got mangled by the dash break. Perhaps 'Sometimes know - to'?

"I'm honestly enough to admit that I'm never going to believe that.

"I'm honest enough to admit that I'm never going to believe that.

Much like the Aztecs, not all of us are as far from the Anti-Life as might like."

Much like the Aztecs, not all of us are as far from the Anti-Life as we might like."

I look out across the water as Charon rows our towards a struggling shade.

I look out across the water as Charon rows out towards a struggling shade.

Firewillreign · Feb 18, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
A good question, OL. I suppose it depends on how well-travelled the lake was recently. Though if ghostly hydra heads were lurking around before the Anti-Life, it might well have gotten a reputation for being dangerous for boating.

It doesn't have to be intelligent to be crafty. Or vicious...

Is it reliable around high-magic creatures, though? Did you ever test that?

As the song goes: "You say it best, when you say nothing at all..."

Ah, exerting a lesser part of his abilities, to wrangle beasts he's captured?

The only way that could have been more amusing was if he pulled out a rolled-up newspaper to do that.

Ah, there's one now. So, good end all round. But what of OL's companions?

Greasing the wheel a little with flattery never hurts.

I suppose with his father indisposed, he's been having to take a little more commanding role in the Underworld's operations.

Remember the epithet 'He who has many guests'? Yes, turns out having the largest kingdom of the three brothers has its drawbacks.

In other words, Zaggy, he isn't alone in his neglect, accidental or otherwise.

That'd be an awkward position. Who could he even ask to do that job?

Well, he technically-maybe died, didn't he? Or did he come through the portal before it shut, at the cost of his ring charge?

Ah, good (or maybe bad) to have that confirmed. I wonder how many other forgotten or abandoned realms were lost before Mannheim went down...

Harder, but not impossible. After all, what are the Olympians but humans writ large, their virtues and their vices, their faults and flaws and failings alongside their talents, triumphs and 'truths'.

Since, you know, it's easier if there's no risk of being eaten...

Seriously, what ate all that charge? The Hydra shades?

In a pinch, he could maybe forcibly consume them for the ring charge to make a fresh Lantern. But that would mean sacrificing an asset.

Yeah, that scans. It probably aligned so well with her spiritual domains it went right in and stuck.

Oh, boy. A goddess who's kind-of mainlining all the compatible aspects of the Anti-Life. Just when you think you're rid of it entirely...

Yes, well... Can't really know someone until you walk a mile in their shoes...

Too dangerous a prey for the great hunter?

You hope, anyway? I mean, nothing's all that certain, is it?

...Oh, this is going to look like a terrible plan, isn't it?

Not sure they can safely be weaponised, OL...

...Unless you're going to tie them to a stick or something as a nasty flail.

It figures something would get stuck in Anti-Lifed mode, even after the White Light Event. So in pulling Olympus away from Earth, Hephestean messed up their ability to reconnect. Then again, with the Olympian realms separated, the Light probably never shone here. Who knows what it would have done to the Shades of Erebus, for one thing?

Looks like something got mangled by the dash break. Perhaps 'Sometimes know - to'?

"I'm honest enough to admit that I'm never going to believe that.

Much like the Aztecs, not all of us are as far from the Anti-Life as we might like."

I look out across the water as Charon rows out towards a struggling shade.

Hades would have been crazy pissed if it reincarnated everyone in his realm which is something it absolutely easily could have done.

Ciber · Feb 18, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
That should say 'the'.

The hellwraith was permanently destroyed by Demon Nabu. The only construct-lanterns left are Morrow, a Saremite, a few Reach thralls, Demon Nabu, Gary of the Rot, and a Karrakanian Shipmaster. I assume Morrow was left somewhere else, but Paul should still have the rest with him.

Good to see Paul's going to get a few new useful construct-lanterns out of this adventure.

The continuity preservation council has spoken!

Lord Ernest · Feb 18, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
The hellwraith was permanently destroyed by Demon Nabu. The only construct-lanterns left are Morrow, a Saremite, a few Reach thralls, Demon Nabu, Gary of the Rot, and a Karrakanian Shipmaster. I assume Morrow was left somewhere else, but Paul should still have the rest with him.

Mr. Zoat needs an RPG character sheet at this point, too many things have happened, too many techniques and too many pieces of equipment.

And not only for the Illustres, also for other characters as well.

Darko · Feb 18, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
tight. "I wonder if it's more intelligent than the beast we all assumed it to be."

"No."

"You're certain?"

"Power rings translate all languages. If it grunted with meaning, I'd hear words. I haven't even heard a single one. Even a cat or a dog can manage 'hungry' or 'mine'."

Unless its mystic nature prevents a translation.

Mr Zoat said:
intelligent thing may sometimes-" He looks pointedly at me. "-to say nothing."

"may be"

Mr Zoat said:
Perhaps in Greeks should have asked for an angel to guard the souls

"the Greeks"

Mr Zoat said:
Akhlys was the first." Oh heck. "Much like the Aztecs, not all of us are as far from the Anti-Life as might like."

"But… Hephaestaean fixed her suffering. She looked good last time I saw her."

Heph may have given her the tech necessary to manage it, but she was still generating it.

Doccer · Feb 18, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"I'm honestly enough to admit that

honest

Mr Zoat · Feb 18, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
That should say 'the'.
The hellwraith was permanently destroyed by Demon Nabu. The only construct-lanterns left are Morrow, a Saremite, a few Reach thralls, Demon Nabu, Gary of the Rot, and a Karrakanian Shipmaster. I assume Morrow was left somewhere else, but Paul should still have the rest with him.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Looks like something got mangled by the dash break. Perhaps 'Sometimes know - to'?
"I'm honest enough to admit that I'm never going to believe that.
Much like the Aztecs, not all of us are as far from the Anti-Life as we might like."
I look out across the water as Charon rows out towards a struggling shade.

Thank you, corrected.

Ngamer11 · Feb 18, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
I wave my right hand, releasing Garry and a couple of construct lantern aliens. I gesture, and they spread out to watch our surroundings. "Not completely, but you shouldn't expect too much. So who got Anti-Lifed?"

That extra 'r' should be removed.

Mr Zoat · Feb 18, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
That extra 'r' should be removed.

Thank you, corrected.

Ardy · Feb 18, 2024

Could have sworn demon Nabu was destroyed at some point too ..

Galacticplumber · Feb 18, 2024

Ardy said:
Could have sworn demon Nabu was destroyed at some point too ..

Was still around for the fight with post anti-life revenge fury. No mini lanterns died there. Just temporarily turned against protag before back in hand.

Mr Zoat · Feb 19, 2024

30th March 2013
01:15 GMT +2?

"That is… Disturbing."

With no ability to use my rings, I can't assimilate things directly. My construct lanterns on the other hand can assimilate things just fine on their own, but since I can't boost them, they're stuck using either their mouths, or in Gary's case even slower fungal growths.

And the hydra heads are quite large.

"If you could do something about the death magic I've absorbed, I could do it quicker. I could probably even manage to convert the immortal head."

"Some part of me wants to try, but in all honesty my knowledge is not up to the task of manipulating the soul of one who is both living and dead at once."

"Could Lord Hades?"

"Perhaps, but given that he has forgotten that he ever married my mother, it would be difficult for me to get an audience."

I frown, surprised. "Wait, he's forgotten you?"

"Not precisely. He knows that we are related, but he grows puzzled when he cannot remember who my mother is. And since he is not inclined to behave like... Like my uncle Zeus, that leaves a rather puzzling question as to where I come from. He appears to resolve it by forgetting about me whenever possible."

"Oh. Ah, sorry."

"If you had done it while I was in Africa it would not have been a problem, but I am supposed to be acting as a judge."

"How is their relationship actually progressing?"

"Initially, it went well. Then this.. Anti-Life infected the susceptible and we were forced to block our links to the Earth. She has been feeling confined and she is ignoring Father as a 'punishment' for confining her."

"Ah. Well." A giant reptilian severed head construct appears next to me. "Sorry. We'll have to try and get this sorted out-"

The immortal head goes berserk! It rocks back and forth, undulating what little neck it has left in an effort to move towards… Me? Zagreus? The rope strains, the-.

Zagreus puts an arrow through each of its eyes. That doesn't stop it squirming, but it does reduce its coherence.

"-quickly. Are we..? Just dealing with Akhlys?"

Who was enhanced by divine cybermancy, can bestow all of the misery human life can bring with a touch and is now channelling the Anti-Life. 'Just' Akhlys is still a pretty big deal-.

"Alas-."

"Wait. I just realised something." He keeps watching the immortal hydra head, as the blood drips back into its wounds and the eyes reknit themselves. "What we did to purge the world of the Anti-Life should have propagated throughout the Earth's entire thaumosphere. Akhlys is connected to that; she's a goddess, she has to be. Why is she still-?"

She's got an connection independent of Mannheim. She's channelling it directly. And that… I don't have a potential Red Lantern even if I wanted to try purging her with the white light of life, and I can't bring other Lanterns here anyway. Dr. Mist might be able to get here on his own-.

"I assume it's because her misery is so great that she does not need anyone else to show it to her."

"The titans?"

He nods. "One of her objectives. She appears to pursue them haphazardly. And Diana's.. nature, makes her able to counter her misery-inducing ability."

My eyes lock onto him. "Please tell me that Diana hasn't undergone apotheosis."

He frowns. "That worries you?"

"It-. I know that she'll become a goddess eventually, I just don't want it to have happened already."

"No. King Hephaestaean has granted her the mantle of a goddess, but he has done so in the form of an artefact which she can remove."

"Good. Returning to the subject of Akhlys, do you still have access to the gate to the Dream?"

"Another of her targets, but yes. She nearly breached it once, and the land on the far side was… Rendered unclean." He braces himself. "Why did you ask?"

"I need to lose this death aura thing to make my rings work again. And we need to do something to Akhlys to break her connection to the Anti-Life. The easiest way to do that involves manipulating the Dream."

"That's the easiest-?"

"Unless you've got another copy of the Sword of the Fallen, yes."

Or…

"How…? Insensible is she?"

"She has always sounded coherent to me. I would say more so than when she was suffering the full force of her own domain. Why does that matter?"

"I thought I could try talking her down."

"Great Nyx, preserve us."

"Does that mean 'good idea' or-?"

"How? How would you talk down a goddess who has the opportunity to spread her essence to all people of the heavens and the Earth?"

"I thought that I'd ask her politely, find out through discussion why she was acting the way she is and try and get her to see that whatever her ultimate objective-."

"I was honestly hoping that you would seduce her as you did my sister."

Huh? I mean, it's nice to know that despite everything he holds me in high enough regard that the idea of my seducing Melinoë hasn't resulted in us having a fight. Particularly now. But…

"I haven't seduced Melinoë. Last time I saw her I nearly got her killed."

"She talks about you as a person. You have brought her domain to the masses, who for some reason are grateful-."

"They were pretty unusual people anyway."

"And she speaks of you as a maiden interested in courting a man speaks of one who has her interest."

"Actually, I should probably try and speak to her while I'm here. But I'm not trying to seduce her-. Or rather, I haven't been since she turned me down the first time we met. And I won't try and seduce Akhlys either."

"Why not? If it ends the living nightmare she has bound her slaves in, your fidelity is a small price to pay."

"Objectively yes, but I'm an Orange Lantern and I don't want to betray Jade. So where do we look for her?"

Ngamer11 · Feb 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
With no ability to use my rings, I can't assimilate things directly. My construct lanterns on the other hand can assimilate things just fine on their own, but since I can't boost them, they're stuck using either their mouths, or in Garry's case even slower fungal growths.

Extra 'r' should be removed.

Mr Zoat said:
"No. King Hephaestaean has granted her the mantle of a goddess, but he has done s in the form of an artefact which she can remove."

That should say 'so'.

Mr Zoat said:
"I thought that I'd ask her politely, find out through discussion why she was acting the way she is and try and get her to see that whatever her ultimate objective-."

"I was honestly hoping that you would seduce her as you did my sister."

Huh? I mean, it's nice to know that despite everything he holds me in high enough regard that the idea of my seducing Melinoë hasn't resulted in us having a fight. Particularly now. But…

"I haven't seduced Melinoë. Last time I saw her I nearly got her killed."

"She talks about you as a person. You have brought her domain to the masses, who for some reason are grateful-."

"They were pretty unusual people anyway."

"And she speaks of you as a maiden interested in courting a man speaks of one who has her interest."

"Actually, I should probably try and speak to her while I'm here. But I'm not trying to seduce her-. Or rather, I haven't been since she turned me down the first time we met. And I won't try and seduce Akhlys either."

"Why not? If it ends the living nightmare she has bound her slaves it, your fidelity is a small price to pay."

"Objectively yes, but I'm an Orange Lantern and I don't want to betray Jade. So where do we look for her?"

I was wondering when someone would accuse OL of seducing someone. How many people have a bet on when Paul learns about something like this?

Kiden · Feb 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
but he has done s in the form of an artefact which she can remove."

Missing an 'o' here, I believe.
Edit: Ninja'd

Venustoise · Feb 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
30th March 2013
01:15 GMT +2?

"That is… Disturbing."

With no ability to use my rings, I can't assimilate things directly. My construct lanterns on the other hand can assimilate things just fine on their own, but since I can't boost them, they're stuck using either their mouths, or in Garry's case even slower fungal growths.

Huh. Forget they can due that. You'd think he'd send them out to help assimilate things when he cant focus entirely on it.

"Ah. Well." A giant reptilian severed head construct appears next to me. "Sorry. We'll have to try and get this sorted out-"

Shouldn't the ring be going "Unnamed hydra shade. You belong to the Orange Lantern Corps" or "Identity theft complete" everytime he adds a new head to his construct-corps? Like when Onik was assimilating the crew?

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

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