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

Discussion in 'Creative Writing' started by Mr Zoat, Jan 27, 2019.

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  1. Buggy123

    Buggy123 I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    We probably will. Zoat's pretty dedicated to the once-per-day thing and IIRC he keeps a backlog in case of delays.

    Edit: Wow, that timing. I posted this about 2 seconds after I got the 'new post' notification for the post above.
     
    Ngamer11, Ej190 and Cuchulin like this.
  2. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    Agreed, it's been pretty clear for a while now that Paragon no longer quite gets normal human morality (I mean he does, but only if help stops and thinks about it) and generally has a somewhat inhuman mind set.
     
  3. DeathlessProficiency

    DeathlessProficiency Know what you're doing yet?

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    REEEEEEEEEEEEE if so
     
  4. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    And that's why it's only a matter of time before Jade gives him the old "It's not you, it's me." talk.
     
  5. Threadmarks: Guys from Gotham (part 12)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    17th February
    00:28 GMT -5


    I play my cold guns over the still-burning low rise apartment building, the Kobra wannabes who set the explosives hanging off my construct tethers. Remote controlled explosives aren't that hard to make or… This is America after all, purchase completely legally. But these people decided to try re-enacting a ploy I've only seen in The Nightly News: commit a large crime and then hang about to target the people who respond to it. But whatever superweapons their masters might have access to, this street gang with delusions of mediocrity just have legally purchased rifles.

    Of course, in The Nightly News they were targeting journalists and not police or firemen or paramedics.

    Fire's mostly out so I switch to transferring out the wounded, causing them to appear around the ambulances. It's… A little slow going, honestly. I do want to help, but the… Not 'altruism fatigue', but… 'Desire identification fatigue'? That's closer to it. I'm being forced to fight metaphorical and literal fires threatening people in whom I have no personal investment. I don't mind helping out once or twice a week, but running to stand still just makes me-.

    "Hey, Oh El."

    And they're all out.

    "Robin. How's your night going?"

    "Kinda crazy, actually."

    "I know the feeling. Is there something… Some sort of evil stellar alignment which happens in Gotham at this time of year?"

    "In the middle of February? Not that I know about. But it's kind of an unknown unknown? I haven't checked." He briefly checks the area. "Do you think there's an evil calendar we could subscribe to?"

    "I'll ask Jade."

    "What's wrong?"

    "I've never had this. A bunch of bad things happening one after the-." I frown. "Don’t you have school tomorrow?"

    "Not after a night like this. School gets cancelled if things out here get too violent. And it won't be the first time I've had to skip." He looks up at the people I've tethered. "Who are they?"

    "They were trying to commit an atrocity in order to pad their resume for their Kobra application."

    "Are Kobra even still a thing?"

    "We might need to look into that. Or maybe they're just behind with the news." Police cars zoom into the road, only slowing when the officers inside see me floating overhead. I deposit my prisoners next to them, with the evidence and my report landing next to the senior detective. "Does this happen a lot?"

    "Remember when you said we should all spend some time in the worst cities on the planet?"

    "Yes?"

    "They were all worse than this."

    "Yes, but… They were places known to be total holes. In poor, corrupt countries with ineffectual states. This is America, and-. Gotham was supposed to be getting better."

    "I'm… Kinda surprised that you're this bothered, Oh El. This is just one night. Usually it's…"

    He looks momentarily thoughtful.

    "What?"

    "Unless it's a villain plot."

    Like what comic Bane did before he broke Batman's back. Or what comic Black Mask did to beat Batman in a fight. Or Mr Napier did once here just for the fun of it.

    "What if it is?"

    "Then.. we.. try and work out who it is and what they're planning. Come on, Oh El, I know you didn't sleep through the lesson."

    "Sure, and that's… Nice in theory. But there are so many potential culprits-. No, I can't believe that someone coordinated with the ancient sorcerer Selina and I found under the Breed Building."

    "Ah… What?"

    "Oh, there was a sorcerer in a sarcophagus. Looked like he'd been there a while. The chief acolyte was sacrificing people to him. Those aren't clubbable people, and the bottom-tier supervillain I branded didn't say anything about wider cooperation."

    "Would they have known? I mean, gang leaders are smart enough not to tell everyone what's going on, and…" He shakes his head. "Really an ancient wizard?"

    "John Quinn and Doctor Balewa are on-site now. I mean, if someone was making a distraction then I'd guess it was them to conceal their abductions. But if things-." No, that would-. The people making diversionary attacks wouldn't be employees or cultists. They'd be third party operators nudged into making their attacks at the same time, they wouldn't have any direct communication. "How confident are you that this is being orchestrated?"

    "I don't really have any evidence… But…"

    "Right."

    I transition down to where the police are checking over the gang members.

    "Would you excuse me for a moment? I need to check them over for lingering magic effects and fairies."

    "Ah…" The closest detective looks around to see if anyone knows whether I'm joking or not, but they all seem happy to leave it to the man on the spot. "Sure."

    "Thank you."

    I take a rune stone out and wave it at the closest Kob… Kobrite? That sounds about right. No reaction, and none of the cuts in the back of the neck or spine that might indicate the presence of a spine rider. I move on to the next, repeating the process.

    "No, I'm-." The detective shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I can't let that go. Fairies?"

    "About two inches high, with the ability to plug into the back of someone's neck and control them. They're from the future and they're evil. Have you ever heard of the late boxer, Mo Colley?"

    "Can't say I have?"

    "Huge bloke. Beat Ted Grant in his prime. Then he went crazy and murdered a couple of police officers before being shot dead. Spine rider. Forensic examiners don't look for the signs, but in somewhere as crazy as Gotham-" I keep checking, but I'm not seeing any sign that they are anything other than the violent thugs that they appear to be. "-it's worth checking, in case there's a nest of the bastard things."

    "Ah…"

    "Don't worry, there probably wouldn't be anything you can do at this stage anyway. But you might want to visit the range a little more for when their fleet arrives. Large calibre rifles can kill the soldier types, though you'd need an automatic cannon to hurt the war beasts."

    "I'll… Keep that in mind."

    "No fairies here, though." I turn up my empathic vision in case that shows anything, but all I'm getting is the standard mix of angry, violent disaffection. "Thank you for your forbearance."

    I transition back up to Richard.

    "So if this is orchestrated..?"

    "I'm not seeing a pattern so far. But someone must have seen that gang who attacked the mayor's house arrive."

    I nod. "CCTV room it is."
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2019
  6. thebishop8

    thebishop8 Umm, ackchyually...

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    *an atrocity

    So, are we going to see the Court of Owls next or what?
     
  7. Ngamer11

    Ngamer11 Experienced.

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    I think there should be a comma after "Really".
     
  8. Ganurath

    Ganurath Apologizes For Nothing

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    My guess? Paul told the police that Batman was in Ukraine, and word hit the street without the context of Paul saying that Cake Man now lived in Gotham.
     
  9. Buggy123

    Buggy123 I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Its a possibility. And it actually works in his favor, because a bunch of people are going to act at what they think is the best possible time, when it's really the worst.

    Edit: Plus, they'll be rushing to do things while the opportunity lasts, so they won't be quite as effective or cause as much collateral as if they had done things at their own pace.
     
  10. Grimnar

    Grimnar Versed in the lewd.

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    I love him constantly bringing up the fairies. Everyone is going to think he's insane...

    Until the Fleet arrives.

    *Ancient Alien Dude* "Fairies".
     
  11. ForeverShogo

    ForeverShogo Not too sore, are you?

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    For all his bluster, Paul has remarkably low (mental) stamina if the stuff we've seen thus far is all it takes for him to feel worn out.
     
  12. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Either way, still an asshole move. Seriously, these guys sound like distilled jackass.
    (And let's not start arguing about real-world occurrences of this sort of thing, please?:confused:)

    Even with enlightenment, that'd be a significant issue. Might want to train that.

    Sounds like a busy night all round town. Wonder what Talia's been facing...

    Heh, she would know, wouldn't she? I'm sure the Shadows had something.

    The joy of a superheroic nightlife.

    "Eh, this is a little busier than normal. Should see some nights, it gets way more whacko."

    Change takes time. Gotham isn't going to turn into a vision of sunshine and roses overnight. Well, besides that time Swamp Thing rolled through...

    Don't attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity or dumb luck, Robin.

    A lesson delivered by Batman, no doubt...

    He says it so casually...

    Seriously, I would not even be surprised at this point. OL's stirred up weirder.

    Ugh, if it is somehow being orchestrated... Ra's is still dead, right?
    (In before: "The SI doesn't know")

    Hey, the glowing, flying guy wants to do something, they get to do it. I doubt the cops are paid enough to say no.

    Even from OL, it sounds hard to believe.

    Correction: 'the late boxer'

    "I've heard of 'off with the fairies', but..."

    Seriously, he says it so casually... You can't help but take it at face value.
    Correction: 'the soldier types'

    "Not that I'm saying it is..."

    Seriously, Mr Zoat, you just had to play through the mission glitch? I would have reloaded and hoped...

    It's shaping up to be a busy night. Let's hope Batwoman checks in soon, just to be sure she's not caught up in things.
     
  13. Slayer Anderson

    Slayer Anderson Orthodox Heretic

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    He has it when it counts, like when he was trapped on that alternate Earth with Zatana. Since the world was going to, functionally, end if he didn't fight the good fight, he was motivated enough to take on pretty much everything that came his way.

    The problem here, as Paul states, is motivation. There's not much personal involvement in a lot of these tiny crimes, no matter how horrible or tragic they are on the small scale.
     
  14. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
    I consider the Court to be one of those 'too stupid to exist' things.
    I don't.
    Not sure what the original video link was, but now it goes it a picture.
    Thank you, corrected.
     
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  15. kedgisgo

    kedgisgo Semi-Professional Lurker

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    ...seeing the way he's acting, I think Paul needs to take a look at the back of his own neck... they might not be able to control him.. but wearing him down little by little seems like something evil bondage future space fae would do
     
  16. Lothlo

    Lothlo Not too sore, are you?

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    If OL wants a quiet night, he should put a Big OL signal in the sky (like batman's) with caption: " I live here now, and I hate loud neighbors. Wake me up, and you will know why not even the Host of Heaven could stop me"
     
  17. Handlewithcare

    Handlewithcare Versed in the lewd.

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    His frustration is showing.

    Also spine riders.

    Delightful.
     
  18. B.B. Rain

    B.B. Rain I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    ...if this was a comic, or, you know, official DC, I'd suspect Talia of being in on whatever's happening, either as part of a long-term plot she set-up by seducing Bruce, or because she's suddenly been possessed by Ra's.

    You know, due to the whole 'Batman can't be a happily married man' thing.

    Since this is Zoat, however, I'm pretty sure he's not going to pull that. Like 90%. Unless he's actually shipping Bruce/Selina, and this is a long-term gambit to really set it up while thoroughly shutting down the Bruce/Talia pairing with a big disaster angle.
     
  19. King of Frost

    King of Frost Wishing I was somewhere colder no doubt.

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    A bit weird that OL and Robin were trying to link every big crime they encountered without considering the possibility that there is cooperation or direction going on, but that doesn't necessarily mean everything that happens is going to be part of it.

    Like the ancient sorcerer they found is probably unrelated even if there is something big happening. And a lot of the smaller crimes are probably unrelated. It may be getting better but it's still Gotham.
     
  20. Buggy123

    Buggy123 I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Realisticly, there's no way they could do that without him noticing immediately, that wouldn't also prevent him from noticing it without putting in substantial effort.

    He has a power ring monitoring his entire anatomy down to a molecular level, which can, will, and has acted according to passive desires such as a desire for physical wellness or a desire to not be mind whammied. Getting through a enviromental shield and that, without him noticing, would be difficult to say the least.

    Sneaking up on him when he wasn't wearing the ring would require that they somehow mind whammy him just right to prevent either him or the ring from noticing afterwards, without otherwise affecting him noticeably (because the people around him would have noticed, and we'd notice), which would be quite a accomplishment. And he's trained to notice and resist mind whammies, which would make it even harder. And he's got a powerful anti-magic defense which alerts him to magic usage, and he's switched them out at least once so far (which would circumvent the one and only 'stealthy' way we've seen to bypass them).

    So... probably not likely. That, or the faeries are terrifyingly competent.
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2019
  21. NightmareWarden

    NightmareWarden Versed in the lewd.

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    Could Boss Smiley have a new plot up and running? He seems to have enough reach to pull this off.

    If this Gotham business is just a coincidence though rather than something targeting Paul... I wonder if he if feeling some sort of backlash from the Ophidian's current status? The Reach or some other faction against the Orange Corps are bound to have some sort of esoteric weapon that slipped Paul's memory or flat-out hasn't come up before. Basically I'm skeptical that Paul's motivation level is completely normal here.
     
  22. Norgarth

    Norgarth Making the rounds.

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    Paragon side, we never even had confirmation that Ra was dead in the first place, he just disappeared. It's assumed that the rest of the Light eliminated him as a liability/loose end after OL helped smash the Shadows (repeatedly) by uncovering their hideouts.
    That said, Talia believes he's dead.
     
  23. TheMidnightRook

    TheMidnightRook Well worn.

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    Pretty sure it was the mayor's house that got attacked, not some random Army/Marine/Air Force/National Guard officer's.
     
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  24. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
    And Luthor strongly implied that he was dead.
     
  25. Lokpik

    Lokpik Know what you're doing yet?

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    Hmmm this is Gotham, earth has actually been invaded before. Both the criminal elements and law officers for Gotham are hearing about a potential fleet invasion from the Cake guy who does go offworld. I kinda want to see commissioner Gordon requesting autocannons and possibly a donation via Wayne industries. In not sure what lex is up to but might I make a suggestion of giving him the Intel of the future threat, we know he both would prep for and be able to field a large force of security personnel. Or hmmm us he dealing with earth made ships?
     
  26. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    Yes, but the guy as obsessed with staying alive as Ra's, it would seem rather out of character to not make use of access to Cadmus technology to make a spare or two...

    In which the question isn't did he die, but if it stuck.
     
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  27. PrinceJonathan

    PrinceJonathan Versed in the lewd.

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    I'd like to see the Court of Owls, but they're all really old and senile like the High Lords of Terra from If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device.

    Just a bunch of crusty old farts who got together back in the 30's-40's and formed a Society of Evil that never really did anything, and now they're all in a retirement home.
     
  28. PDV

    PDV Revelation That Uncertainty Is Itself An Answer

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    A line a few lines later says she shouldn't look White.
     
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  29. Siskulous

    Siskulous Know what you're doing yet?

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    To be fair, judging from some of the arguments I've seen revolving around trademark disputes, neither does the average person.
     
  30. Mastigos2

    Mastigos2 Versed in the lewd.

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    You also forgot that his teleportation method is unlikely to bring passengers he doesn't want to bring
     
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