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

King of Frost · 2026-01-28T02:09:40+0000

Oh shit yeah I didn't even clock that Usagi is dead. Unless she can be revived, or Venus can use the Silver Crystal and replace Usagi somehow this world is probably fucked beyond repair.

Not even Metalia without Usagi no one is surviving the Great Freeze, and that's if they somehow get through Galaxia which also seems extremely low.

Frozen20XX · 2026-01-28T06:16:22+0000

I'm just sad Artemis isn't with Minako. I'm not the most knowledgeable about Sailor Moon, but their bond was one of my favourites from what little I have seen.

Mr Zoat · 2026-01-28T06:22:07+0000

18th August 2013
09:48 GMT

Through the Doomsday's sensors I watch very closely as the Green Lantern leaves the system. Orange Lantern's gone missing, which means that Nam-Ek is going to have to put up with his mutated body for a little longer. He'll live with it. Having him around to be able to subtly punish people by forcing them to work with him is useful, anyway.

And then I plot course for Lilaarn.

For a moment I'm surprised by just how easy it is. Not just because the joints in my fingers don't ache, but because the Doomsday's mind-machine interface means that I'm not having to manually input data like I do on my ship; a cut-and-shut job I haven't even bothered naming. And with the course plotted, all it takes to get us underway is another thought. No rerouting power, charging the capacitors and hoping that the oxygen recycler doesn't crap out again. No hoping the expensive parts of the drive aren't time-expired, or are just time-expired and not going to leave me smeared across three systems. Just Kryptonian…

A dead civilization's finest engineering.

Couldn't Orange Lantern have just turned Jax-Ur into a construct? Most kryptonians don't seriously believe in afterlives or souls anyway. No one would have objected, and his scientific abilities would have let us rebuild far faster.

Engage.

Or maybe that's the point. I'm thinking about this in the sense of keeping Krypton going. I wrote it off when I left… Sure, when we met up most of us admitted to listening for a recall signal, but… We knew it wasn't coming. And then when it finally exploded… I was surprised, but I'd… Stopped thinking of it as 'home' well before that.

And then Amalak…

What was it that guy said in that British film? He had a job to do. We just happened to be the enemy. But if I met him in the street and I thought I could get away with it…

And there it is. The planet where Amalak nearly caught u-. Caught me. They had a nasty problem with interstellar piracy before the Kryptonian Stellar Navy ended it for good. And we actually helped them rebuild; it wasn't like we were needed anywhere else, and it… It was nice to be appreciated.

A channel opens as they use their own transmission systems to access our frequencies.

"Kryptonian warship, this is Lilaarn Control. Please… Identify? Because you're reading as-."

"This is… Sub-Commander Karsta Wor-Ul, commanding the Doomsday."

"Then… Welcome back. I'm glad that you're.. still alive."

"That situation has been resolved. I'd like to meet with officials from your government to discuss things."

"Of course. Will you need a berth on the orbital dock, or landing space on the surface?"

"Surface."

"That-. I'm sorry, but that will take slightly longer to arrange."

"That's fine. I did just turn up out of nowhere. Give me an orbital path until the landing zone is ready."

"Transmitting now. Is it just you? I know that Kryptonian ships don't need a lot of crew."

"No. One other."

"Understood. I hope that you enjoy your stay. Lilaarn Control out."

That channel closes, and the Doomsday's computer registered thousands of low-level alerts. In some places those can be signs of hostile surface weapon stations trying to lock on, or at least point in our general direction. Here it's just curious or excited civilians. I deprioritise them, set the ship to follow the indicated approach and orbital path, and then disconnect.

And then I leave the command module, and head out into what used to be the medical suspension section.

Dru-Zod-. Admiral Dru-Zod could have smuggled most of us out in this. Except he didn't know we were leaving, and we didn't know he was sending the ship away until we found out it was gone.

I take a moment to look at Ursa's staring eyes. Didn't expect that, did you? The dominators teleported her onto their ship a fraction of a second before I could, but when they switched their priorities to trying to hem Orange Lantern in… It turns out that they weren't prepared to jam all of Krypton's teleportation techniques.

"Alright. Let her out."

The crystal melts and Ursa-.

Caught herself in the air. Okay, I'm almost impressed. Her eyes flick around at blur-speed as she takes everything in.

"Ursa Dou-Ka."

She takes a moment to steady herself… And deals with the cocktail of combat hormones still in her system. And only when she thinks she can think with a clear head does she meet my eyes.

"How long?"

"A few days. You're innocent, by the way."

She actually looks offended. "I'm not. Dru-Zod and I planned-."

"No. You didn't. Am I clear?"

This time she actually thinks. "Yes, Sub-Commander."

"Good. As far as anyone knows, you're on the way to the Dominion now. The Dominion know you aren't, but they're not going to tell anyone."

She nods slowly. "Then they're not looking for me."

"The Lanterns aren't. The Dominion might be. Which is why you can't live on the colony on Tartarath."

"You're right. Then where?"

"I'm going to sort something out with the Lilaarn government. I lived here for years, and with Amalak calling off the hunt, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to either."

"Lilaarn." She thinks for a moment. "For how long?"

"For however long it takes for everyone to stop caring. There are just about enough of us on Tartarath that I'll be able to bring you there, but only when things have been built up enough and there are a few more children."

She frowns. "My child will grow up surrounded by aliens."

"Yeah." I shake my head. She doesn't get it. "All our children will. Tartarath isn't Krypton. This isn't a temporary thing, until we get back on our feet. Our civilization was made of a billion parts all working together and we've got maybe a dozen left. We'll build back up like our ancestors did after the vrang and after the Clone War, but we're not going to be continuing that civilization. We can't. By the time our children reach adulthood they'll have a whole new culture, and it won't be anything like what either of us grew up with."

"But we will do it."

I nod slowly. "Long after we're both dead, but we will." I step back from her booth, and she follows me.

"I don't remember how advanced Lilaarn is."

"Space faring. Slow F.T.L., but they're mostly colonising their own system."

"The sun?"

"Orange. I'll give you your medical reports, but you shouldn't need it. And this should go without saying, but do not take over this planet. These people actually like us. We're the ones who enabled them to build up this much. Help them, and in five or six years you can leave."

"Yes, Sub-Commander."

"Didn't you hear? Our civilization ended. There's no military for me to be a Sub-Commander in. I'm the Governor of Tartarath, until-."

I was actually thinking about assembling a ruling council. Doing the Kryptonian thing. Ridiculous.

"Until I'm not. I'll give you the cultural briefing before we land."

Ngamer11 · 2026-01-28T06:26:57+0000

I'm not entirely surprised by this. At least they're self-aware enough to realize they can't let the next generation inherit their speciesism.

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-01-28T06:57:36+0000

Mr Zoat said:
18th August 2013
09:48 GMT

Through the Doomsday's sensors I watch very closely as the Green Lantern leaves the system. Orange Lantern's gone missing, which means that Nam-Ek is going to have to put up with his mutated body for a little longer. He'll live with it. Having him around to be able to subtly punish people by forcing them to work with him is useful, anyway.

Ah, Karsta War-Ul. And good, OL's disappearance has been noted. A bit sad that Nam-Ek is playing that role, but I suppose he's wise enough to understand the usefulness of it. Even if it emotionally hurts him...

And then I plot course for Lilaarn.

For a moment I'm surprised by just how easy it is. Not just because the joints in my fingers don't ache, but because the Doomsday's mind-machine interface means that I'm not having to manually input data like I do on my ship; a cut-and-shut job I haven't even bothered naming. And with the course plotted, all it takes to get us underway is another thought. No rerouting power, charging the capacitors and hoping that the oxygen recycler doesn't crap out again. No hoping the expensive parts of the drive aren't time-expired, or are just time-expired and not going to leave me smeared across three systems. Just Kryptonian…

Because of course the expensive parts of the drive system have a built-in obsolescence feature? The manufacturers can't keep people coming back for upgrades otherwise, can they?

And so what if the occasional ship blows up because of it, the lawyers can settle that.
EDIT: Ah, right, 'time-expired' means simple wear and tear. Though I don't doubt the manufacturer's recommended lifespan is much shorter than the actual functional lifetime, increased risk of malfunction aside.

A dead civilization's finest engineering.

Couldn't Orange Lantern have just turned Jax-Ur into a construct? Most kryptonians don't seriously believe in afterlives or souls anyway. No one would have objected, and his scientific abilities would have let us rebuild far faster.

No, he really couldn't have.

Engage.

Or maybe that's the point. I'm thinking about this in the sense of keeping krypton going. I wrote it off when I left… Sure, when we met up most of us admitted to listening for a recall signal, but… We knew it wasn't coming. And then when it finally exploded… I was surprised, but I'd… Stopped thinking of it as 'home' well before that.

Fair enough. The cultural shift was probably too much for her or her colleagues to put up with anyway.

And then Amalak…

What was it that guy said in that British film? He had a job to do. We just happened to be the enemy. But if I met him in the street and I thought I could get away with it…

Also kind of fair, even if she had nothing to do with it. Anger, hatred and revenge are rarely rational.

And there it is. The planet where Amalak nearly caught u-. Caught me. They had a nasty problem with interstellar piracy before the Kryptonian Stellar Navy ended it for good. And we actually helped them rebuild; it wasn't like we were needed anywhere else, and it… It was nice to be appreciated.

Which has no doubt left them with very good feelings towards kryptonians.

A channel opens as they used their own transmission systems to access our frequencies.

"Kryptonian warship, this is Lilaarn Control. Please… Identify? Because you're reading as-."

Likely having to dust off protocols not used in decades.

"This is… Sub-Commander Karsta Wor-Ul, commanding the Doomsday."

"Then… Welcome back. I'm glad that you're.. still alive."

You can just feel their involuntary release of tension, can't you? Probably not audible, but I bet the older command centre staff are sitting a lot less stiffly all of a sudden.

"That situation has been resolved. I'd like to meet with officials from your government to discuss things."

"Of course. Will you need a berth on the orbital dock, or landing space on the surface?"

Honestly, she doesn't even need a ride to the ground, given a charged sunstone and a breathing mask.

"Surface."

"That-. I'm sorry, but that will take slightly longer to arrange."

I expect it's been a while since they had to accommodate a ship as large as the Doomsday. Their own craft are probably much more reasonably-sized.

"That's fine. I did just turn up out of nowhere. Give me an orbital path until the landing zone is ready."

"Transmitting now. Is it just you? I know that Kryptonian ships don't need a lot of crew."

Man, you can almost hear the hopefulness in their voice. The unspoken 'how many still live?' they want to ask.

"No. One other."

"Understood. I hope that you enjoy your stay. Lilaarn Control out."

Oh-ho. A surprise passenger? Looks like the Dominion didn't get the prize everyone thought they did.

That channel closes, and the Doomsday's computer registered thousands of low-level alerts. In some places those can be signs of hostile surface weapon stations trying to lock on, or at least point in our general direction. Here it's just curious or excited civilians. I deprioritise them, set the ship to follow the indicated approach and orbital path, and then disconnect.

Many from older citizens who remember the old times, perhaps? Depending on their overall lifespan, there could be some still living who were born under the occupation.

And then I leave the command module, and head out into what used to be the medical suspension section.

Dru-Zod-. Admiral Dru-Zod could have smuggled most of us out in this. Except he didn't know we were leaving, and we didn't know he was sending the ship away until we found out it was gone.

The problem of a rushed response to other people's actions. No-one had time to coordinate.

I take a moment to look at Ursa's staring eyes. Didn't expect that, did you? The dominators teleported her onto their ship a fraction of a second before I could, but when they switched their priorities to trying to hem Orange Lantern in… It turns out that they weren't prepared to jam all of Krypton's teleportation techniques.

Nicely done. Snatched victory from the Dominator's pointy maws while they weren't looking.

"Alright. Let her out."

The crystal melts and Ursa-.

Caught herself in the air. Okay, I'm almost impressed. Her eyes flick around and blur-speed as she takes everything in.

Still empowered enough to manage that much. Though I don't doubt the ship is broadcasting optimum wavelengths to keep the crew empowered fully.

"Ursa Dou-Ka."

She takes a moment to steady herself… And deals with the cocktail of combat hormones still in her system. And only when she thinks she can think with a clear head does she meet my eyes.

Adrenaline, or the kryptonian equivalent. Hell of a thing, of course.

"How long?"

"A few days. You're innocent, by the way."

Well, that'll be the story, I take it. The locals will almost certainly have been watching the trial very closely.

She actually looks offended. "I'm not. Dru-Zod and I planned-."

"No. You didn't. Am I clear?"

She'll play her part, even if it has to be a direct order.

This time she actually thinks. "Yes, Sub-Commander."

"Good. As far as anyone knows, you're on the way to the Dominion now. The Dominion know you aren't, but they're not going to tell anyone."

Even if they started screaming it to the galaxy when someone came looking for her, they wouldn't be believed.

She nods slowly. "Then they're not looking for me."

"The Lanterns aren't. The Dominion might be. Which is why you can't live on the colony on Tartarath."

Hence why she's here, on a world very friendly to kryptonians.

"You're right. Then where?"

"I'm going to sort something out with the Lilaarn government. I lived here for years, and with Amalak calling off the hunt, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to either."

As a respected guest, I expect, being a representative of the fleet that saved them so long ago.

"Lilaarn." She thinks for a moment. "For how long?"

"For however long it takes for everyone to stop caring. There are just about enough of us on Tartarath that I'll be able to bring you there, but only when things have been built up enough and there are a few more children."

She frowns. "My child will grow up surrounded by aliens."

As long as he doesn't come out of it with a raging superiority complex, that's tolerable.

"Yeah." I shake my head. She doesn't get it. "All our children will. Tartarath isn't Krypton. This isn't a temporary thing, until we get back on our feet. Our civilization was made of a billion parts all working together and we've got maybe a dozen left. We'll build back up like our ancestors did after the vrang and after the Clone War, but we're not going to be continuing that civilization. We can't. By the time our children reach adulthood they'll have a whole new culture, and it won't be anything like what either of us grew up with."

A new Krypton for a new age, eh? If they even bother to keep that name.

"But we will do it."

I nod slowly. "Long after we're both dead, but we will." I step back from her booth, and she follows me.

And with any moderate amount of empowerment, that will be a long time coming.

"I don't remember how advanced Lilaarn is."

"Space faring. Slow F.T.L., but they're mostly colonising their own system."

But strong enough now to protect itself and protect her and her child.

"The sun?"

"Orange. I'll give you your medical reports, but you shouldn't need it. And this should go without saying, but do not take over this planet. These people actually like us. We're the ones who enabled them to build up this much. Help them, and in five or six years you can leave."

Annoying that she had to give that order, but better safe than sorry and having to deal with a Kryptonian despot.

"Yes, Sub-Commander."

"Didn't you hear? Our civilization ended. There's no military for me to be a Sub-Commander in. I'm the Governor of Tartarath, until-."

Well, until someone deposes her, she steps down, or they have enough people for proper democracy.

I was actually thinking about assembling a ruling council. Doing the Kryptonian thing. Ridiculous.

"Until I'm not. I'll give you the cultural briefing before we land."

Better to head off any potential gaffes now, definitely...

Well, she managed it. Saved Ursa and her unborn child just like she wanted to. And now they'll be sequestered in a place that will want to keep them safe to stay on the kryptonians' good side, even if that gives no benefit anytime soon. The bigger worry will be what happens when it's revealed that Ursa isn't in Dominator hands...

Duke Long · 2026-01-28T07:37:58+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Or maybe that's the point. I'm thinking about this in the sense of keeping krypton going. I wrote it off when I left… Sure, when we met up most of us admitted to listening for a recall signal, but… We knew it wasn't coming. And then when it finally exploded… I was surprised, but I'd… Stopped thinking of it as 'home' well before that.

'Krypton'

Mr Zoat said:
A channel opens as they used their own transmission systems to access our frequencies.

'use'?

Mr Zoat said:
Caught herself in the air. Okay, I'm almost impressed. Her eyes flick around and blur-speed as she takes everything in.

'at'?

Mr Zoat said:
"For however long it takes for everyone to stop caring. There are just about enough of us on Tartarath that I'll be able to bring you there, but only when things have been built up enough and there are a few more children."

We've seen that the Dominion has a very long memory… but I'm not sure if they targeted Ursa for a reason beyond opportunistic acquisition of a kryptonian test subject, so I think it'll be fine.

CrazyNoVa said:
No, the Oceanus thing only happened because someone resurrected Orm by dunking him in a lazarus pit, and then he decided that it would be a good idea to summon a pissed-off water titan. Blaming Paul for this is nonsensical. That would be like deciding to blame Batman every time The Joker commits a crime to draw his attention.

I think you're misunderstanding; I don't think Oh El is being blamed for this in the sense of having made a mistake. It's merely being pointed out that his actions led to these things happening. Maybe I'm the one misunderstanding, though.

Mr Zoat · 2026-01-28T08:35:52+0000

Chojin Patriarch said:
Because of course the expensive parts of the drive system have a built-in obsolescence feature? The manufacturers can't keep people coming back for upgrades otherwise, can they? And so what if the occasional ship blows up because of it, the lawyers can settle that.

No, parts literally wear out. The manufacturers say 'it will be find for this long, after that we suggest replacing it', but that doesn't mean that it will just stop working. They're not Canon Printers, for goodness sake. 'Time expired' means that the chance of it developing a fault is higher.

WHY ARE YOU USING COLOURED INK WHEN I'M PRINTING BLACK TEXT?!?!

Duke Long said:
'Krypton'
'use'?
'at'?

Thank you, corrected.

I think you're misunderstanding; I don't think Oh El is being blamed for this in the sense of having made a mistake. It's merely being pointed out that his actions led to these things happening. Maybe I'm the one misunderstanding, though.

Yes.

WereDragon · 2026-01-28T10:41:53+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Karsta Wor-Ul

Who would have thought that she would turn out to be one of the less xenophobic kryptonians.

I'm the Governor of Tartarath, until-."

I was actually thinking about assembling a ruling council. Doing the Kryptonian thing. Ridiculous.

"Until I'm not. I'll give you the cultural briefing before we land."

I give even odds she will be governor until she forces some other form of government down the populations throat. Nothing more permanent than a temporary solution and all that.

Ngamer11 · 2026-01-28T10:43:09+0000

WereDragon said:
Who would have thought that she would turn out to be one of the less xenophobic kryptonians.

It's to be expected seeing as she's been living with them for decades.

Signaller · 2026-01-28T16:01:41+0000

Mr Zoat said:
WHY ARE YOU USING COLOURED INK WHEN I'M PRINTING BLACK TEXT?!?!

Printer tracking dots - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Mr Zoat · 2026-01-28T18:45:23+0000

Signaller said:
Printer tracking dots - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I didn't communicate my point properly. I'm not actually asking what the reason is. I'm complaining about how much money it costs the customer to no benefit to them.

CrazyNoVa · 2026-01-28T19:44:35+0000

Signaller said:
Printer tracking dots - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Mr Zoat said:
I didn't communicate my point properly. I'm not actually asking what the reason is. I'm complaining about how much money it costs the customer to no benefit to them.

What the hell did I just walk into?

Why is everyone talking about printers?

Silveraith · 2026-01-28T20:15:33+0000

CrazyNoVa said:
What the hell did I just walk into?

Why is everyone talking about printers?

Printers are the new hot commodity. Didn't you know that you can now get an HP subscription on a printer. You won't own the printer but it'll do what you need to. Up to 20 pages a month.

CrazyNoVa · 2026-01-28T21:06:50+0000

Silveraith said:
Printers are the new hot commodity. Didn't you know that you can now get an HP subscription on a printer. You won't own the printer but it'll do what you need to. Up to 20 pages a month.

That sounds like a load of garbage to me.

RoninSword · 2026-01-28T23:38:11+0000

Mr Zoat said:
She glares at me. "She already killed you-!

Mr Zoat said:
"And… She's using my you as her vanguard."

Did you forget or is he an undead guard now?

Mr Zoat · 2026-01-28T23:47:44+0000

RoninSword said:
Did you forget or is he an undead guard now?

She's not totally sure, but she thinks so.

Prince Charon · 2026-01-29T05:22:03+0000

CrazyNoVa said:
That sounds like a load of garbage to me.

It does, but it also sounds like where companies are trying to go.

Mr Zoat · 2026-01-29T06:16:51+0000

18th November 1995
09:55 GMT

The people below are… Altered. Some have bulging muscles. Some have additional limbs. Skin in colours not usually seen on human flesh is the norm. But they're not… Chaos spawn or anything. Every one looks like a functioning living creature that has the form that it does for a reason.

"If that's dark energy, I should be able to drain it from-."

C'est La Vie shakes her head. "I tried that. Rolling Heart Vibration drains the dark energy out of whoever it hits. They just-." She takes a moment, clearly remembering something extremely unpleasant. "They change back, but they're dead."

Ah. Y-es. If their souls were overwhelmed by-. Of course. D.C. is actually a relatively high magic setting. Not a lot of people use it, but plenty of people use it a little and a few are top tier superheroes. If this is a setting with weaker magic energy… Or just one where regular people absorb magic less well, then their spiritual strength would be much less. Even background 'dark energy'… Whatever that actually is, might end up doing something like this.

"Is that new?"

She nods. "It used to just turn them back into normal humans."

"Do you know where I could get some sulphur?"

C'est La Vie and I turn to Lushun, who's studying the scene below intensely.

"Um. Sure. Why do you ask?"

"Assuming that what you call dark energy here and what we call dark energy on Ashan are the same, I should be able to create a… A structure to bleed it off. Of course, I would have to bleed it off faster than this 'Queen Metalia' is emitting it in order to fix… This. I'm not sure what it would do to the physical changes."

"Is transmuted sulphur alright, or is there a magical element that requires it to be naturally occurring?"

"I have no idea. No wizard on Ashan has tried to use material transmuted by a… Lantern, before."

I transmute a small pouch of powdered sulphur for him as two winged… I'm not sure what to call them, strike the kinetic barrier around us with elongated claws. Mildly superhuman strength, but the attacks aren't innately magical.

"What do you call people when they're changed like this?"

"Youma."

"Right." I pass the pouch to Lushun. "Any good?"

"I'll need a little more than this. And the building will be relatively fragile." He opens the pouch and puts his fingers inside. "But I believe that this will work."

"Do you need anything else?"

"A Pillar of Bones would usually be built in a Necropolis. It will need to be sited somewhere with a great many corpses."

I shrug. "We're in Britain. Finding somewhere like that will be easy. Will you need protection?"

"It would be helpful."

I half-smile. "I guess I'm going home, then. Low population for transformation, a castle, and a thousand year old graveyard. Objections?"

Two head shakes, and the sky skips as we appear over Pevensey Castle. No 'youma' here. I… Drop Lushun off in the inner keep, transmute a large box of sulphur and deposit it next to him, and then-.

"More than that!" I look down. "Ten of those should do it!"

Nine more large boxes of sulphur, and I start fortifying the walls. I'm somewhat concerned about running out of power, so I limit myself to grabbing walls from the nearby abandoned houses and shoving them into the gaps between the surviving pieces of Roman curtain wall rather than building a top notch fortress of my own design. And while I'm doing that...

"So how did you meet?"

C'est La Vie is studying the horizon, probably watching for youma. "Hm?"

"Your me."

"I was here-. In England, when I first got my powers. He was the only other superhero I knew."

"Are superheroes uncommon here?"

"Apart from him and the other Guardians, I don't think there's any. But I didn't know about the other Guardians back then."

"I don't suppose he had a personal lantern, did he?"

"No." Her eyes dip for a moment. "He complained about that a couple of times."

"Could he recharge?"

"He used his ring for over a year. How long do they usually last?"

"It depends how much you use it. But less than a year, even if you ration your use." So what was he drawing power-

Lushun waves his staff, and the ground flexes and trembles, the boxes of sulphur exploding in a swirl of green light-. And then the bodies erupt from the ground, ancient bones merging together with local stone and rising up to form a spire thirty metres high.

-from?

"Where does your power come from?"

"Moonlight. But…" She looks up, but the moon isn't visible from here. "Since Metalia blasted the moon, my compact has been taking longer to recharge."

I nod. "Some sort of generator, possibly. Or a giant magic collector and transmitter."

"Artemis could explain it-." She sags lightly. "If he's still alive."

I nod. "Lushun! Is it working?"

The green mists continue to swirl around the spire, sinister faces momentarily visible in the… Dust? Vapour? Before vanishing a moment later.

He's studying it, smiling broadly. "Yes, it's working nicely! I've never studied one in a land so hypersaturated with dark energy before!"

"Can you get rid of it?"

"Technically, yes. Dark energy is used to raise the dead. The higher the mana capacity of the thing slain, the more dark energy required to raise it as an undead."

I turn to C'est La Vie. "Is dark energy used for necromancy here?"

She shakes her head. "I've never seen it used like that."

"It's possible that the energy isn't the same, just similar. Or perhaps their dedication to Asha prevented the necromancers of Ashan studying other uses for it. But-"

Warning!

"-if-."

Avarice-

A youma appears, grabbing onto the spire with claws large enough to crush a man with a flex and drinking deep of the power!

-detected!

BlueMangoAdea · 2026-01-29T06:18:24+0000

Huh. So he charged with demons(Youma), like that other Paul.

Darko · 2026-01-29T06:21:47+0000

Mr Zoat said:
D.C. actually a relatively high magic setting

"is actually a"

Mr Zoat said:
Warning!

"-if-."

Avarice-

A Youma appears, grabbing onto the spire with claws large enough to crush a man with a flex and drinking deep of the power!

-detected

Welp, here's looking at you kid.

Vaermina · 2026-01-29T06:26:42+0000

So... What exactly is the point of this?

Because it feels a bit like he's ignoring giant radioactive boulder to hand out iodine pills.

Mr Zoat · 2026-01-29T06:30:10+0000

Darko said:
"is actually a"

Thank you, corrected.

CrazyNoVa · 2026-01-29T06:34:00+0000

Mr Zoat said:
C'est La Vie shakes her head

Wait, why are we calling her that? It feels weird.

What's wrong with using Sailor Venus or Sailor V as codenames? Did Minako change codenames after her fellow sailor scouts died? Or is Paul just mishearing her calling herself "Sailor V" as "C'est La Vie"?

BlueMangoAdea said:
Huh. So he charged with demons(Youma), like that other Paul.

You mean The Sybarite?

Vaermina said:
So... What exactly is the point of this?

Because it feels a bit like he's ignoring giant radioactive boulder to hand out iodine pills.

What else is he supposed to do? He doesn't have a good way to deal with Metalia yet. Not unless he can get his hands on either the Silver Crystal, or a power source of equivalent strength.

Darko · 2026-01-29T06:40:03+0000

Vaermina said:
So... What exactly is the point of this?

Because it feels a bit like he's ignoring giant radioactive boulder to hand out iodine pills.

To see if it's possible to fix this.

His usual methods and Sailor's apparently wouldn't work, so Lushun may be the only option they have left that they know about.

You'd know this if you actually read it.

Mr Zoat · 2026-01-29T06:40:05+0000

CrazyNoVa said:
Wait, why are we calling her that? It feels weird.

What's wrong with using Sailor Venus or Sailor V as codenames?

Say it out loud. And then say 'Sailor V' out loud.

Did Minako change codenames after her fellow sailor scouts died? Or is Paul just mishearing her calling herself "Sailor V" as "C'est La Vie"?

She never started calling herself 'Sailor Venus', and yes.

Agumentic · 2026-01-29T06:58:59+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Say it out loud. And then say 'Sailor V' out loud.

OL working overtime to keep from realising which setting he is in.

Bigreader · 2026-01-29T07:03:37+0000

This is enlightenment paul write from the main paragon line.So, can't he make a barely passable lantern by this point?I thought he could. Like not up to the standards of a regulation lantern, but maybe something he could use to charge.Or was that just rings?

Darko · 2026-01-29T07:12:57+0000

Bigreader said:
This is enlightenment paul write from the main paragon line.So, can't he make a barely passable lantern by this point?I thought he could. Like not up to the standards of a regulation lantern, but maybe something he could use to charge.Or was that just rings?

He can make a Lantern, but so far he hasn't needed a recharge and I don't think the process is quick.

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-01-29T07:17:58+0000

Mr Zoat said:
18th November 1995
09:55 GMT

The people below are… Altered. Some have bulging muscles. Some have additional limbs. Skin in colours not usually seen on human flesh is the norm. But they're not… Chaos spawn or anything. Every one looks like a functioning living creature that has the form that it does for a reason.

Better than some of the weirder dark creatures that appeared in the 90's anime. Especially the later ones. Check out this bizarre choice: Taiyan, from 'Sailor Moon S'. Yes, she's wearing exactly what it looks like.

"If that's dark energy, I should be able to drain it from-."

C'est La Vie shakes her head. "I tried that. Rolling Heart Vibration drains the dark energy out of whoever it hits. They just-." She takes a moment, clearly remembering something extremely unpleasant. "They change back, but they're dead."

Odd that he's calling her that. She's not in the iconic original costume if it's orange, and especially if she's met the other Senshi... <Sees Mr Zoat's post.> Even weirder, as Sailor Venus is her proper heroic name. Ah well, chalk it up to him being a little annoyed.

Ah. Y-es. If their souls were overwhelmed by-. Of course. D.C. actually a relatively high magic setting. Not a lot of people use it, but plenty of people use it a little and a few are top tier superheroes. If this is a setting with weaker magic energy… Or just one where regular people absorb magic less well, then their spiritual strength would be much less. Even background 'dark energy'… Whatever that actually is, might end up doing something like this.

ironically, he is so wrong, given the number of trinkets people's souls have in them. Pure Heart Crystals, Dream Mirrors and Star Seeds, plus the life-force energy the bad guys of the first seasons focused on... R is about the only one that didn't have plot trinkets the bad guys were collecting (at first, anyway...)

"Is that new?"

She nods. "It used to just turn them back into normal humans."

Presumably the saturation simply pushed out their human souls entirely. Remove the demonic mana, and all you have left is, well...

"Do you know where I could get some sulphur?"

C'est La Vie and I turn to Lushun, who's studying the scene below intensely.

"Um. Sure. Why do you ask?"

Some manner of purification ritual he knows of, perhaps. He is a necromancer, after all.

"Assuming that what you call dark energy here and what we call dark energy on Ashan are the same, I should be able to create a… A structure to bleed it off. Of course, I would have to bleed it off faster than this 'Queen Metalia' is emitting it in order to fix… This. I'm not sure what it would do to the physical changes."

Without Sailor Moon's healing magics, I doubt it would help.

"Is transmuted sulphur alright, or is there a magical element that requires it to be naturally occurring?"

"I have no idea. No wizard on Ashan has tried to use material transmuted by a… Lantern, before."

Kind of obvious, in retrospect. At least Ashan does seem to operate the same way in most respects as this world, so the sulphur should have the same alchemical properties.

I transmute a small pouch of powdered sulphur for him as two winged… I'm not sure what to call them, strike the kinetic barrier around us with elongated claws. Mildly superhuman strength, but the attacks aren't innately magical.

"What do you call people when they're changed like this?"

I'm assuming they look like harpies of some manner.

"Youma."

"Right." I pass the pouch to Lushun. "Any good?"

And given that several arcs of the first storyline of the 90's anime actually featured people being transformed, that's probably accurate.

"I'll need a little more than this. And the building will be relatively fragile." He opens the pouch and puts his fingers inside. "But I believe that this will work."

"Do you need anything else?"

Assuming whatever he's making doesn't simply explode the instant it powers on due to dark magical saturation...

"A Pillar of Bones would usually be built in a Necropolis. It will need to be sited somewhere with a great many corpses."

I shrug. "We're in Britain. Finding somewhere like that will be easy. Will you need protection?"

For reference: The Necropolis (HoMMV), pillar front and center.

"It would be helpful."

I half-smile. "I guess I'm going home, then. Low population for transformation, a castle, and a thousand year old graveyard. Objections?"

Quite impressive. Fitting that his home town's area should work so well.

Two head shakes, and the sky skips as we appear over Pevensey Castle. No 'youma' here. I… Drop Lushun off in the inner keep, transmute a large box of sulphur and deposit it next to him, and then-.

"More than that!" I look down. "Ten of those should do it!"

I'm guessing that's in the range of at least ten metric tons of it. Honestly, that's a lot of sulphur.

Nine more large boxes of sulphur, and I start fortifying the walls. I'm somewhat concerned about running out of power, so I limit myself to grabbing walls from the nearby abandoned houses and shoving them into the gaps between the surviving pieces of Roman curtain wall rather than building a top notch fortress of my own design. And while I'm doing that...

Hopefully he won't have to Feed too often or can at least keep it a surprise until the right moment.

"So how did you meet?"

C'est La Vie is studying the horizon, probably watching for youma. "Hm?"

"Your me."

"I was here-. In England, when I first got my powers. He was the only other superhero I knew."

"Are superheroes uncommon here?"

Depending on continuity, because her father is a diplomatic aide or similar who was posted to England. She never went there in the manga (only a holiday in Greece and a mission in China) and her father is simply a salaryman whose job is never expanded on... <throws hands up> Who knows?

"Apart from him and the other Guardians, I don't think there's any. But I didn't know about the other Guardians back then."

"I don't suppose he had a personal lantern, did he?"

Wonder if he operated internationally or just in England?

"No." Her eyes dip for a moment. "He complained about that a couple of times."

"Could he recharge?"

I'm betting he learned to Feed very quickly, but never got much charge back from it.

"He used his ring for over a year. How long do they usually last?"

"It depends how much you use it. But less than a year, even if you ration your use." So what was he drawing power-

Could have been taking a trick out of the Youmas' book and draining their energy until they reverted to whatever they were before...

Lushun waves his staff, and the ground flexes and trembles, the boxes of sulphur exploding in a swirl of green light-. And then the bodies erupt from the ground, ancient bones merging together with local stone and rising up to form a spire thirty metres high.

Again, refer to the Necropolis link above to see what that looks like. Probably more than a little off-putting to Minako.

-from?

"Where does your power come from?"

"Moonlight. But…" She looks up, but the moon isn't visible from here. "Since Metalia blasted the moon, my compact has been taking longer to recharge."

The drawback of relying on tools instead of her own innate power (which is quite significant by the late stages of the manga and 90's anime.)

I nod. "Some sort of generator, possibly. Or a giant magic collector and transmitter."

"Artemis could explain it-." She sags lightly. "If he's still alive."

Pretty accurate guess, as the canonical Moon kingdom was a weird magitech-based realm... Mercury has a supercomputer disguised as a pocket calculator, for example.

I nod. "Lushun! Is it working?"

The green mists continue to swirl around the spire, sinister faces momentarily visible in the… Dust? Vapour? Before vanishing a moment later.

I would assume so, going by that.

He's studying it, smiling broadly. "Yes, it's working nicely! I've never studied one in a land so hypersaturated with dark energy before!"

"Can you get rid of it?"

A definite concern, especially if they're going to build more for the duration of the crisis.

"Technically, yes. Dark energy is used to raise the dead. The higher the mana capacity of the thing slain, the more dark energy required to raise it as an undead."

I turn to C'est La Vie. "Is dark energy used for necromancy here?"

Sadly, not something they could probably use to heal people, but as something to provide energy for a safe use of the Silver Crystal...

She shakes her head. "I've never seen it used like that."

"It's possible that the energy isn't the same, just similar. Or perhaps their dedication to Asha prevented the necromancers of Ashan studying other uses for it. But-"

Best not to make too many assumptions on way or the other. Worry about studying it after you defeat the cosmic energy leech-entity.

Warning!

"-if-."

Avarice-

Looks like it's been noticed, though.

A Youma appears, grabbing onto the spire with claws large enough to crush a man with a flex and drinking deep of the power!

-detected!

Because of course life-energy-draining demons would be drawn to dark magical energy...

I have the feeling the second that tower lit up, every Youma within a hundred miles snapped onto it like a hungry predator smelling a fresh meat dinner. So they may have to fight them off until they decide what to do with the energy they're gathering. And all the while, OL is losing charge a little bit at a time...

Duke Long · 2026-01-29T07:45:01+0000

Mr Zoat said:
I shrug. "We're in Britain. Finding somewhere like that will be easy. Will you need protection?"

Why did they move to Britain off-screen? To see how a more northerly location than Japan is being affected?

Mr Zoat said:
She shakes her head. "I haven't seem anyone like that. Why does she wear half a mask?"

'seen'

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

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