BR549
This is filth! FILTH!!
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On Earth-16, Gotham City - based on the map shown in one episode - is where OTL Bridgeport, Connecticut is. So Blüdhaven presumably has replaced Stratford.
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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
- Start date
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- Tags
- self insert young justice
On Earth-16, Gotham City - based on the map shown in one episode - is where OTL Bridgeport, Connecticut is. So Blüdhaven presumably has replaced Stratford.
Creation's Commandos (part 4)
Mr Zoat
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12th December 2023
16:02 GMT -5
"You hate me, don't you?"
Dr. Sartorius leans back, smiling faintly. It's interesting that despite the fact that between his pitch black skeleton and translucent green flesh making his face impossible to see with normal senses, he still has facial expression. I suppose that it's an instinct resulting from decades of having a normal face.
"I don't hate you, Dr. Sartorius. I'm not capable of hate."
"No. You do. I can tell." He shifts position slightly. "Thing is, for the life of me, I can't work out why."
"I admit, I didn't prioritise your care when you first arrived. There are a lot of people here who need counsel and compassion."
"And I don't?"
"That's not-."
"It can't be Thorne. You read my file. You know what he did. That was an eye for an eye."
"Yes." I nod. "It was. He and his coterie murdered your family. You have my sympathy for that. Taking their lives in retaliation was entirely within the bounds of justice. What I think that you may have misunderstood is that 'an eye for an eye' is a limitation. You may not extract more in retribution than was done to you. They killed, you may kill them. Vengeance belongs to the Most High."
"And what's that, then?" He shrugs nonchalantly. "Because I sure felt vengeful when I was doing it."
"The right to inflict more harm than was done. Nothing is worse than Hell, which is where the souls of unshriven evildoers go. Since there is no way for anyone to cause harm equal to eternity in Hell, the Most High alone retains that authority. You inflicted considerably more harm than was done to you."
"Eh, you know: can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs." He sits back. "So is this about his wife? Because she knew."
"If she had counselled him in his treatment of you then you may be right. Otherwise-."
"What, you don't think she noticed that a guy who's official job as 'construction manager' didn't take home a little more than usual?"
"That doesn't make her a party to all of his crimes."
"Does from where I'm sitting. You know, you're disappointing me. I'd have thought that an angel would be a lot more vengeful."
"As I said-."
"Yeah, but you're kind of his instrument on Earth. I guess He sent you here to minister to us sinners. Something like that?"
"No. I am here of my own will."
He snorts in amusement. "You're the only one who is."
"Doctor-."
"Okay, so the wife didn't know. Or… Did she, but I don't get any credit for that because I didn't check?"
"Does it matter to you?"
"It didn't, but now you've got me curious. Did she?"
I take a moment to.. centre myself, which… Is unusual. Nothing in this conversation should have left me this discomported… But after a moment I feel the divine presence, directing my thoughts along the true path.
"She was not aware of the specifics of your case, though she was aware that her husband had killed someone the day he murdered your wife and son."
"Good enough for me." He leans back, hands behind his head. "But that's not why."
"Why..?"
"Why you hate me. Really, that's the only reason I'm here. I mean, Weasel ate those kids, and all you did was comb his fur a little."
"In point of fact, Weasel has not committed any crimes."
"So they were really evil kids?"
"So I very much doubt that he killed them at all."
He chuckles. "So he's just a big ole' junkyard dog."
"I'm not sure what he is, but I don't believe that he is a murderer."
"Okay, so-." He straightens slightly. "Oh. Right. His kids."
"They were entirely innocent. As unaware of their parents' sins as your son was of yours."
"Hey. I didn't do any sinning until after he was murdered."
"You didn't knowingly take money from a criminal enterprise to fund your research?"
"Except that. And I didn't give him the results he wanted."
"How do you think that he made that money?"
"Ah… Construction management?"
I regard him for a moment.
"Hey, there's good money in construction."
I continue regarding him without speaking.
"But probably not that much. Okay, yeah, I knew who I was dealing with. More or less. Now, I think my research woulda justified it eventually, but he got tired of me keeping secrets before that could happen. And taking dirty money definitely isn't enough. And he killed my son, so 'eye for an eye' means I'm okay killing his-."
"That is not what that means. Divine law does not allow you to kill an innocent person because someone else killed someone."
"Huh." He leans forwards, studying me. "That's not it either."
"If you have killed other children, then I will hear your confession."
"No, I mean it's not why you hate me. That's weird. I mean, there's not much worse than killing kids. And yeah, I do feel… A little guilty about it. I wasn't exactly thinking straight when I went to his house. But I don't know. I really can't think of anything worse I've done. So what is it?"
"I assure you-."
"Is this what I look like, from the outside? You relax when I'm telling you that you hate me, but the moment I stop a part of you goes back to… Wherever it is. Look at you right now: your wings are all tense."
I… Relax my wings.
"And your fists-."
I open my hands.
"And you must be getting your money's worth with your masseur given how tense your shoulders look."
I circle my neck and wiggle my shoulders.
"So do you just not know..?"
I sigh. "Is this the only reason why you asked for a meeting?"
"It's been bugging me. It's not like I don't know what my sins are. Not much to do around here but think about them. And thanks to Waller, now I get to add to them. But I wanna know what I did that could piss off an angel, and it turns out that you don't even know." He shrugs, standing up. "So unless you've got something to say, I guess we're done."
He's right. I am tensing-. Oh Lord of Hosts, your ignorant servant beseeches you… Why? Why is it that-?
I feel my eyes glazing with golden light, and Dr. Sartorius backs up a step.
"Oh that's what it looks like. I get it now."
"Did you ever kill a man named Doctor Theodore Knight?"
"Doc-. The A-bomb guy? Ah, no? He died when I was, like, three. I've never even visited Opal City." He stares at me as I dim my fires. "Are you..? Okay?"
Am I?
"I am not sure. But we bear our own crosses."
12th December 2023
16:06 GMT -5
In a room on the far side of the prison complex, two power rings inside a Seal of Solomon shimmer with golden light, before being extinguished.
16:02 GMT -5
"You hate me, don't you?"
Dr. Sartorius leans back, smiling faintly. It's interesting that despite the fact that between his pitch black skeleton and translucent green flesh making his face impossible to see with normal senses, he still has facial expression. I suppose that it's an instinct resulting from decades of having a normal face.
"I don't hate you, Dr. Sartorius. I'm not capable of hate."
"No. You do. I can tell." He shifts position slightly. "Thing is, for the life of me, I can't work out why."
"I admit, I didn't prioritise your care when you first arrived. There are a lot of people here who need counsel and compassion."
"And I don't?"
"That's not-."
"It can't be Thorne. You read my file. You know what he did. That was an eye for an eye."
"Yes." I nod. "It was. He and his coterie murdered your family. You have my sympathy for that. Taking their lives in retaliation was entirely within the bounds of justice. What I think that you may have misunderstood is that 'an eye for an eye' is a limitation. You may not extract more in retribution than was done to you. They killed, you may kill them. Vengeance belongs to the Most High."
"And what's that, then?" He shrugs nonchalantly. "Because I sure felt vengeful when I was doing it."
"The right to inflict more harm than was done. Nothing is worse than Hell, which is where the souls of unshriven evildoers go. Since there is no way for anyone to cause harm equal to eternity in Hell, the Most High alone retains that authority. You inflicted considerably more harm than was done to you."
"Eh, you know: can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs." He sits back. "So is this about his wife? Because she knew."
"If she had counselled him in his treatment of you then you may be right. Otherwise-."
"What, you don't think she noticed that a guy who's official job as 'construction manager' didn't take home a little more than usual?"
"That doesn't make her a party to all of his crimes."
"Does from where I'm sitting. You know, you're disappointing me. I'd have thought that an angel would be a lot more vengeful."
"As I said-."
"Yeah, but you're kind of his instrument on Earth. I guess He sent you here to minister to us sinners. Something like that?"
"No. I am here of my own will."
He snorts in amusement. "You're the only one who is."
"Doctor-."
"Okay, so the wife didn't know. Or… Did she, but I don't get any credit for that because I didn't check?"
"Does it matter to you?"
"It didn't, but now you've got me curious. Did she?"
I take a moment to.. centre myself, which… Is unusual. Nothing in this conversation should have left me this discomported… But after a moment I feel the divine presence, directing my thoughts along the true path.
"She was not aware of the specifics of your case, though she was aware that her husband had killed someone the day he murdered your wife and son."
"Good enough for me." He leans back, hands behind his head. "But that's not why."
"Why..?"
"Why you hate me. Really, that's the only reason I'm here. I mean, Weasel ate those kids, and all you did was comb his fur a little."
"In point of fact, Weasel has not committed any crimes."
"So they were really evil kids?"
"So I very much doubt that he killed them at all."
He chuckles. "So he's just a big ole' junkyard dog."
"I'm not sure what he is, but I don't believe that he is a murderer."
"Okay, so-." He straightens slightly. "Oh. Right. His kids."
"They were entirely innocent. As unaware of their parents' sins as your son was of yours."
"Hey. I didn't do any sinning until after he was murdered."
"You didn't knowingly take money from a criminal enterprise to fund your research?"
"Except that. And I didn't give him the results he wanted."
"How do you think that he made that money?"
"Ah… Construction management?"
I regard him for a moment.
"Hey, there's good money in construction."
I continue regarding him without speaking.
"But probably not that much. Okay, yeah, I knew who I was dealing with. More or less. Now, I think my research woulda justified it eventually, but he got tired of me keeping secrets before that could happen. And taking dirty money definitely isn't enough. And he killed my son, so 'eye for an eye' means I'm okay killing his-."
"That is not what that means. Divine law does not allow you to kill an innocent person because someone else killed someone."
"Huh." He leans forwards, studying me. "That's not it either."
"If you have killed other children, then I will hear your confession."
"No, I mean it's not why you hate me. That's weird. I mean, there's not much worse than killing kids. And yeah, I do feel… A little guilty about it. I wasn't exactly thinking straight when I went to his house. But I don't know. I really can't think of anything worse I've done. So what is it?"
"I assure you-."
"Is this what I look like, from the outside? You relax when I'm telling you that you hate me, but the moment I stop a part of you goes back to… Wherever it is. Look at you right now: your wings are all tense."
I… Relax my wings.
"And your fists-."
I open my hands.
"And you must be getting your money's worth with your masseur given how tense your shoulders look."
I circle my neck and wiggle my shoulders.
"So do you just not know..?"
I sigh. "Is this the only reason why you asked for a meeting?"
"It's been bugging me. It's not like I don't know what my sins are. Not much to do around here but think about them. And thanks to Waller, now I get to add to them. But I wanna know what I did that could piss off an angel, and it turns out that you don't even know." He shrugs, standing up. "So unless you've got something to say, I guess we're done."
He's right. I am tensing-. Oh Lord of Hosts, your ignorant servant beseeches you… Why? Why is it that-?
I feel my eyes glazing with golden light, and Dr. Sartorius backs up a step.
"Oh that's what it looks like. I get it now."
"Did you ever kill a man named Doctor Theodore Knight?"
"Doc-. The A-bomb guy? Ah, no? He died when I was, like, three. I've never even visited Opal City." He stares at me as I dim my fires. "Are you..? Okay?"
Am I?
"I am not sure. But we bear our own crosses."
12th December 2023
16:06 GMT -5
In a room on the far side of the prison complex, two power rings inside a Seal of Solomon shimmer with golden light, before being extinguished.
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Rebu
hey, little Anna, you're the one
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"In the business, we call this 'Foreshadowing'."
Darko
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"his face impossible"
Though limited.
Since you can't see his new skin he basically always looks like he's smiling.
He's really not.
Well there were the two kids you murdered.
Plus your life of crime.
"here who need"
That still would have left one dead kid.
Sad but true.
This is concerning.
"Nothing in this"
Well the Blue Lantern version has a daycare for supervillain kids, so that possibility exists.
You did work for a mob boss.
Plus you killed that guard before you killed Thorne.
It's possible that he still makes money from construction.
Granted, it's probably not enough to fund cutting-edge radiation research.
In a superhero universe where buildings get constantly demolished, there honestly might be.
I'm reminded of an episode of Mystery Incorporated where the gang considers a guy that was either in construction or at least in charge of cleaning up the rubble to be the monster of the week.
"telling"
"Look"
"wanna know"
I honestly don't know what happened.
And two rings.
One is probably his orange one and the other is most likely Alan Scott's ring.
If I remember correctly, he agreed to work for Waller in exchange for Alan's Lantern.
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Ngamer11
Experienced.
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Either this was Constantine's way of getting back at Angel Paul for stealing Gabriel's wing, or Waller wanted to keep his services past their agreement.
Lord Ernest
At the End...
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Wait, his rings are in the prison? Could it be that Waller actually knows some of what's happening to Angel SI? And it's more convenient to her to have him be like this?
After all, misguided as an angel, he's apparently bound to her or feels compelled to be bound to her. With his rings and memories who knows if he would be here, probably not. What a strange situation.
After all, misguided as an angel, he's apparently bound to her or feels compelled to be bound to her. With his rings and memories who knows if he would be here, probably not. What a strange situation.
Darko
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He didn't steal them.
He bought them.
Plus, John probably thought it would be a good idea to have an angel that owed him big in case he gets cancer again.
This is very likely.
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
Bigking321
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Frigging Waller.
Sealed his rings and I guess memories so he's running on autopilot after being subsumed by the wings.
Probably something like these people need help, you are here and can help them, and I get slightly less crazy people to deal with plus literal advice from on high.
Nothing can go wrong!
Vaermina
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Given how badly Orange rings fucked up all his other selves this is probably for the best.
Chojin Patriarch
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That's something you never think about with things like 'transparent flesh'. Just because you can't see the meat, doesn't mean it's not still there. ...I shudder to imagine what seeing him eat would look like, though. Although he probably doesn't subsist on normal matter now...
Probably something spiritual. Like grit somewhere sensitive.
He's only got so many hours in the day.
That would be this universe's version of Rupert Thorne, infamous Gotham criminal boss. One that came into conflict with Batman back in the day, pre-Crisis.
In other words, he went too far? To be fair, a man who'd just lost his family and his humanity wouldn't be in the best mental shape to hold back.
Definitely went too far.
I mean, unless he absolutely kept her insulated from his less legal businesses...
And you'd be amazed how people can delude themselves when it's easier to go with it.
Heck, by a very loose reading of the Old and New Testaments, becoming a father/human mellowed the Big Guy out a lot... Of course that would filter down to some of his messengers.
Bullshit meter is buzzing. There's a story behind all this for sure.
I mean, the guards, for one. General Flag for another? Or do non-inmates not count, in his mind?
That's a good point, actually. Would knowledge of a person's crimes count for or against the punishment he dealt?
Seems something in him isn't sitting correctly, it seems. More noteworthy points for this being unusual.
So not completely faultless. But I'm guessing it didn't warrant death, at least in Lan's estimation.
Well, he is sort of ugly-cute. And I doubt he'd bite if he's well-fed.
Another mystery to investigate, not that this alt!Paul seems to bother.
Presumably there would be a spiritual stain on him if he was. But that doesn't necessarily mean he didn't kill them. 'Murder' is not equal to 'Kill' in some moral codes.
And 'Sins of the Father' would not count in this case. Or at all, depending on Lan's programming.
So his hands aren't completely clean. Besides the Thornes, certainly.
Very clever management, no doubt.
Especially in places like Gotham, huh? Where the building codes are taken as more as suggestions.
Don't go arguing semantic with an angel, Doc.
Oh? Interesting...
Sadly, I doubt the stains on his soul care much about being lost in rage or madness. Apparently the Silver City doesn't consider that an excuse, either.
Peculiar. So it really is like a bit of grit somewhere sensitive. Something he isn't even aware of consciously?
Heh, the whole time, he's been wound up like he's about to go full attack-mode swan on the doc?
I mean, given the complexity of the muscle structures there... What with the wings and all... That would be a tricky session.
I mean, if you're prospective teammates, best to make sure any conflicts are worked out before they matter in the field.
Yeah, i doubt anyone deployed on a Task Force mission is coming away with less red in their ledger...
Oooh, metaknowledge getting stuck in his angelic senses? Now that's a big piece of grit.
Different Doctor Phosporous, sadly. Or rather, a different universe. still, knowing of alternate universes must make for some interesting flashes of awareness.
An apt metaphor, given that he seems to have built this one himself.
Dun-dun-DUUUUN.
Well, that was a fascinating stinger to the chapter. More than likely this alt!Paul's original Ring and someone else's (Likely Alan's.) Which may explain the colour of the timestamps, perhaps. The Silver City's energies washing away most vestiges of humanity from the alt!Paul because of his hollow status, and without Rings to maintain some spiritual resilience, it stuck...
Darko
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I don't think she's behind it.
It was mentioned that this takes place after the Flash altered time to prevent Darkseid from fucking over everything and in the process the history of this version was also altered and now he's in a universe where he's always been an angel instead of a guy that had angel wings attached to him.
They didn't all get fucked up by their rings.
And this one is also fucked up in his own way.
Darko
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He did eat a steak when they met the princess.
He used his powers to heat it up.
Plus being put in a machine that pumped him full of radiation didn't help.
Plus even if she did know that he was involved in criminal activity she may have hoped that it wasn't on the level if gutting someone's wife and child and then smearing the guy's hands in the blood to incriminate him.
When it comes to the shady shit that Waller does, I get the feeling that anyone that sees even a bit of it knows that they'll either have to go along with her or disappear.
He did try to make something that can more effectively fight cancer.
haralo99
Know what you're doing yet?
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I just realized it said two, so there's a chance that one's not orange.
Vaermina
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The only one who didn't is the one who ran his ring out of power.
Mr Zoat
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In the comics, Dr. Phosphorus caused the death of Dr. Theodore Knight, aka Starman I. The SI has a considerable degree of respect for him. Lan doesn't consciously remember that.
This Dr. Phosphorus didn't kill him, and doesn't know what Lan is angry about. Lan doesn't know what Lan is angry about.
Before Flash erased the setting from existence through time travel, this version of the SI was part of Suicide Squad. He had the orange power ring he arrived with and a green one that used to belong to that setting's Alan Scott. Somehow, he arrived in the modern DCU. It appears that someone is using the rings and a magic spell used for controlling demons to mess with his head.
Darko
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I thought that with Flash changing things, this version was also changed into basically being someone that was always an angel instead of a guy that had angel wings attached to them.
Mr Zoat
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Yes, but none of the characters know that.
Duke Long
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Maybe this has something to do with why Ahri'ahn has so much antipathy for spiritual beings? Elementals sank Atlantis?
'thousands'
My first thought is the Prince of the World, but Zatanna would've said something if it was a smiley face.
'civilisations are'
Clever method of imprisoning someone. And it worked for millennia, presumably.
'I'm doing'
'on good terms'
What?
'created'?
'So is a'
'these days,'
Woohoo! Ahri'ahn/Gamemnae wasn't just being a supervillain! Hopefully. But now I have to see whether they are going to survive this. I suppose if it is Gamemnae that goes a way towards explaining the difference from the Renegade timeline, where Ahri'ahn seemed like more of a standard supervillain from what I recall.
Great chapter leading up to this by the by.
They really enjoy learning about magic, huh? This doesn't seem like the time, but I suppose they might've been distracting themself from a hopeless situation.
Neat! So that means some forms of magic should work all over?
'sign'
Well, my reasoning was off but I was right about him being involved somehow. Nice to see him.
'those rules'
'woman'
'messily.'
Cool! I was surprised by how nice Despair was about this whole thing; I thought there was no way he'd be getting out of there without something bad happening to him.
'-its'
Clever. But I thought Mictlan was toast after the Anti-Life? Is he just being reassuring?
'lets go'
I'm not quite sure why being told about Boss Smiley made her decide to head to Delirium's portrait. Was he somehow increasing the energy pull and she thought she could stop him from doing that with access to the portrait?
'near-lunar'?
'it does'
'let it'
'there's nothing that'
'that they would'?
'don't appear'?
'It feels'
Edit: added another correction that I didn't notice previously even despite quoting the segment it appeared in.
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Wivk
Not too sore, are you?
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I figured it was a thing his character did in another continuity that was the issue but I wasn't sure. I figured it was possible the bad guy had some super science he was squandering as well and that usually ticks off the main guy too.
Doccer
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So it's the Five Minute Theory. Someone retroactively did this to him to explain when he eventually becomes/rediscovers he's a Lantern Angel?
The Man (part 6)
Mr Zoat
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1st June 2013
18:59 GMT -6
I hold the drug cache in a construct cube, frowning as it floats before us. "Are you sure this is alright?"
Detective O'Toole shrugs. "I ain't smokin' it."
"I mean, don't you need it for evidence?"
"Do you?"
I frown at him. "The way you say that makes it sound like I should. Should I?"
"Look, it's pretty obvious that President Knight isn't capable of running a lemonade stand, much less a country. And I guess that didn't matter before the… What'd you call it, 'Anti-Life'?" I nod. "Before what happened happened. Governor's no better. Mayor's a decent woman -unlike her husband- but things have fallen apart too much. We can't fix…" He waves his right arm at the rest of Hub City. "This. Only reason why we're trying to keep it going rather than just relocating everyone who's left is most of the criminals 're dead too. That and the Question."
"Well, I'm… Sorry to hear that, but there's only so much we can do."
"How about the twenty fifth amendment?"
"And replace him with who? It's not just a matter of the person at the top being competent and then everything works; the whole system's… Broken."
"Didn't you guys make Captain Atom the President for a month?"
"Technically, sort of. I don't know if it actually counted, and he wasn't really in control of much."
"Could he do better?"
…
I feel like I'm being a little unfair to Knight here, but…
"Probably?"
"So tell the current V.P. that he's quitting, get Congress to confirm Captain Atom and then get Knight to quit."
"That's a.. bit dodgy. And even if we did-."
"I thought you were the guy who said that the Justice League was taking over the world."
"That's not what I said."
He shrugs. "Sue me. What did you say?"
"I said-. Ah… I'm afraid that I've been banned from talking about it."
He shrugs, looking around the abandoned multi-story car park. "You see anyone listening?"
"Batman would know. He always knows. But-. Look, civilisation isn't something that can be held together by a few dozen people. And even.. seriously suggesting that we try it is… Suggesting that we admit defeat. Rebuilding civilisation has to be a grass roots thing, where people rebuild things that they actually value, and… I guess… Let the things that they don't value just collapse."
"Like… America?"
"If the people of America really don't value any of the things that the country is supposed to stand for… Yes, I'm afraid so."
"You're from England. What are you talking about?"
"Yes, I am, and I once got stuck in America's soul and got into a fight with a manifestation of the military-industrial complex."
"Did you win?"
"Yes."
"Okay. How?"
"Ah… I gave the manifested idea of President Kennedy superpowers and detoxed Uncle Sam. I also beat up some of the spineless worms infesting the idea of the city of Washington."
"Shoulda beat up some more." His eyes flick up to my construct. "There ain't no point keeping it because we don't have the people to do an investigation. Mosta the criminals either died or got outta town, so whoever dumped it probably ain't around no more, and if they are we don't have the officers, or judges, or a record of potential jurors, or a working prison."
"So… What are you doing with criminals?"
"Depends. A fine, a beating, or we stick them in a labor gang for a while. Mayor declared a state of emergency, which makes it… About as legal as Captain Atom's presidency, I guess." He considers me as I disintegrate the drug cache. "Unless that's a problem?"
"No, things don't get much more 'emergency' than the total breakdown of human civilisation. I just… I don't want this to become 'normal', you know? This is something that we should be working to get away from. What are this city's primary industries?"
"It used to be heavy manufacturing. Cars and farming equipment mostly. Oh, and hard drugs."
"Medicinal drugs or just narcotics?"
"Ah… A little of both. You need to know your chemistry to make decent meth."
"Are the narcotics here actually good quality?"
"We don't really keep records on that, but my guess is that the quality dropped as the economy disappeared."
Huh. That seems… Reasonable. There is actually…
Food variety isn't what it was, but all of the figures that the Justice League has say that we aren't looking at a starvation situation this year. But… Next year? Industrialised nations move people away from farming and into manufacturing, compensating for the lack of manpower with improved machinery. The problem there is that it means that there are fewer people in your civilisation who know how to farm. And since farming is a demanding and low-paid job, people who aren't going to inherit the family farm don't look to acquire a new farm, they get a job doing something else.
So we can't just take a bunch of homeless people, drop them off on a now-empty farm and say 'get on with it'. And keeping the equipment running on the farms that are still operating but will start to suffer maintenance issues as the factories and companies that supplied them collapse and cease functioning is going to become an issue.
And LexCorp's farming robots aren't a remotely realistic replacement.
"Do the people who used to work in those factories still live here?"
He shrugs. "Some of them probably do."
Okay. If I check with Dox that he doesn't need Queen Artemis's magicians right now, and… No further high-end magic threats arise, I can employ them to make more Dolmen Gates for Cadburys Logistics. Put a terminus here…
"Okay, I've got an idea. Let's finish sweeping this block, and then I'll need to go and talk to the mayor."
18:59 GMT -6
I hold the drug cache in a construct cube, frowning as it floats before us. "Are you sure this is alright?"
Detective O'Toole shrugs. "I ain't smokin' it."
"I mean, don't you need it for evidence?"
"Do you?"
I frown at him. "The way you say that makes it sound like I should. Should I?"
"Look, it's pretty obvious that President Knight isn't capable of running a lemonade stand, much less a country. And I guess that didn't matter before the… What'd you call it, 'Anti-Life'?" I nod. "Before what happened happened. Governor's no better. Mayor's a decent woman -unlike her husband- but things have fallen apart too much. We can't fix…" He waves his right arm at the rest of Hub City. "This. Only reason why we're trying to keep it going rather than just relocating everyone who's left is most of the criminals 're dead too. That and the Question."
"Well, I'm… Sorry to hear that, but there's only so much we can do."
"How about the twenty fifth amendment?"
"And replace him with who? It's not just a matter of the person at the top being competent and then everything works; the whole system's… Broken."
"Didn't you guys make Captain Atom the President for a month?"
"Technically, sort of. I don't know if it actually counted, and he wasn't really in control of much."
"Could he do better?"
…
I feel like I'm being a little unfair to Knight here, but…
"Probably?"
"So tell the current V.P. that he's quitting, get Congress to confirm Captain Atom and then get Knight to quit."
"That's a.. bit dodgy. And even if we did-."
"I thought you were the guy who said that the Justice League was taking over the world."
"That's not what I said."
He shrugs. "Sue me. What did you say?"
"I said-. Ah… I'm afraid that I've been banned from talking about it."
He shrugs, looking around the abandoned multi-story car park. "You see anyone listening?"
"Batman would know. He always knows. But-. Look, civilisation isn't something that can be held together by a few dozen people. And even.. seriously suggesting that we try it is… Suggesting that we admit defeat. Rebuilding civilisation has to be a grass roots thing, where people rebuild things that they actually value, and… I guess… Let the things that they don't value just collapse."
"Like… America?"
"If the people of America really don't value any of the things that the country is supposed to stand for… Yes, I'm afraid so."
"You're from England. What are you talking about?"
"Yes, I am, and I once got stuck in America's soul and got into a fight with a manifestation of the military-industrial complex."
"Did you win?"
"Yes."
"Okay. How?"
"Ah… I gave the manifested idea of President Kennedy superpowers and detoxed Uncle Sam. I also beat up some of the spineless worms infesting the idea of the city of Washington."
"Shoulda beat up some more." His eyes flick up to my construct. "There ain't no point keeping it because we don't have the people to do an investigation. Mosta the criminals either died or got outta town, so whoever dumped it probably ain't around no more, and if they are we don't have the officers, or judges, or a record of potential jurors, or a working prison."
"So… What are you doing with criminals?"
"Depends. A fine, a beating, or we stick them in a labor gang for a while. Mayor declared a state of emergency, which makes it… About as legal as Captain Atom's presidency, I guess." He considers me as I disintegrate the drug cache. "Unless that's a problem?"
"No, things don't get much more 'emergency' than the total breakdown of human civilisation. I just… I don't want this to become 'normal', you know? This is something that we should be working to get away from. What are this city's primary industries?"
"It used to be heavy manufacturing. Cars and farming equipment mostly. Oh, and hard drugs."
"Medicinal drugs or just narcotics?"
"Ah… A little of both. You need to know your chemistry to make decent meth."
"Are the narcotics here actually good quality?"
"We don't really keep records on that, but my guess is that the quality dropped as the economy disappeared."
Huh. That seems… Reasonable. There is actually…
Food variety isn't what it was, but all of the figures that the Justice League has say that we aren't looking at a starvation situation this year. But… Next year? Industrialised nations move people away from farming and into manufacturing, compensating for the lack of manpower with improved machinery. The problem there is that it means that there are fewer people in your civilisation who know how to farm. And since farming is a demanding and low-paid job, people who aren't going to inherit the family farm don't look to acquire a new farm, they get a job doing something else.
So we can't just take a bunch of homeless people, drop them off on a now-empty farm and say 'get on with it'. And keeping the equipment running on the farms that are still operating but will start to suffer maintenance issues as the factories and companies that supplied them collapse and cease functioning is going to become an issue.
And LexCorp's farming robots aren't a remotely realistic replacement.
"Do the people who used to work in those factories still live here?"
He shrugs. "Some of them probably do."
Okay. If I check with Dox that he doesn't need Queen Artemis's magicians right now, and… No further high-end magic threats arise, I can employ them to make more Dolmen Gates for Cadburys Logistics. Put a terminus here…
"Okay, I've got an idea. Let's finish sweeping this block, and then I'll need to go and talk to the mayor."
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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Thank you, corrected.
Chojin Patriarch
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Reminds me of a GTA San Andreas mission, where you frame a DA with a huge block of weed in his car. One of the radio DJs comments on it afterwards with a line about "Imagine keeping that much for your personal stash."
Probably not relevant, but it tickled my fancy.Given the state of the local city, it may well disappear out of the police evidence locker...
People toughing it out because they don't have any better plan. A common thing after the Anti-Life, I bet.
That would be... Oust the sitting President on medical grounds? That'd need doing via the government processes.
Via even more tenuous emergency powers, if I remember rightly. And he didn't seem all that comfortable with the idea.
Well, if nothing else, he'd be able to save money on Secret Service details.
Especially since, if I remember right, you backed him for the seat?
Oh yes, so easy when you say it like that...
It was more like an emergency guardianship. And obviously not expected to remain in place once old power structures recovered...
Yes, do refresh our memories. Not everyone has perfect recall for the story details, after all.
Let's not invoke the wrath of Batman like that? Especially since he's still rocking a Power Ring.
Well, that's the hopeful view of it. Sadly, sometimes those unvalued things cling to existence through cultural inertia or personal contrariness.
Good luck even getting a consensus on that, since asking three different people will get six different answers...
...That was a weird episode, yes.
Wouldn't be here otherwise, since that sort of thing usually doesn't end well for the loser.
...A very weird episode.
And again, a high chance of someone walking off from the evidence impound with it... This is Hub City, after all.
Hey, call it 'community service' and it's all nice and above board. Sort of. Vaguely.
Getting ideas about refilling the factories, OL?
Yeah, 'Breaking Bad' is probably more plausible than you'd think...
I mean, it's not like they can get testimonials from the users.
Sadly, it's becoming a lost art. And farming doesn't really have much in the way of prestige these days.
Troublesome. Though I expect it'll break up some untenable practices in that respect.
Given how easy it seemed to be to reprogram them into killers (which we saw in Mitchell's episode,) I'm not surprised. Nature doesn't really play nice with such industrial-scale practices.
Ah, making use of superheroic solutions to mundane problems...
I'm guessing he plans to revitalise the city by setting up some distribution centres or manufacturing facilities in the city. It's certainly one of the things OL does well, injecting new life into logistical dead-ends and economic downturns. No wonder boss Smiley doesn't like him.
And every time he does it, the world gets a little more interesting.
Ngamer11
Experienced.
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Considering they're probably still recovering from everything Gamemnae did to them, I think they won't be working for N.E.M.O. any time soon.
Darko
Connoisseur.
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Plus fixing whatever she did to bring Atlantis to the surface will take all the skill and power that they have.
Not to mention the potential political crisis.
With segregation coming back, even if it was relatively briefly, a lot of resentment and anger may have cropped up if any of the purebloods looked too enthusiastic when they were telking people that segregation will be coming back.
Duke Long
Glomerulus
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'Reasonably'?
'henchman'?