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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. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    Therapy sessions with a alternate self that is a more or less normal person and time spent with OL working on his problems a little, because THIS Sivana has realized he has problems. Also time spent running for his life from the Sheeda made him think about things.
     
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  2. Threadmarks: Sprited Away (part 21)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    18th February
    12:39 GMT -6


    "Over-over there." Nigel points a finger a short distance down the road. "In the-that car."

    The car is driving slowly out of town, the driver's posture oddly fixed. I grab it with a shipping container construct and pull it through the air towards us. When it arrives I take control of the car's electronics and turn off the engine, then deposit it on the road. The driver turns their head slowly to look in our direction. The Spine Riders might have learned how to hide themselves from normal senses quickly but the subtle nuances of human body language appear to elude them.

    "Supergirl?"

    She raises her right hand and shoves it through the window, the flaming corona burning a circle through the glass as she grabs the back of the host's neck… The hidden Spine Rider burning to death a moment later. Suddenly the wounds it inflicted on the back of its host's neck appear, Linda withdrawing her hand and the host slumping bonelessly against the steering wheel.

    "Thank you, Nigel. Can you feel any others?"

    He stares around blankly. "Um. No?"

    I nod. "Alright." I raise my ring to my ear. "Orange Lantern to Squire."

    There's a very brief delay.

    "Squire here."

    "Another one at my current location. We think that's it."

    "I'll pass that on to the ambulance. They're just picking up the last few now. Should only be a couple of minutes."

    I nod. "Good show. Any word from Belle Reve?"

    "They'll have the cell ready in a couple of hours. What are we charging him with?"

    "Illegal residency, unlicensed medical experimentation, quite a lot of incidents of attempted murder, resisting arrest and mind control."

    "Was he in control of the Spine Riders?"

    "I don't know, but we can charge him with it while we investigate exactly how it all worked." I glance at the three Spine Riders floating behind me, orange sigils glowing from their chests. "Which is what we're going to be spending the rest of the day doing."

    "And what about the Mind Destroyers?"

    "They appear to have 'mysteriously vanished'."

    "Sivana."

    "I didn't think his robots were just going to sit there."

    "If this is the best that the sheeda can do I don't think he's worth it."

    "It's not. Not by a long way. How is the mayor?"

    "Annoyed that we didn't tell him what we were doing. I showed him the recording I made of our conversation with the Mind Destroyer and he calmed down. You.. didn't know that those Spine Riders were there, did you?"

    "I knew that there might be Spine Riders in the area, but I was as surprised as you were that they were near the mine. Or had butterfly wings."

    "Your friend Sivana not mention that?"

    "They don't really use Spine Riders in the future. No one to hijack. Though it's interesting that Melmoth uses them; it's possible that he does and the queen doesn't. He's had enough time to develop new sheeda strains, and regular fairies do exist."

    Now that's a disturbing thought. It's not just modern humans that the sheeda replace. It's everything. The remaining Saremites, dryads like Euanthe… Presumably even the gods. I can't even imagine what must have happened to leave the sheeda as the only thing left.

    I really hope that I don't end up recognising Gloriana Tenebrae. That actually would depress me.

    "Should we.. check that?"

    "No, I think that's something to pass over to the League. Unless you have contact with the fairies."

    "No, no, somehow that's never come up before."

    "Alright then. Orange Lantern to squad. Tempest, any joy?"

    "As far as I can tell, the only living sheeda creatures between here, the Rogue River and the sea are the ones we know about."

    "Good-."

    "But this isn't my specialty. I cannot guarantee that they don’t have a way to hide from me."

    "Understood. But that's good enough for now. If we hear anything from this region later we can bring in a specialist. Everyone finish what you're doing, then it's back to base to write up our reports and follow-up plans."

    I hear their acknowledgements and then hang up, making eye contact with Linda.

    "We'll hang around until this guy gets picked up, then do a fly-over just in case we can pick up something Tempest missed."

    She nods as I use a filament to open the car door and then carefully lift the passenger out.

    "Nigel?"

    He nods distractedly.

    "What were you talking to the witch man about?"

    "Everyone's insides were all mixed up. I know most people don't notice it, but I always have. Until I met you, I thought everyone had to be like that. I thought I was special because I saw it and no one else did."

    "And your insides aren't mixed up?"

    "No, they-." His eyes widen. "They can't be. That can't be how things are meant to be. I'd notice if I was that ugly." He looks at me with fear and hope warring on his face. "I would, wouldn't I?"

    "Honestly, Nigel? Based on what I've seen, that sort of mess is normal. Very few people do what I've done. And if you can't look at your own thoughts as an external observer, then you can't know."

    "That's… Normal?" He shakes his head. "The witch man, his mind isn't like that, but he's not really human. You are. You don't think like that, and I started thinking that maybe you're how people are supposed to think."

    Linda scowls. "He is most certainly not."

    "Why did you talk to him?"

    "He understood. Or… I thought he did. Now I don't know. Everything I thought-. What do I do?"

    Something most people don't realise about telepathy is that it isn't paired with high intelligence more often than the statistical average. It also doesn't make you immune to other cognitive dysfunctions.

    "I know some people who can help you. I'll come and see you tomorrow. But right now, I think that you should go home and speak to your parents about what you've been seeing."
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2019
  3. moralrelativity

    moralrelativity Recovering pendant.

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    hear
     
  4. thebishop8

    thebishop8 Umm, ackchyually...

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    Should that be "his robots" or something else?
     
  5. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
     
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  6. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Must not have been well-programmed before they were released. Or these are just that bad at it, like rubbish knock-offs of the real thing.

    Good to see him making himself useful. He hasn't actually committed any crimes at this point, after all.

    She's a little busy, then.

    Hopefully nothing worse than slight puncture injuries. Maybe a few bruises on those who resisted at the behest of their Rider?

    More to come after investigation, I expect?

    I see he got a bit of research material himself.

    Ah, the doctor got his live samples after all. Good to see he's cleaned up.

    I expect learning his town was a hotbed of bizarre creatures from the future shook him out of any anger.

    Which means getting someone to try and make contact with the Summer and Winter fey courts... Since Titania and Oberon should be around.

    Any particular reason why?

    I doubt Beryl's had much to do with the more mystical side of British culture...

    Damn, put a dampener on the good mood, why don't you...

    ...Awkward...

    Oh yeah, he's still here. He's just so forgettable, you know?

    The joy of being a telepath in a non-telepathic world.

    Hard truth, but better to rip the thing off than let his feelings of superiority and difference fester into megalomania or the like.

    Understatement of the.. day.

    Ah, the feeling of being lost as everything you thought you knew crumbles. Ol, you'd better have an idea to patch them up.

    And maybe who he's been seeing. I think they'll want to know he's been hanging out with an evil fairy-man in his spare time...

    So far so good for the wrap-up. Still hoping for that team discussion about their missions at some point, but no rush, is there? OL Still has Sivana to speak to...
     
  7. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    She could be someone from this era who altered herself.
     
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  8. Pinklestia

    Pinklestia Well worn.

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    Man this whole arc was quite long. Thankfully DC isn't as screwed by time travel as Marvel is.
     
  9. DrThoth

    DrThoth I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Could we get a wiki link for Gloriana Tenebrae? I don't think there was one in previous chapters whenever the queen was referenced, but this is the first time her name showed up so I think it's appropriate.
     
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  10. Sockmonkey

    Sockmonkey I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    The novelty of meeting a hero he doesn't think is a moron probably helps too.
     
  11. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    Yes, that is why he is willing to LISTEN to the man and seriously consider what the man has to say. Other wise it'd be just more annoying noise to him.
     
  12. Handlewithcare

    Handlewithcare Versed in the lewd.

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    I think we discussed this before but it might now be time for OL to invest in timetravel himself and have a Sheeda looksie. Brand someone high level and find out what went wrong.
     
  13. Idkusername

    Idkusername Versed in the lewd.

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    Honestly, I don’t think that speaking to his parents right now is the best idea. I mean, drawing support and comfort, sure. But not making the reveal.

    It might just be me and my parental issues, but I’d hold off on any emotionally taxing confrontations until he’s had a chance to process at least some of what’s happened. I mean, levelheadedness and deliberation are how you don’t screw up a relationship. I know my parents wouldn’t judge until they’d heard me out, or at least I’d like to think so, but we still have a very strained and complicated relationship, despite being close.

    I’m still kind of a cynic (or realist?) with a heart of anti-nihilist, but you don’t go into any sort communication without thinking it through properly, leaving aside common sense. Especially when the guy in question is a telepath.
     
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  14. Gantradies

    Gantradies Not too sore, are you?

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    prettymuch how ive been reading it- the question is if it sticks or if he starts slipping/backsliding when the issues with the upcoming harrowing are over, one way or another-
    i mean,he did "just" spend an extended period of time stranded in another time-period constantly fighting/building- aside from being entirely focused on the new enemy atm, he legitimately might have burnt through all the urges for mad-scientist-typical ranting/raving in his system- or been pushed so far he's currently stuck in Tranquil-Fury/ Directed Rage mode, and this is his norm that mental state.....
    and given he's had limited contact with his alternates, theres a non-zero chance he KNOWS the SI is the only reason his entire family wasnt butchered- that sort of thing will focus a LOT of people who'd otherwise be all over the place...
     
  15. Mquz

    Mquz Versed in the lewd.

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    Surprisingly enough, ant man does have some actual character growth. He starts out an abusive asshole then becomes better. Different steps on his evolution coincide with his different power sets throughout.
     
  16. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    You know the 'punches Wasp to the ground' pannel was meant to show him turning around suddenly without knowing how close she was and lightly hitting her accidentally, right?
     
  17. Someguy Somewhere

    Someguy Somewhere The Critical Fumbler

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    That might have been the intent for the 616 Ant-man, as the discussion for art vs story did have a disconnect there when that infamous comic was created. However it came about, it did become an aspect of the character moving forwards, along with his other issues, and later writers developed the story from how it was seen, rather then intended. Revising it after the fact tends to go down the arguments of is it the creator or the reader are the ones that 'know' the character better. Also leads to stuff like Star Wars Special Edition, when they go back to change it.

    Of course if we end up talking about the Ultimates version of Hank Pym, all bets are off.
     
  18. Maxx Crowley

    Maxx Crowley I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    And on the subject of abuse. One shouldn't forget when Wasp manipulated a clearly mentally ill Hank, Then Yellowjacket, into marrying her. When called on this, and how utterly fucked up it was, her reply was little more then "Who cares? I've waited and waited and damn it! I want a ring on this finger!"
     
  19. Jirachi

    Jirachi I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Him talking with Guy seems like it'd be really interesting - though I suppose that talking with Balewa might be something to do as well...
    There's probably also a few telepaths that he knows of might be useful...
    oblig 'really hope we see Constantine soon' note.
    I feel sort of like he should actually say something like "No one has done exactly what I've done, but some have done something pretty similar that is what you are looking for." Avarice enlightenment is something that he isn't aware of anyone else attaining - Assuming the connection the controllers have is different (which seems fairly safe) - though he is aware of at least one person with Will enlightenment, someone with life enlightenment, and whatever the deal with Sackville was.
     
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  20. Pinklestia

    Pinklestia Well worn.

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    Then the artist should have redraw it before it went to print.

    Thing is,we do know Ant Man does have mental problems. When he found the Human Torch Android he basically went into the Madness place and then made his recent creation so angry Ultron erased his "daddy" memories.

    Thing is, were the fuck did Ultron get the tech to erase memories? He had just been built!

    That means Ant Man already had it.

    Who knows how many screw ups he covered using said tech?
     
  21. Gantradies

    Gantradies Not too sore, are you?

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    ....what the actual fu-....
    they printed that!?!?!?
     
  22. Queshire

    Queshire Not too sore, are you?

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    Don't judge it from just that. Old comics in general were all really fucked up.
     
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  23. Someguy Somewhere

    Someguy Somewhere The Critical Fumbler

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    Avengers # 200 Comes to mind....though you might want to start drinking before you try and read that one....while it's less infamous then Hank's outbursts, it's a lot crazier.

    Or take it filtered through snark and nerd rage by a fellow with a nice hat.
     
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  24. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Ah, yes, the plotline so stupid and creepy that Chris Claremont, himself a creepy guy, made it his personal mission to write Carol Danvers out of that place and into the X-Men books he was writing at the time.
     
  25. Maxx Crowley

    Maxx Crowley I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    They have tried so very, very hard, for so very, very long to get people to care about Carol.

    And no one does.

    Ms. Marvel, Photon, Captain Marvel...relaunch after relaunch and oh GOD all the shilling!

    And she's still just the blond Bint that Rogue power drained into a coma.
     
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  26. Threadmarks: Sprited Away (part 22)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    18th February
    22:02 GMT -5


    "Recognized, Superboy, B zero four."

    I raise my right hand in greeting as Kon walks out of the zeta tube into the training area.

    "Hey." He nods in greeting. "How'd it go?"

    "The suicides were being caused by a group of the things the sheeda set on Magnificus. We caught them, a number of sheeda creatures for STAR Labs to study and someone from Witch World who appears to have been overseeing them. You?"

    He shrugs as he strolls over and flops into the construct chair I make for him.

    "We found the fight ring no problem. But they weren't breaking any local laws. Canis wanted to enter and kill everyone in the arena-"

    I roll my eyes. "Of course he did."

    "-but instead of doing that we just took pictures of everyone's face and planted bugs everywhere so we can track their movements."

    "No one with international warrants?"

    "No." He shakes his head. "Robin said he recognised some of their moves, so maybe they're having supervillains train them?" I nod. "There's not much more we can do until the tracking devices say they've moved."

    "Any trouble?"

    "No. I kinda wanted to join in some of the bouts, but I couldn't see how that would help the mission. Roulette's gotta be doing background checks on everyone. If I was gunna get hired there I'd have to get up a villainous identity and that would take months."

    "You could go in as yourself. Supervillains would be lining up to fight you."

    He smiles at the idea, then shakes his head. "Yeah, but they'd hide all the illegal stuff. And I don't think Roulette would go for it."

    "Okay… How about pretending to be Ultraboy? He's not well known, but his picture did get released to the media."

    He looks thoughtful. "I don't have a parallel universe transporter."

    "I could build you a type of teleporter that doesn't exist on Earth. Unless Roulette had exactly the right people look at it there wouldn't be any way for her to tell the difference."

    He nods. "Maybe we could try that during winter break. Otherwise she just has to schedule a fight during school hours and I can't show. Does Ultraboy go to school?"

    "I.. didn't check. I… Probably gets tutored?" I frown. "How did you get time off for the Belle Reve infiltration, then?"

    "Ah…" He looks away. "Batman wanted me to do it, and… At the time, school wasn't all that important to me. I guess Batman knew that I didn't really need it, and he needed someone who could pretend to be Tommy Te-."

    I give him a mild glare.

    "r-ah-whatever his name is?"

    "Beresford."

    "Right, yeah."

    We sit in silence for a moment.

    "Did you know that Madagascan taxi drivers usually rent their taxis day by day?"

    He frowns slightly. "Really?"

    I nod. "But they have to pay for their own petrol, so they hate buying more than they need because if they leave any in the tank then the person who gets that taxi tomorrow gets it."

    Another shake, but this one is tinged with amusement. "Guess that explains why they were driving so-"

    "Recognized, Aqualad, B zero two, Arsenal, B one six, Green Lantern, B two two."

    "-slow."

    Kaldur has a few minor cuts and Roy's armour has.. enough damage that he's probably going to swallow his pride and ask me to fix it for him. Arisia's armour has a few scratches, but nothing like that much.

    Kon's eyes widen slightly. "What happened?"

    I take a purple healing ray out of subspace and float it over to Kaldur, who takes it and begins playing it over his injuries before replying.

    "Mister Gaines was being held captive by an alien Green Lantern identified as a durlan."

    "Ooh, nasty. The Chinese have been fighting them for decades."

    He nods. "It did not communicate with us directly, so I do not know whether or not it was part of the same group. And since it died when its ship was destroyed I doubt that we will ever know for certain."

    Arisia looks at my construct chairs for a moment, then raises her right hand and creates chairs for the three of them.

    Kaldur gives her a small nod as he sits down. "Thank you."

    Roy pulls off his helmet and shakes his head. "I'm gunna go start work on my armour." I start to open my mouth. "Yeah, I know. I just wanna do what I can before I hand the rest over to you."

    I nod as he stomps off down the corridor, the right leg's motive systems noticeably lagging. Could be the power, the data links or the servos themselves, but he can probably fix that

    "The Green Lantern assigned to Durla. He's called… Von Daggle? Van Daggle? Something like that?"

    "I will check." Her eyes glow for a moment. "No, there is no Lantern Daggle in the Green Lantern Corps. I've sent a copy of our mission report to the Lanterns assigned to that Sector. Hopefully, they'll be able to find out why it was here."

    Kon leans towards them slightly. "Did that Gaines guy make it out okay?"

    Kaldur nods. "He had only minor injuries. He is staying at STAR Labs so that they can ensure that he is not carrying a durlan nanotech infection like the one which transformed August Colonel in Iron, but they believe that he will be fine. Is your mission complete as well?"

    "For now. We're gunna keep an eye-."

    "Recognized, Miss Martian B zero five."

    Kon gets out of his chair to greet her.

    "Hey, how'd it g-?"

    **Ugh!**

    M'gann's jaw is clenched and I can see her anger.

    Kon looks concerned as he lays his hands on her shoulders, and she reaches up to put her hands on his.

    "What happened?"

    "There weren't any Kobra cultists before the police started beating up civilians, but there are plenty now. I don't even think they're part of the Kobra we fought before. I think they're just using the name."

    Kaldur nods. "That is troubling."

    "And the police did not want to hear that they were the cause of the problem. It's just like-."

    "Mars and the Hyperclan?"

    "Yeah. And I don't think the situation is going to improve."

    I wave my hand and a holographic after-action report form floats over to her.

    "Maybe. But we're not out of options yet."

    Kaldur nods. "My mission requires no follow up, and I am certain that we are all willing to assist you with yours."

    M'gann nods and manages a small smile.

    "Thanks guys."
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2019
  27. Maxx Crowley

    Maxx Crowley I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Breaking, I should think.
     
  28. Handlewithcare

    Handlewithcare Versed in the lewd.

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    Haha Paul's awkward small talk :D

    And it's nice to see that the other teams portrayed as competent who can do things without the SI holding their hands.
     
  29. Flux Casey

    Flux Casey The Colonel

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    Aww, this was a really nice update. And it genuinely feels like they've become almost another League unto themselves! Just genuinely pleasant to read.
     
  30. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
     
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