Young Justice Plus

[WyldCard4]

[X] "I'm on my way!" You pause, and suddenly have a flash of want. You transmute yourself a costume out of the bed sheets, and are off.
-[X] Costume.

Click to shrink...

Metropolis, Kansas- July 28, 1: 27 EDT

You take a moment and swirl the costume about yourself. Orange and white strike your fancy but that is not quite right. You briefly consider red for the waters of Antar, but it does not fit. Antar, of course; You make your costume orange and grey, shrinking it into a spandex like material to maximize movement and swirling in boots. Greyed hair and grease paint around your upper face. Orange around your arms and curling down along your sides and down to circle around your legs. Grey in the chest and back. An Antarian spiral and triangle around your left in grey, and the symbol for destiny in orange around your belly.

You leave through the window, sliding down the side with a burst of leptokinesis on the wall to slide down at a quick but reasonable pace. Glancing at your phone you determine the route through a mapping app and begin to walk briskly. It would take too long to get your car out of the parking garage and even at this time of night the traffic is congested in New Troy. It is only a few blocks until you reach the Tipton.

The street lights are bright in Metropolis. Outside of the alleys it may as well be noon on many of the streets.

As you ran you had wondered how you would find Princess Marcia's room in a large hotel. That turns out not to be a problem. Near the top floor one of the windows has clearly been shattered completely. You consider for a moment and direct your ice belt, and you find yourself racing up steps made of ice along the side of the building far faster than you could have changed the building's side by yourself. Reaching the hole in the wall you hear shouting.

"...the sale of the bones of the Abin Sur is most unpleasing and vile as he has done nothing to harm us and this ritual is not a part of proper Ungaran funeral customs. I implore you to reconsider your plans of purchase that your sister has requested of you." You see the back of the orange skin and purple costume of Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran.

"As a matter of pride Bialya must give proper respect to Green Lantern Abin Sur. He deposed the old and illegitimate imperial puppets and established the Parliament of Bialya. He also deescalated the '76 rebellion without forcing us into a civil war. My people owe Abin Sur as much as any people on Earth and we merely seek to honor that." Princess Marcia of Bialya is standing up to the floating alien powerhouse, and you are surprisingly impressed. She is darker skinned than you thought people got in the Mid East, but it was never something you put much attention into. She is pretty in a surprisingly "girl next door" way and her grooming looks very Westernized, though the hotel robe might emphasize that.

"Bialya has every right to honor the Abin Sur Green Lantern for his many feats of bravery and wisdom yet his bones do not belong away from Ungara soil because the burial practices of Ungara are not being followed. His people believe he should be buried with the other members of his maternal line for the sake of honor. Amon Sur is a criminal and traitor to his people who fled his planet after the Black Circle Crime Syndicate was defeated by Green Lantern of the glasses. Amon Sur must be extradited immediately to face trial for his crimes!" Koriand'r is shouting passionately. You see Marcia make a gesture at you, but what she is trying to say you have no idea.

"Bialya has no authority over interplanetary crimes. That is under the authority of the Green Lantern Corp and their legal representatives. If the auction is illegal you should talk to them." Koriand'r deflates for a second as Marcia explains.

"They refuse to listen! They say that Amon Sur has the legal right to all of his father's possessions and his corpse due to the will of Abin Sur. That is preposterous! The will clearly contravines the legalisms of Ungara that Green Lanterns do not claim authority over..." She continues talking and you sit down, feeling mildly disappointed. Violence does not seem to be the answer here. Princess Koriand'r seems to just need to blow off some steam.

"Please, my human sleep cycle is not designed for these kinds of interruptions. I request that you leave." Princess Marcia gives you another confusing gesture.

"You!" The Tamaranian whirls around suddenly. "I recall that it is not Earthling human custom or tradition to go invading the windows of strangers at night as the Superman and the Green Lantern have stated on twelve separate occasions. What are you doing violating the personal privacy of the Bialya Princess?" She scowls at you.

"She is my friend and has that permission granted explicitly," Marcia gently explains.

"Salutations and honor, friend of Princess Marcia!" To your great surprise she sweeps you into a hug that practically injures you. "Are you also a Bialyan Noble or are you one of her many beloved school companions such as Joane Ridley of Agnes Blackadder Hall?"

"She's an online friend," Marcia says before you can speak. The wind is taken out of you by the hug, rendering speech impossible.

"What is this online that you speak of?" The alien asks enthusiastically. Her former anger seems gone?

"It is a human communication system that stretches across national borders," You explain. Marcia mouths "help me" as you talk.

"How is that legally possible? It was clearly explained to me that the foundation of local International Law is the Treaty of Westphalia that closed the War That Lasted Thirty Years. How can frequent international cultural exchange be possible when it is a principle that interference inside the borders of another nation-state should not be acceptable unless one nation-state was an aggressor?" She pauses. "You may call me Star Fire, if you wish, as my full name is difficult for humans to speak according to the Green Lantern that is Dawn Summers."

[X] You need to run now. She has been escorted by superheroes and police ever since she arrived. It is not safe for you here.

[X] You cannot stop this conversation. This is alien royalty. How could you leave?

[X] You need to protect your client. There is more than enough evidence for a struggle. You prepare to illusion and attack "Starfire."

 

[WyldCard4]

[X] You cannot stop this conversation. This is alien royalty. How could you leave?

Click to shrink...

Metropolis, Kansas- July 28, 1:37 EDT

"I think you might misunderstand the whole Westphalia thing. We can trade and communicate across borders a lot, even move. The Internet is like a set of cables that connect the computers in all different cities and countries together. It was originally designed in case of a nuclear war, so the network would survive even if major portions of the world were cut off from it. Since then we've started to use it for everything. Art, media, culture, finance, design, and other things are heavily facilitated by it."

"Oh." Starfire's eyes widen and you notice her eye brows are very strange, almost dots. "This is a civilization enduring the Third Wave. You have yet to experience a Maelstrom Event and the subsequent advent of the sexual computing revolution that marks the end of the Third Wave. Your civilization is also a particularly distributed multipolar one instead of a Bloc Planet or Worldstate."

"Yeah, what she said." Marcia says sarcastically.

"Oh I am sorry. I see how my statements are confusing as your historical development and cultural touchstones are still predominantly ones of a Second Wave society and your Internet has not integrated a proper understanding of extra-terrestrial life into your educational systems! The First Wave is agriculture, Second Wave is a First Industrial Revolution, Third Wave is the spread of infotech. Debate breaks down on Waves beyond Third among communities in the Sector 2814."

"Uhuh." You nod.

"Tell me about yourself new small woman who I do not know!" Starfire twirls about.

"I'm Ava. I live far away from here near the East Coast of North America. I am a personal assistant for a florist." None of that is strictly a lie, you think.

"Oh! You are one of the humans who spends a billion seconds on the maintenance of plant genitalia! How wonderful that must be to be surrounded constantly by pollen, stinging insects, and the sharp implements used to care for them! Tell me all about it!"

"Well..."

Metropolis, Kansas- July 28, 2:27 EDT

"So as I understand it your government pays great subsidies to the growers of this 'corn' and then due to the cheapness have it undergo much enzymatic processing to convert some of the glucose into delicious fructose to produce a desired sweetness to replace sugar in this beverage?" Starfire is still staring at the label for the can of diet coke she discovered in the minibar.

"I think so," You whisper tiredly. "I am not an expert on food production."

"How strange. In most Wave Four-Point-Five-Plus societies it is all but universal for each dwelling to have a self contained artificial food production systems that allow for the meeting of all dietary needs." Starfire pauses. "It is rather like hearing about the incredible effort of handcrafted furniture in low technology societies when mass production and global supply chains have always taken care of such things for you. The fact that you do not carefully calibrate your food to your specific health and nutritional needs is a foreign experience to me." Starfire pauses and then shrugs and pops the can into her mouth. The explosion of liquid oddly does not trigger a coughing fit, but a very long alien tongue is seen swirling after the explosion and her head rocks back to catch more of the liquid. Koriand'r laughs in delight. "I had no idea Earthlings had such a taste for practical jokes when eating!" Her tongue whips out and licks her face clean and she takes a towel to mop up the rest.

"Why are you on Earth anyway?" You ask slowly. She is exiled royalty and the topic does need to be breached. It seemed like that would be easier than explaining what had actually happened with the can.

"My sister made some decisions I do not agree with," The line is snappish, quick, and sounds rehearsed. "The Green Lantern allowed me to come to Earth with her after she investigated the results of Komand'r's actions. I chose to come with Dawn Summers to explore one of the descendent races of my species." She looks at the soda covered town and begins to chew angrily.

"Descendent races?" Marcia speaks up. "What do you mean?"

"The Hidden Ones are descended from the Oan and pre-Tamaranian hybrids who were common during the contact phase of the Maltusian Oecumene and the Second World. A space ship believed to have been carrying something akin to a boarding school of royal hostages was lost during a hot phase of a localized conflict and crashed on the Hidden World. It was centuries before their survivors were located, and they had become a civilization attached to their planet. The Vathlo Hidden Ones had a rogue group that split off and investigated Earth for a long period. This camp left behind remnants that mingled with aboriginal Earthlings to create what you refer to as your 'human race' and what most people refer to as Earthlings."

"That is fascinating," You say sincerely. Nothing you hadn't known before, but it is a very fresh perspective on it. "One thing I've never understood is how Tamaranians and Maltusians interbred. I have heard that Tamaranians were created artificially and lack Maltusian DNA. I guess the same can be asked of aboriginals."

Starfire nods politely. "Tamaranians were designed to be intermediaries between Ysmault and Oa. We were built in the image of Maltusians as the Old Ones understood them. Love and marriage were sacred among the Oans of that period and the Predator was their Fear. Without mutual reproduction we would have been walking abominations in the eyes of those we were to meet with unbridled joy! How could we share values if we did not have a mutual love for the same cute little babies!" Starfire is happy and excited once again.

"And the other demons?" Marcia asks, exhasperated.

"Oh. Hidden Ones bred through a Birthing Matrix or kulahn-gavrrigehd. The translation is akin to 'child request' in their barbaric tongue. Such a device could merge the genetic material of any number of parents with vast differences in nature." You feel a mild twinge of annoyance as you remember your own pod. Still, you can't annoy someone like this.

"Would you mind sharing more about what Tamaran is like?" You ask.

"It is wonderful! Tamaran is a tropical paradise due the tireless efforts of my people. Vast continents and numerous races stretch across my home planet. The ecosystem is dozens of times as productive as Earth's and supports well over five hundred billion people!" Starfire spins happily again and sighs.

"That sounds crowded," You sad softly.

"Non-sense! The population density is far less than your own cities. With 85% of my planet's population being capable of flight through natural or technological means and multiple layers of bio-technological foliage the planet is spacious and comfortable! That is not even beginning to go over those who desire open spaces who inhabit the rich oceans of Tamaran either in the floating seasteads or in the ocean floor colonies. Furthermore there are many who choose to dig deep down into undercities which contain fabulous wealth of energy and productive mass which they exploit through accepting personal genetic engineering. Tamaran is not even the only inhabited planet of the Vega System! Tamaranian technology offers boundless opportunities for all citizens through proper exploitation of our natural resources." Starfire looks mildly offended. "Of course the Gordanian and Citadelian return has forced certain hardships. Tens of millions genetically engineered soldiers retiring as well as the strain of Gordanian reparations are causing problems. However, compared to business as usual in a country such as India Tamaran would still be considered a paradise to the Earthling population."

You feel a strange rush of excitement. Ethan wants to open portals to this place. Economic and technological development with a place like Tamaran as a baseline would be indescribable. Tamaran might have more people than the rest of Sector put together. "Out of curiosity, how would you view trade between Earth and Tamaran?"

Starfire looks confused. "Trade of what? The expense of moving one gram from Tamaran to Earth is roughly to fourteen to the eighth power ros'r units. Our scientific and linguistic paths as well as cultural touchstones are so divergent that it would likely take longer for you to translate them for your own scientific culture to catch up to us. Your sister planet Ma'aleca'andra is a far more suitable uplift partner being closer to your technology and far cheaper to move mass. Mars is similarly partnered with the Skrit Na of the Whirlwind System, though their own internal conflicts are of course problematic for the Green Race. Skrit Na are partnered as well, and so the chain goes all the way to the Guardians of the Universe. How would a terrestrial trade system apply to a starfaring planet when your planet is not starfaring?"

[X] You smile. "I have a proposition for you, Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran. How would you like to be in on the ground floor of something that could change our worlds forever?

[X] "I guess you are right," You admit heavily. She is too much of an unknown quantity to invite into your working.

[X] "Just a sec." You leap out of your seat, excited. It could ruin the moment, or expose things if you are wrong, but if you call Ethan he might want to invite Starfire into your little circle.

 

[WyldCard4]

[X] You smile. "I have a proposition for you, Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran. How would you like to be in on the ground floor of something that could change our worlds forever?

Click to shrink...

Metropolis, Kansas- July 28, 2:47 EDT

Starfire sits across hotel table from you in stunned silence. A minute ago you had finished talking. This is the longest silence from her since you arrived.

"Fifty-three planets in Sector 2814?" Her question is reserved, pleading.

"That is how many flowers we have. More might be possible. It is lucky that so many could be gathered."

"There is the Kept World that might be possibly added. Maybe Ket in the Gemworld system." Starfire's voice is very soft. "Every world has flowers if the Old Ones used it. A flower is a symbol. In magic a name is more than an image, and a flower is more than a name. If they used a world it would need flowers. Your master chose very well." Starfire pauses. "Blood and flowers. Many worlds have forgotten flowers and stuck to blood. I don't know why. The Green and the Red. His spell will need blood."

"I know," You admit. "Someone always bleeds."

"Not always." She speaks wistfully. "When the Gordanians kill they use the Shredders of the Andalites. It is a weapon that kills instantly without pain. Kill with a Shredder and your foe is just gone. Tell me if that is better."

"Yes," You say quietly. "It is what I would use if I had it. I don't like to see their pain when they die."

"Three of your Earth centuries ago the Andalites unleashed a Quantum Virus on the people of Tamaran. Half of us died. A Tamaranian cell would be recognized and the virus would get to work, establishing a network that would release a pulse that caused certain proteins to stop folding. A Tamaranian would feel a rush of drowsiness and lie down to never get up again. The survivors were almost all sterile, the blood of the Shaper of Things keeping them alive but not undoing the damage. Their rage carried them, but no one could strike at the Andalite warships who was left alive. Every photosynthetic cell on Tamaran was hit by the same process fifty years later, and the death toll was greater than when it targeted our bodies. An Andalite is a herbivore. When they hate and fear they have no mercy in their twin hearts. Tamaran has never been able to reach them and fight them on their level.

"If the portals open there would be a war. Right now the Gordanians hold a fifth of my home planet because they are backed by twenty-five Dome Ships. If there was any way to take the fight to our enemies homeworld there is nothing that could stand in our way. Nothing. Andalites would ignite the atmosphere of a planet before they let that happen. This would be a war more terrible than any this Sector remembers. More terrible than the Ma'aleca'andra Civil War that left the planet so irradiated that the only survivors live in fortress caves. More terrible than the Yeerk Invasions where entire sentient species were subjected to the most terrible slavery imaginable. Only when Oa put the Old Ones to death would overshadow this conflict. If you betray me than I will kill you."

"I understand." You nod solemnly. "You need this war."

"My parents committed suicide when my sister betrayed us to Citadel allies of the Andalites. My brother fled in shame and my fiance was assassinated by Gordanians with the power to morph." Starfire's eyes are burning with green energy."

"My condolences." You say honestly.

"You are going to be responsible for an atrocity. Why are you willing to let this happen?" Starfire gives you a very intense stare.

"I want to go home," You answer. "And I want to become a witch. I want the power to live free and safely. A war that began before I was born is not my responsibility."

"I accept your explanation. Tell me of your needs! I shall assist you until the portals are opened or until I take my last breath." Starfire's fist hits the table and passes through it. The splinters go everywhere.

"I need a bone from Abin Sur. Any flowers from other planets we do not have would be appreciated, but we have all of the major ones. My master knows the other ingredients, but has not shared them all with me. When I talk to him I will ask him what you could help with."

"I will be wanted soon. Halla Superman is meeting me in a few hours. I should prepare for that. Normal conversation will be difficult under the circumstances." Starfire sighs.

"Halla?" You ask curiously.

"Deputy of the Green Lanterns. Halla is the honorific but Earth lacks a history with it so I shall restrain myself from using that term in the future when speaking in English." Starfire gets up and walks out the door.

You go to the bedroom of the suite, knocking on the door. "She's gone." The tired Marcia opens the door. "Thank you for coming to my..." She shakes her head. "I thought I was in danger for my life."

"It was good you called. We need you. Get us that bone." You leave her be.


Metropolis, Kansas- July 28, 12:47 EDT

"I am relieved," Ethan admits over the phone. "Certain things will be easier now. The princess will be an invaluable ally."

"Do you have any other assignments for me?" You ask. "Before I 'steal' the bone that is."

"Well, there is one possibility." Ethan sounds a bit worried. "A bit of a stretch, but I was asked to do this by someone I would very much rather not annoy at the moment. There is a reporter named Lois Lane for the Metropolis Inquisitor. A fine reporter who has won two Pulitzer Prizes and was recently fired after new management purchased the paper. She is one of Superman's known associates, someone he goes to when he has stories. She is Chloe Sullivan's cousin and there was a scandal about her dating the very married Clark Kent a while back." The lineup of huge names in reporting briefly stuns you.

"What's the mission?" You ask.

There is a long pause on the other end of the line. "The man who requested this is someone I cannot name and who I believe would get revenge on us both if we crossed him. He needs someone deniable to do this. I understand if you have reservations about killing Lois Lane but he insisted."

"Oh." You sit down. You have killed before. There is something so cold blooded about this. "Superman's personal ally?"

"Friend, too. Sometimes she is called his girlfriend, especially after Chloe Sullivan married Oliver Queen. She dated Mr. Queen seriously as well. According to her current employer, before she began working for them, she was happily dating both Clark Kent and his beautiful wife." Ethan sighs. "I read gossip pages a lot. It can come in handy in my line of work. You never know who is going to hire a chaos mage."

"Why is she working for a tabloid, anyway?" You ask. Ethan needs to be kept a bit distracted, you think.

"Her first reporting job was there, outside of blogs. Her blog says it is because people read The Inquisitor. She wants to do a few very high profile stories and she wants people to read them. The amount of money our employer could lose if she does this is astronomical."

"Okay then." You sigh. "I guess I am on a contract for a murder."

[X] Investigation write in. You need to investigate her work, her life, her job. It is a risk for being noticed, but the more information you have the better.

[X] Assassination write in. You could just be near her and do something subtle, or not be near her and do something subtle.

[X] Mind control write in. You could try and use your powers on someone's brain. Mindwarp them into killing Lois Lane. That could have its own issues. You are not the best at this. There have been accidents before with your attempts at mind control.