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

SCDarkSoul · May 11, 2025

Ngl, didn't keep up with this story for a few years, and still need to go back and reread that, so I'm missing a lot of context here.

But man, that sounds like some well intentioned extremism. A whole lot of "technically okay" individual steps that all together add up to something that looks kinda fucked up.

Noctus · May 11, 2025

Vaermina said:
It's kind of gotten worse in that front.

gdi, oh well ty for telling me though

TFTwink · May 11, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
I'm.. not really comfortable with altering people's minds like that. Wouldn't it-?"

"Aren't you?"

Right in Da Feelz, Bats

Hope this leads to Paul-Graven type empowerment and not Anti-Life 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Darko · May 11, 2025

Well this is fucked.

Mr Zoat said:
He grins, and-. For a moment I'm reminded of something, but I can't-. Superman. His face is obviously different, but if I adjust… It's modelled on Superman's public confident-and-reassuring smile

If you want someone to trust you, having Superman's face is useful.

Mr Zoat said:
"Not completely. What he lost were specific memories. He doesn't remember what his name was, where he was from, what his employment was or similar matters. The same link that provides him with power can also provide him with information, but as that link can be disrupted I thought it best to leave the volunteers with the basic skills to navigate the world

So they lose memories of their friends and family.

People that could tell them to stop.

Mr Zoat said:
Volunteers? People… Volunteered for this?"

Not that surprising.

After Anti-Life a lot if folks will probably do anything to not experience it again.

Heck, Batman said that the League isn't so much taking over as it's being given power.

That makes sense too.

Even the most power-hungry politicians would not want to experience Anti-Life again and they know that the League was the one that got rid of it, so they may think the smart thing to do is give them control.

Mr Zoat said:
"Huh-oh… Kay? That doesn't sound… Healthy."

"Don't worry, Orange Lantern!" Mr. Blank grins, this time with a little more passion in it. "It's okay to be productively insane

To be fair, all there if the people there are insane.

Mr Zoat said:
. I deeply regret what I did to you, and I'll undo it the moment you ask

I think he already undid it after they beat Manseid.

Whenever Possible · May 11, 2025

At the point where you're erasing people's memories to establish the personality and values you want and then housing them with AI to ensure the socialization enforces the personality and values you want, you might as well just use AI built from the group-up to have the personality and values you want instead of erasing people's memories. Especially when you're using New God technology which touches on the arcane structures that I assume would at least partially persist even after erasing most of a person's memories.

To say nothing of the fact that Batman is apparently trying to make Earth its own Warhounds.

Chojin Patriarch · May 11, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
11th July 2013
08:04 GMT

There's a slight… Shimmer, to his left, and… That's the Mohican that I remember. He's back in his juiced up mode, but his clothing has had a substantial upgrade. The orange brown trousers and blue torso parts are now clearly armoured, and there's a thick belt unit with what looks suspiciously like a piece of Apokoliptian… New God technology on it. The gold boots, gauntlets and neck piece also look like there's more to them than you initially see. On his chest is a sort of stylised eye symbol, a gold outline with a small red pupil.

Ah, Buddy again. In full OMAC regalia, too. I wonder if other agents will have the same outfit, with or without the mohawk? But more importantly, how is his mind? Given how badly affected eh was when he got cut off last time...

Mr. Blank takes a confident pose, chin forwards and hands on hips. "Orange Lantern."

"Mister Blank. Or… If you're in costume, should I use your nom de heroique?"

One he'll likely share with others. Or will they have numerical designations? Is Buddy OMAC-001?

He grins, and-. For a moment I'm reminded of something, but I can't-. Superman. His face is obviously different, but if I adjust… It's modelled on Superman's public confident-and-reassuring smile.

"That's quite alright. You hadn't been read into the Global Peace Agency initiative, and I treated you like a regular intruder." He steps forwards and holds out his right hand. "How about we let bygones be bygones?"

Sounds like they cribbed a bit from Captain Marvel's transformation when he empowers himself. It changes Billy from teenage boy to 'rough approximation of his father as a Superman lookalike.'

"Certainly." I take his hand, and his grip is… Firm, but in a reassuring and confident sort of way. "But I've… I've got to ask… What..? Was that?" I glance at Batman before returning my attention to him. "With the robot fake parents, and… Shrinking down when I destroyed the transmitter?"

Is that a standard thing for all the OMAC agents or just Buddy? How many did you make?

He glances at Batman for permission, and receives a nod. "I take it that you analysed the samples you took?"

I nod. "Yes. They empowered you using some sort of radiated power?"

With a measure of adaptive reconfiguration to let him loosely emulate other powersets, wasn't it? Baseline levels in all general superpower fields, but able to boost that to some higher level as needed?

"Which cut out when you destroyed the transmitter. Batman didn't have enough Apokoliptian equipment to make-" He taps the belt-mounted unit. "-enough of these to make one for all of us. And since all I was doing was guarding a disused augmentation facility, I wasn't exactly high priority."

...Until OL poked his nose in, I guess.

"And the synthetic parents?"

"I think that's something-" He takes a step back and glances at Batman. "-that Batman should tell you about."

Yes, I rather think he should...

Batman inclines his head slightly. "The drawback to the 'big League' model that you outlined in your report is that it simply isn't possible to be as confident in the quality of members as we can with a smaller group of people. I may disagree with Green Arrow or Doctor Mist on some subjects, but I can be sure that they're working towards the same thing that I am. With a hundred people, having that level of confidence is difficult, to say nothing of the number we'd actually have to bring on board to make a global impact."

Which would be in the thousands, I expect. Possibly the tens of thousands, or more...

I nod. It is, but that's true of any large organisation. And the Justice League… Doesn't have rivals in the same way that a company or a nation does. If there was another similar organisation, everyone here would be more concerned about how to most effectively coordinate, not how to get more press coverage or 'rescue points'. Corporate espionage isn't a problem. Intelligence sharing isn't a problem when we already share nearly everything with everyone. The only real concern is criminal infiltration, and between telepathy and magic we should be able to eliminate that.

But it's not impossible to spoof that.

The only time I remember that happening in the comics was with raffle winner Retro, who was assassinated and replaced by Prometheus. And Retro was background checked.

But in terms of background, Buddy Blank said that he…

"You wiped his.. mind."

Admittedly, 'Retro' was just an ordinary guy who entered a contest. But the point still stands.

Feels like a bit of a poke at 'Superhero as popularity contest/corporate sponsorships' angles like Hero Academia or 'To Be Hero X'. Though in the latter case, the heroes' popularity score effectively governs their empowerment for good or ill, making the PR aspect necessary...

"Not completely. What he lost were specific memories. He doesn't remember what his name was, where he was from, what his employment was or similar matters. The same link that provides him with power can also provide him with information, but as that link can be disrupted I thought it best to leave the volunteers with the basic skills to navigate the world."

And you get your good soldiers, with no desire to do more than follow heroic orders and do good? Seems iffy, Bats.

"Volunteers? People… Volunteered for this?"

"You originally told Blue Lantern that you wanted training so that you could protect yourself. You have far surpassed that point, and yet you're still here."

That because he's invested in all this. And as an Orange Lantern, investment equals empowerment.

"Yes? I… Made friends, developed values that went beyond my own safety."

"In the wake of the Anti-Life, I haven't been short of volunteers. Sometimes people stepped forwards for the greater good. Other felt that they had nothing to lose. Regardless, the process doesn't remove the basic human need for social interaction."

I'd like to know how he found those volunteers. It seems like one hell of a skeevy scam if you saw 'Want to be a Hero?' ads on the web.

"So they get housed with robots?"

"They are also assigned an A.I. partner. The aim is to provide the emotional stimulation necessary to enable optimal psychological health while not giving them any reason to deviate from their responsibilities."

...And what if they want to stop being heroes? Did you preserve their previous minds, to be restored if they feel like quitting? Or do the people you've made them into have no conception of wanting to quit?

"Huh-oh… Kay? That doesn't sound… Healthy."

"Don't worry, Orange Lantern!" Mr. Blank grins, this time with a little more passion in it. "It's okay to be productively insane!"

Ouch. Throwing OL's own words back at him. I presume he made that point in his book.

"I mean… Yes, in principle, and you're a… Volunteer."

He nods. "I even watched the video I made for myself to confirm that was true."

...A video that could easily have been fabricated, given the power of the computers needed for all this?

"I just can't imagine being willing to forget my entire life like that."

"Old-me regarded it as a fresh start, and an opportunity to help the world in a way that he couldn't before. He didn't have any regrets, and neither do I!"

It still seems skeevy to me.

I nod slowly. "And the aim is to have… People like Mister Blank all around the world, able to respond immediately to any disaster?"

"Or to do the work of emergency services, or to lead rebuilding efforts, or whatever might be required."

All under the command of the League, which means you or Mister Atom? That's a lot of power concentrated under a very small focus.

"And it's… Not legal yet, but will become legal very shortly?"

"It will be specifically authorised very shortly. It isn't illegal in most countries now, though that may be because they don't know that it's possible."

The question then, is what would regular people think of you doing this. Manipulating the minds of people to create 'perfect heroes', at the cost of their previous memories? If it wasn't for the lack of a Power Ring, this feels a lot like the Indigo Corps' methodology...

I exhale a little sharply through my nose. "I.. see. I suppose this.. deals with the manpower and coordination problem. I'm.. not really comfortable with altering people's minds like that. Wouldn't it-?"

"Aren't you?"

...Mean, Bruce.

Understandable, but mean.

His eyes glow faintly as he glowers at me.

"No. I deeply regret what I did to you, and I'll undo it the moment you ask."

Didn't he do that before? Or did Batman do it to himself again once he realised he needed the Ring to have the power to fix things?

"You know perfectly well that isn't what the world needs."

I nod. "Yeah. Yes, I.. do. But I would anyway." I shrug, shaking my head. "This seems like something that could work. I hope it does. I don't-. I don't know." I look around. "Was this all built with recovered Apokoliptian technology?"

Many, many points of failure. Can Batman really trust all the complex moving parts that much? The unfamiliar tech, the individuals, even himself?

"Most of it. But I've secured a supplier not tied to Apokolips, and every piece on Earth was affected by the white light burst. We don't have to worry about reinfection."

"But the network could be hijacked."

Especially with a central focus in the form of a Brother Eye satellite.

"So could any other method we use for restoring human civilization. But the nanotech contains New God safety precautions and is being constantly monitored by the A.I.. It's as safe as it can be."

"Okay. Ah. Well, this is going to be strange, but… Good. What do you want me doing to help?"

That seems far too easy an acceptance from OL. I hope he's planning to keep an eye on things.

OL should definitely be operating on 'trust but verify' levels of paranoia with all this. Even if it's instinctual for him to accept his in-group's goals as his own, he should be somewhat wary of Batman's potential for... Mismanagement? Excessive zeal? It's very, very easy for all this to go far too far and create a disaster as bad as the Anti-Life...

Ngamer11 · May 11, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
I exhale a little sharply through my nose. "I.. see. I suppose this.. deals with the manpower and coordination problem. I'm.. not really comfortable with altering people's minds like that. Wouldn't it-?"

"Aren't you?"

His eyes glow faintly as he glowers at me.

"No. I deeply regret what I did to you, and I'll undo it the moment you ask."

"You know perfectly well that isn't what the world needs."

I nod. "Yeah. Yes, I.. do. But I would anyway." I shrug, shaking my head. "This seems like something that could work. I hope it does. I don't-. I don't know." I look around. "Was this all built with recovered Apokoliptian technology?"

"Most of it. But I've secured a supplier not tied to Apokolips, and every piece on Earth was affected by the white light burst. We don't have to worry about reinfection."

"But the network could be hijacked."

"So could any other method we use for restoring human civilization. But the nanotech contains New God safety precautions and is being constantly monitored by the A.I.. It's as safe as it can be."

"Okay. Ah. Well, this is going to be strange, but… Good. What do you want me doing to help?"

At least now we know what's going on. I'm worried about this supplier Batman has though. Will we learn who this is soon?

Ciber · May 11, 2025

Whoof. Paul can't catch a break. He's arguably got the most hard and soft power of anyone on Earth, but all his power can actually get him what he wants in a way he would want to get it. he's ostensibly getting things he wants, but always twisted.

BR549 · May 11, 2025

Ciber said:
Whoof. Paul can't catch a break. He's arguably got the most hard and soft power of anyone on Earth, but all his power can actually get him what he wants in a way he would want to get it. he's ostensibly getting things he wants, but always twisted.

The monkey's paw curls!

Vaermina · May 11, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
"Huh-oh… Kay? That doesn't sound… Healthy."

"Don't worry, Orange Lantern!" Mr. Blank grins, this time with a little more passion in it. "It's okay to be productively insane!"

"I mean… Yes, in principle, and you're a… Volunteer."

Orange Lantern really isn't one to talk when it comes to mind ducking himself for power.

Mr Zoat said:
"Okay. Ah. Well, this is going to be strange, but… Good. What do you want me doing to help?"

Please tell me this is just him playing along till he can get reinforcements to help put a stop to brother eye.

Duke Long · May 11, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
"Which cut out when you destroyed the transmitter. Batman didn't have enough Apokoliptian equipment to make-" He taps the belt-mounted unit. "-enough of these to make one for all of us. And since all I was doing was guarding a disused augmentation facility, I wasn't exactly high priority."

Double use of 'make' is a bit awkward.

Mr Zoat said:
"In the wake of the Anti-Life, I haven't been short of volunteers. Sometimes people stepped forwards for the greater good. Other felt that they had nothing to lose. Regardless, the process doesn't remove the basic human need for social interaction."

"So they get housed with robots?"

"They are also assigned an A.I. partner. The aim is to provide the emotional stimulation necessary to enable optimal psychological health while not giving them any reason to deviate from their responsibilities."

'Others'
Interesting way of doing it. I suppose it makes sense there'd be plenty of people willing to volunteer. Though I wonder how Batman collected them in secret. Maybe he sought out people who would likely be interested and made the offer? I wonder if his profiling is good enough that nobody refused, or if he had to do something to them to prevent anyone from spreading the word. I suppose if the diarch of the Justice League tells you to keep something secret, a lot of people wouldn't need any more convincing.

Mr Zoat · May 11, 2025

Duke Long said:
Double use of 'make' is a bit awkward.
'Others'

Thank you, corrected.

Darko · May 11, 2025

Chojin Patriarch said:
Feels like a bit of a poke at 'Superhero as popularity contest/corporate sponsorships' angles like Hero Academia or 'To Be Hero X'. Though in the latter case, the heroes' popularity score effectively governs their empowerment for good or ill, making the PR aspect necessary

Yeah, and it tends to screw them over.

One guy is famous for "standing firm" and now he can't even bend over, and one girl is shipped so much with a guy that she can't teleport to anyone but him.

Chojin Patriarch said:
I'd like to know how he found those volunteers. It seems like one hell of a skeevy scam if you saw 'Want to be a Hero?' ads on the web

The League has been working repairing things, so he could have sought out any of the civilians working with them.

Chojin Patriarch said:
OL should definitely be operating on 'trust but verify' levels of paranoia with all this. Even if it's instinctual for him to accept his in-group's goals as his own, he should be somewhat wary of Batman's potential for... Mismanagement? Excessive zeal? It's very, very easy for all this to go far too far and create a disaster as bad as the Anti-Life

Unfortunately given the guilt he feels for what he did to Batman he may not be so committed to investigate.

Ngamer11 said:
At least now we know what's going on. I'm worried about this supplier Batman has though. Will we learn who this is soon?

He did mention that Canis and Angelica helped him with setting it up.

Angelica could have potentially gone to New Genesis to get things.

Or more worryingly, this is the Light.

They worked with Apokalips and they did give Intergang New Genesis tech.

Vaermina said:
Please tell me this is just him playing along till he can get reinforcements to help put a stop to brother eye.

Hoping the same.

We have seen Paul seemingly accepte a situation, only to later see him investigating it.

The Manheim thing comes to mind.

In their first meeting he seemed fine with him, but in the next chapter we saw him immediately investigating him.

Rogos · May 11, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
nom de heroique

I know that Orange Lantern isn't a native French speaker, but it should be "nom héroïque", "nom de héros" or "nom d'héroïsme". Any of these three possibilities would work, although the first two sound better.

Wivk · May 11, 2025

yeah, that's what happens when you scramble people's brains and then refuse to unscramble them because the new more insane personality likes being that way.

Signaller · May 11, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
"Batman." He doesn't look around, but he draws himself up slightly. "I should probably…"

"Undo the damage you inflicted on my brain."

"Yes. Look, I can understand that as you are now you might not want me to. There was a parallel version of me who did something similar. But I really think-."

He pulls the ring off his finger and slides it into his utility belt.

"Oh. "

"I don't want to keep thinking like this. Is your scan of my brain up to date?"

"Of course, yes."

"Then get on with it."

I raise my left hand and play the orange light over his head. It… There hadn't really been any progression, but I can see how it's affecting the patterns of activation in his brain. Remove the toxins, correct the connections…

Done.

"Okay, done. How do you feel?"

He doesn't say anything for a moment, eyes not really focusing on anything.

Then he turns away and strides towards where Superman has set up the zeta tube.

This is where OL fixed Batman's brain. But maybe even in that short time there was some soul damage as well?

Unless.something external both reverted the repair, and made Batman and OL forget?

Ngamer11 · May 11, 2025

Maybe Paul means he wishes he also used a form of memory eraser that would've also removed Batman's memory of what it was like when his mind was altered.

Jirachi · May 11, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
Batman inclines his head slightly. "The drawback to the 'big League' model that you outlined in your report is that it simply isn't possible to be as confident in the quality of members as we can with a smaller group of people. I may disagree with Green Arrow or Doctor Mist on some subjects, but I can be sure that they're working towards the same goal that I am. With a hundred people, having that level of confidence is difficult, to say nothing of the number we'd actually have to bring on board to make a global impact."

I feel like with the lasso of truth and invasive telepathic / magical screening along with a number of heroes existing in other parts of the world who clearly fit in the league mold that this isn't as much of a problem for a hundred person league as he's making it out to be? But I do somewhat agree that with a very large league that's probably not nearly as true. In batman's place here I'd probably at least consider doing more with them - though I suppose there's probably some work that can be done with the congregation and/or the alliance of the just, if that's still a going concern.

But in terms of background, Buddy Blank said that he…

"You wiped his.. mind."

"Not completely. What he lost were specific memories. He doesn't remember what his name was, where he was from, what his employment was or similar matters. The same link that provides him with power can also provide him with information, but as that link can be disrupted I thought it best to leave the volunteers with the basic skills to navigate the world."

"Volunteers? People… Volunteered for this?"

"You originally told Blue Lantern that you wanted training so that you could protect yourself. You have far surpassed that point, and yet you're still here."

"Yes? I… Made friends, developed values that went beyond my own safety."

"In the wake of the Anti-Life, I haven't been short of volunteers. Sometimes people stepped forwards for the greater good. Others felt that they had nothing to lose. Regardless, the process doesn't remove the basic human need for social interaction."

"So they get housed with robots?"

"They are also assigned an A.I. partner. The aim is to provide the emotional stimulation necessary to enable optimal psychological health while not giving them any reason to deviate from their responsibilities."

"Huh-oh… Kay? That doesn't sound… Healthy."

"Don't worry, Orange Lantern!" Mr. Blank grins, this time with a little more passion in it. "It's okay to be productively insane!"

"I mean… Yes, in principle, and you're a… Volunteer."

He nods. "I even watched the video I made for myself to confirm that was true."

"I just can't imagine being willing to forget my entire life like that."

"Old-me regarded it as a fresh start, and an opportunity to help the world in a way that he couldn't before. He didn't have any regrets, and neither do I!"

I nod slowly. "And the aim is to have… People like Mister Blank all around the world, able to respond immediately to any disaster?"

"Or to do the work of emergency services, or to lead rebuilding efforts, or whatever might be required."

Idk, again I think the biggest sticking point is 'super reflexes and a super strength / durability' package isn't convincing me that it's that that effective for solving the kind of problems that really requires the league over just like 'bloke with power armor' or what have you, especially if it doesn't come with any special tools for reconstruction - not sure how practical it would have been to give a considerable force elementalist power armor or some other power that could help that sort of reconstruction effort more meaningfully.
Incidentally, wonder what's happened with the red family - I know that under normal circumstances both of them are pretty attached to their bodies but I could see the anti-life crisis pushing them to upgrade more radically, and certainly there's going to be a lot of magical options for classical elementalist empowerment out there.

"And it's… Not legal yet, but will become legal very shortly?"

"It will be specifically authorised very shortly. It isn't illegal in most countries now, though that may be because they don't know that it's possible."

I exhale a little sharply through my nose. "I.. see. I suppose this.. deals with the manpower and coordination problem. I'm.. not really comfortable with altering people's minds like that. Wouldn't it-?"

"Aren't you?"

His eyes glow faintly as he glowers at me.

"No. I deeply regret what I did to you, and I'll undo it the moment you ask."

"You know perfectly well that isn't what the world needs."

I nod. "Yeah. Yes, I.. do. But I would anyway." I shrug, shaking my head. "This seems like something that could work. I hope it does. I don't-. I don't know." I look around. "Was this all built with recovered Apokoliptian technology?"

I was under the impression that in so far as much as there was anything to straightforwardly 'reverse', he did that immediately afterwards? Anything more would be a sort of reconstructive reprofiling that isn't really a 'reversal'.
I'm really curious what Scott Free's god sense says about all of this.
Also, this does seem a little unforunate - doesn't seem like these people would be very useful at all in a proper space defense scenario - personally feel like one of the bigger reasons to go for this sort of approach is so that there actually is a non-lantern force capable of meaningfully dealing with an attacking fleet.
And yeah, do kind of agree that if you're doing something this radical there's a defensible argument that you should just be making them from scratch.

"Most of it. But I've secured a supplier not tied to Apokolips, and every piece on Earth was affected by the white light burst. We don't have to worry about reinfection."

"But the network could be hijacked."

"So could any other method we use for restoring human civilization. But the nanotech contains New God safety precautions and is being constantly monitored by the A.I.. It's as safe as it can be."

"Okay. Ah. Well, this is going to be strange, but… Good. What do you want me doing to help?"

I do feel like it's worth knowing who the other supplier is.
Also, getting a sense of what's up with the parameters of the AI would be good.[/quote]

Mr Zoat · May 11, 2025

Signaller said:
This is where OL fixed Batman's brain. But maybe even in that short time there was some soul damage as well?

Unless.something external both reverted the repair, and made Batman and OL forget?

No, that's the author forgetting. Rewrite incoming...

Ardy · May 11, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
No, that's the author forgetting. Rewrite incoming...

lol, hope it doesn't mess up the plot too much

Mr Zoat · May 11, 2025

Rogos said:
I know that Orange Lantern isn't a native French speaker, but it should be "nom héroïque", "nom de héros" or "nom d'héroïsme". Any of these three possibilities would work, although the first two sound better.

True, but he doesn't speak French. He's unintentionally getting it wrong in character.

Jirachi said:
Idk, again I think the biggest sticking point is 'super reflexes and a super strength / durability' package isn't convincing me that it's that that effective for solving the kind of problems that really requires the league over just like 'bloke with power armor' or what have you, especially if it doesn't come with any special tools for reconstruction - not sure how practical it would have been to give a considerable force elementalist power armor or some other power that could help that sort of reconstruction effort more meaningfully.

Power armour isn't an option due to the expense and complexity of maintenance involved. LexCorp's high quality power armour requires multiple highly qualified people working to maintain it, and can't stay in the field all that long. The Rocket Red suits have equivalent drawbacks.

Jirachi · May 11, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
True, but he doesn't speak French. He's unintentionally getting it wrong in character.

Power armour isn't an option due to the expense and complexity of maintenance involved. LexCorp's high quality power armour requires multiple highly qualified people working to maintain it, and can't stay in the field all that long. The Rocket Red suits have equivalent drawbacks.

I suppose, though I was under the impression that new god technology didn't so much have that problem (but that might mostly be true when used by a new god), or that it'd perhaps be mitigable with a magic approach.

xSieg · May 11, 2025

Ha, it's funny to see how lost Paul is.
Not much he can do though, which means this arc will be pretty fun. I don't think OL would risk causing a Justice League civil war by just denouncing what Batman's doing but he is far gone past the 'words can turn him around' point.

Ngamer11 · May 11, 2025

xSieg said:
Ha, it's funny to see how lost Paul is.
Not much he can do though, which means this arc will be pretty fun. I don't think OL would risk causing a Justice League civil war by just denouncing what Batman's doing but he is far gone past the 'words can turn him around' point.

I'm more interested in how the Team and the League will react upon learning what Batman has planned and the fact that they literally don't have a better plan to go against it.

Mr Zoat · May 11, 2025

Jirachi said:
I suppose, though I was under the impression that new god technology didn't so much have that problem (but that might mostly be true when used by a new god), or that it'd perhaps be mitigable with a magic approach.

New God armour really needs a New God wearing it.

Steelplaza · May 11, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
Batman inclines his head slightly. "The drawback to the 'big League' model that you outlined in your report is that it simply isn't possible to be as confident in the quality of members as we can with a smaller group of people. I may disagree with Green Arrow or Doctor Mist on some subjects, but I can be sure that they're working towards the same goal that I am. With a hundred people, having that level of confidence is difficult, to say nothing of the number we'd actually have to bring on board to make a global impact."

Yeah you wouldn't want to hand out incredible power to a bunch of people you barely know to recruit them into your corps.

(Flashback music starts playing.)

"Hello, you're some sort of space convict who escaped your prison ship and landed on our world? Would you like a power ring?"

"Hello sapient alien planet that produces hallucinogenic blooms. Would you like a power ring?"

"Hello guy who says he wants to learn enough to murder me. I see you're enjoying your power ring!"

"Hello other guy who says he wants to learn enough to murder me. Would you like a power ring?"

"Hello psychopathic alien space station, would you like a power ring?"

Hello space sperm, would you like a power ring?"

"Hello Comic King, would you like a- Wait this one's not on me, but okay I didn't protest it too much."

(Flashback music stops playing.)

Of course, some folks have a different philosophy.

Darko · May 11, 2025

Steelplaza said:
Yeah you wouldn't want to hand out incredible power to a bunch of people you barely know to recruit them into your corps.

That could be another reason for the memory wipe.

Getting rid of any aspects that he may not want in his new foot soldiers.

Vaermina · May 11, 2025

Wivk said:
yeah, that's what happens when you scramble people's brains and then refuse to unscramble them because the new more insane personality likes being that way.

To be fair here Orange Lantern is perfectly fine with his own scrambled brain.

RoninSword · May 11, 2025

So I'm not entirely certain. Did batman re fear-toxin with smilex binding? I can't quite figure it out despite Batman saying it's what the world needs right now.

Edit: I ask because last time he was dosed like thay, all of his speaking wqs always laced with yellow. Unless he learned to control is a little better?

CrazyNoVa · May 11, 2025

TFTwink said:
Right in Da Feelz, Bats

Hope this leads to Paul-Graven type empowerment and not Anti-Life 2: Electric Boogaloo.

He would probably use yellow light instead of anti-life.

Chojin Patriarch said:
The question then, is what would regular people think of you doing this. Manipulating the minds of people to create 'perfect heroes', at the cost of their previous memories? If it wasn't for the lack of a Power Ring, this feels a lot like the Indigo Corps' methodology...

Duke Long said:
Interesting way of doing it. I suppose it makes sense there'd be plenty of people willing to volunteer. Though I wonder how Batman collected them in secret. Maybe he sought out people who would likely be interested and made the offer? I wonder if his profiling is good enough that nobody refused, or if he had to do something to them to prevent anyone from spreading the word. I suppose if the diarch of the Justice League tells you to keep something secret, a lot of people wouldn't need any more convincing.

You'd be surprised how far people are willing to go for the sake of becoming superheroes. Or to escape their crappy lives to get a cooler one. Maybe some of those volunteers are people who hate themselves and their lives, and who see Batman's experiments as their one chance to finally do their part and make their mark on the world.

Ngamer11 said:
At least now we know what's going on. I'm worried about this supplier Batman has though. Will we learn who this is soon?

Isn't it obvious? It's obviously Condiment King.

Vaermina said:
Orange Lantern really isn't one to talk when it comes to mind ducking himself for power.

To be fair, it's a little different because OL mind ducked himself out of necessity and survival too, not just for the sake of power.

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