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

Emizaquel · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat, you seem to have forgotten the threadmark.

Handlewithcare · Apr 26, 2020

And back to explosions interrupting a talk.

Ah, the nostalgia!

I wonder if you could power a ring with that...?

Prince Charon · Apr 26, 2020

Handlewithcare said:
And back to explosions interrupting a talk.

Ah, the nostalgia!

I wonder if you could power a ring with that...?

With nostalgia? Um, maybe. The constructs would probably mostly be idealized versions of older stuff I guess, and/or of things from the users home/childhood.

Citizen · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
If they have all of the parts in once place

One place, I think.

Vaermina · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
A black-blue beam punches through my chest!

Moral of this story, don't work with Supervillains.

thebishop8 · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
The building's front doors open as she reaches them, then security guards' eyes glossing over and the various sensors failing to register.

Is "then" supposed to be "the"?

Mr Zoat · Apr 26, 2020

Emizaquel said:
Mr Zoat, you seem to have forgotten the threadmark.

No, the board ate it again.

Citizen said:
One place, I think.

thebishop8 said:
Is "then" supposed to be "the"?

Thank you, corrected.

Belenus · Apr 26, 2020

Prince Charon said:
With nostalgia? Um, maybe. The constructs would probably mostly be idealized versions of older stuff I guess, and/or of things from the users home/childhood.

A sepia ring.

jmartinez8089 · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
Red and I make momentary eye contact, and I can see that he's getting just as dubious about this as I am. But after his attack on Sinesto-

He inclines his head slightly.

-he'd rather than I take the lead.

that I take the lead

Chojin Patriarch · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
16th May 2011
11:39 GMT -5

People.. aren't.. looking at us.

I don't want to sound too 'up myself', but… I'm wearing my display costume. And carrying a glowing staff. Even on an Earth like this one, which appears to be far closer to Detective Comics norms than the one both-.

It's kind of suspicious, isn't it? It's not like the Red Queen could do... Oh, wait...

I glance at Red.

Than the one I landed on, that should provoke some comment, surely? Perhaps not clustering around us for autographs given that we have no local reputation, but leaving us some clear space in case we lash out? I realise that DC Earth may have resulted in people becoming somewhat inured to oddities such as us… There was a Superman comic I vaguely remember in which a visiting superhero team were met with total indifference, as was the fact that Superman was 'fighting an alien invasion or something'. But still-.

Eh, DC Universe people seem to be jaded by people in colourful costumes flying around punching each other in the face... God knows what the Professional Wrestling circuits look like...

Red waves a hand in someone's face as he walks past. The man slows and blinks, then returns to his journey. Red then stops walking.

"What's going on?"

Well. Mind Control, huh? Straight out of Professor Xavier's playbook, too. Perception editing.

Red Queen turns around to… I think she's glaring under that faceplate.

"Do you want them to see us?"

If you don't want them making it harder, try explaining it to them before you do it?

He shrugs. "I don't usually hide what I'm doing. Though I suppose-."

A couple of Gold Lanterns fly over our heads, not paying the street beneath them any mind.

At this point, they're better off hiding, after all.

"I suppose on a planet like this-." He frowns. "Are you doing this?"

"I used the materioptikon to brute force dozens of super power formulas. Suppressing people's interest in us is the least I can do."

And yet she still can't take on a Maltusian? Try thinking up better super-formulas...

I frown. "What were you planning to do with that sort of power?"

"It doesn't matter." She turns away and continues striding towards LexCorp Metropolis, the people in her path not looking up as they step out of her way without knowing why. "Come."

Queen by name, queenly by nature, I see. And I don't think it's the good kind of queen either.

Red and I make momentary eye contact, and I can see that he's getting just as dubious about this as I am. But after his attack on Sinesto-

He inclines his head slightly.

-he'd rather than I take the lead.

Probably still feeling a bit hungover. After a bender like that...

I smile faintly, then start after her.

"Given everything else they know he did, I'm a little surprised that-

Wait for it...

In the small square in front of the building there's a statue of Lex Luthor, surrounded by relatively fresh wreathes. There are even a few… Not mourners, but people paying their respects at a monument dedicated to someone they respected.

"-they're letting his company work on a project like this."

Despite being a Supervillian, he did have some good ideas... Pity he spent most of them trying to kill Superman out of jealousy...

"This Lex Luthor was proven to have been driven to paranoia by phobiline hydrochlorate administered by Manhunter androids at the behest of the Guardians of the Universe as part of a plan to suppress the intellect of human geniuses. Having conclusively proven that, he committed himself to striving to undo the damage they had inflicted on his species. This building had WayneTech stamped on its frontage last month. Now, they do research on exotic technology. Including what's left of the tuning fork Alexander Luthor Junior tried to use to pry the universe apart."

Huh, so Infinite Crisis happened as normal in this universe. Bet that was a fustercluck.

"Yes, but I imagine that it's-"

She walks across several wreathes on her path to the front door, crushing her boot prints into them.

Geez! Rude much?

"-got all sorts of systems for detecting people like us. Wouldn't a less secure facility be better for our purposes?"

Red steps around the scattered wreaths as he nods.

See, at least the Pauls know how to show some respect...

"Time Trapper didn't mention anything about coming here-."

"He was excessively cautious. If they have all of the parts in once place then I can reassemble what we need easily."

And the fact she's suddenly so cavalier about risks ought to be a big warning light... Seriously, how has neither Paul caught the smell of the bullshit?

While that sounds reasonable, I doubt very much that this Time Trapper would operate out of a subterranean base without a good reason. "And then… What?"

"Krona's tuning fork will be destroyed, our alter egos will be freed, and we can deal with Krona directly."

Ah... She's kind of on Krona's side... Until she can stab him in the back. Typical Supervillain.

"Yes, about that. I haven't encountered a Guardian, but I'm led to believe that they're rather good at manipulating the emotional spectrum."

"If all of you and all of me together can't beat him, then the entire superhero population of this Earth certainly can."

And if that doesn't work, get more universes involved? Just keep casting 'Summon Bigger Fish' until you win? ugh...

The building's front doors open as she reaches them, then security guards' eyes glossing over and the various sensors failing to register.

"And are we notifying them in advance? Our emergence point-."

I know what Saul's trying to do, but seriously, she is just not interested in listening to reason...

"We can notify them the moment I set the tuning fork off."

"Why not bef-?"

Sooner or later, she's going to snap and just yell at him to be quiet...

"I tried talking to them, and the next thing I knew our base was destroyed and they started attacking me. Maybe it was some kind of misunderstanding or maybe Krona's already controlling them, I don't know."

She strides towards a wall, which shifts out of phase as she reaches it to allow her access to.. some sort of emergency access shaft. Red and I follow her, the wall reforming behind us as we descend into the lower reaches of the building.

One of those many superpowers she cheated her way into?

"But ultimately, 'why' doesn't matter. It happened, they won't help voluntarily, we need to do this."

Red did say that 'make a tuning fork, win' was their original strategy.

Seems to be a common thing in DC Crises. Ah, for the day when just punching someone really hard was enough to end a fight...

"Do you need any additional versions of me?" I glance at Red. "Us?"

"Can you use other colors?"

"Not… Easily, but if we're not in any rush I should be able to manage something."

Kind of hard to work without losing your own Compassion focus, eh?

"Then no. All we need is a you who can use the colors other versions of you can use. I'll do the rest."

She comes to a stop in the shaft and gestures, one wall becoming translucent. She floats through and we follow her into.. a high tech laboratory cum workshop. There's no.. big tuning fork, though some of what I presume to be analytical machines contain tiny fragments which might have been part of it at one stage. There are.. a few employees around, mostly not doing anything that looks particularly exciting. I suppose that with something like this you don't want to do anything precipitous.

Indeed. No wanting to set off another Crisis by accident...

"Wait here. I'll check on the storage chamber, then we can get to work."

"Any they will continue not to notice us?"

Best to stand somewhere out of sight just in case?

She lands and walks towards one of the interior doors.

"They can barely notice anything."

Hey now! I know they're only human, but...

I frown, then look more closely at a woman who… Her coffee mug slips slightly in her hand, pouring hot liquid onto her skin and sleeve. She doesn't react.

I move the mug to a nearby work bench and heal her hand.

Ah. The Mind Whammy is that strong, huh? And the smell increases...

"So. Here we are."

Red nods as Red Queen leaves the room. "Now we know why Time Trapper did most of the talking."

"She is under a great deal of-."

No making excuses, Saul. I don't care how compassionate you are, sooner or later, you've got to cotton on...

My ring blinks. I raise it slightly.

"Yes?"

Might be the first time he's ever gotten a proper Ring-to-Ring call...

A face appears, my own with slightly longer hair.

"Black Lantern to-. Ah. Good."

Ah, the Common Sense approach working.

Red stares at the image. "You're alive?"

"No."

Seriously, Raul, you walked into that one...

Red rolls his eyes. "You're functioning?"

"Yes, but that's not important. The Red Queen who came through the portal isn't the one we were working with. It's important that-."

A black-blue beam punches through my chest!

Well, there's something that hasn't happened for a while!

Now, was that Red Queen panicking now that she's been exposed, or someone else noticing the Pauls?

"Any they will continue not to notice us?"

"And they will continue not to notice us?"

SirKaid · Apr 26, 2020

Chojin Patriarch said:
Now, was that Red Queen panicking now that she's been exposed, or someone else noticing the Pauls

<Zoat> The SI doesn't know. </Zoat>

Mr Zoat · Apr 26, 2020

jmartinez8089 said:
that I take the lead

Chojin Patriarch said:
"And they will continue not to notice us?"

Thank you, corrected.

Flux Casey · Apr 26, 2020

Belenus said:
A sepia ring.

Or perhaps rose-tinted.

Ace Dreamer · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
As promised, the various pony segments I wrote and either didn't use or repurposed.

Thanks for this, interesting read. The Maud bits were particularly... different.

Darko · Apr 26, 2020

Ace Dreamer said:
Thanks for this, interesting read. The Maud bits were particularly... different.

That's a light way of putting it.

Still I really hope Zoat releases more of those scenes or at least does a supplementary chapter in the future with those scenes.

topin89 · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
"This Lex Luthor was proven to have been driven to paranoia by phobiline hydrochlorate administered by Manhunter androids at the behest of the Guardians of the Universe as part of a plan to suppress the intellect of human geniuses. Having conclusively proven that, he committed himself to striving to undo the damage they had inflicted on his species. This building had WayneTech stamped on its frontage last month"

Well, that explains why Sinestro is a good guy here. Ah, I want more non-evil Lex fanfics.

Doccer · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
No" She send me one of Starswirl's old spellbooks-"

"She never let me anywhere near Starswirl's spellbooks."

"-and there was a spell I had to finish."

Sunset frowns. "How did you.. finish a spell when you didn't have a thaumic model for the transformation?"

"Ah… When I.. say 'spell', it was really more of a 'poem'."

Twilight grins nervously at Sunset's decidedly unhappy glare.

"A poem?" Twilight nods. "Like a long poem, forming a mantra, or putting you into a hypnotic trance or containing the thaumic pattern in the rhythm?"

"It's-. Well, there's-. It was-. You see-."

Luna raises her eyebrows slightly. "Twilight Sparkle, we read it once your returned to Canterlot. We were curious to see how you had added to the two lines Starswirl wrote long ago."

Sunset's eyes narrow. "Two lines?"

"I… Added another two lines. The whole thing is only thirty seven words long."

"Thirty-!" Sunset takes a moment to breathe. "Thirty seven words. Does it at least rhyme?"

For some reason this reminds me of that scene in Jim Carry's Grinch movie when he reads his schedule and says he will solve world hunger and tell no one.
Celestia=Grinch

Eponymic · Apr 26, 2020

Yes! I thought it when I saw Gold Lantern and Sinestro,and Oracle.

That's one of my favorite fics. This is magic.

Mr Zoat · Apr 26, 2020

Darko said:
That's a light way of putting it.

Still I really hope Zoat releases more of those scenes or at least does a supplementary chapter in the future with those scenes.

I'm.. sort of writing it now, though it doesn't happen in that way.

theaceoffire · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
A black-blue beam punches through my chest!

It hurt.

"Sorry, something came up. Can I call you back?"

AidanMorgan · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
if I see a pony with a scarab beetle cutie mark I need to run.

I actually got a lot of these snippets, but this one, I do not understand. Someone help?

Darko · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
I'm.. sort of writing it now, though it doesn't happen in that way.

Hope we see it soon.

Still even if she doesn't try to attack them to show her magic I am sure it will be an interesting encounter.

Now I really gotta wonder how Pinky and the rest of the Mane Six would have reacted if they found out Maud essentially tried to kill three Alicorns to prove some kind of point or discover something, and could have probably succeeded if Sunset and renegade weren't there.

AidanMorgan said:
I actually got a lot of these snippets, but this one, I do not understand. Someone help?

I think he means a Reach Scarab.
An extremely powerful suit of armor that can allow someone wearing it to go up against a power ring wielder and potentially win and have a tendency to mind control their hosts.

AidanMorgan · Apr 26, 2020

Darko said:
I think he means a Reach Scarab.
An extremely powerful suit of armor that can allow someone wearing it to go up against a power ring wielder and potentially win and have a tendency to mind control their hosts.

That doesn't seem right to me, since OL can handle Scarabs and Grayven is better equipped for one to one combat.

I'm having trouble thinking of anything else that uses scarab symbology, though. I haven't caught any other Worm references so I doubt it's Khepri, and Imhotep from the Mummy just isn't threatening enough.

Darko · Apr 26, 2020

AidanMorgan said:
That doesn't seem right to me, since OL can handle Scarabs and Grayven is better equipped for one to one combat.

I'm having trouble thinking of anything else that uses scarab symbology, though. I haven't caught any other Worm references so I doubt it's Khepri, and Imhotep from the Mummy just isn't threatening enough.

Paragon has gone up against at least one Scarab warrior when he helped those Darkstars, but I'm pretty sure renegade has never gone up against one.

He may be better equipped, but that doesn't mean a Scarab warrior is anything to scoff at.
There is a possibility that one can give him problems if he fights it.

Though such a Cutie Mark can also mean the Reach has somehow infiltrated Equestria and is mind controlling some of its citizens.
Renegade may be a powerful fighter, but the Reach have more recourse's than him and can overwhelm him if he doesn't have any backup.

AidanMorgan · Apr 26, 2020

Darko said:
Paragon has gone up against at least one Scarab warrior when he helped those Darkstars, but I'm pretty sure renegade has never gone up against one.

He may be better equipped, but that doesn't mean a Scarab warrior is anything to scoff at.
There is a possibility that one can give him problems if he fights it.

Though such a Cutie Mark can also mean the Reach has somehow infiltrated Equestria and is mind controlling some of its citizens.
Renegade may be a powerful fighter, but the Reach have more recourse's than him and can overwhelm him if he doesn't have any backup.

Well, yes, but I still don't see why it would affect the cutie mark, is the thing. A Scarab Warrior would have the actual Scarab, wouldn't it? So it would be a pony in Scarab Armor. Cutie marks shouldn't change because of mind control.

Darko · Apr 26, 2020

AidanMorgan said:
Well, yes, but I still don't see why it would affect the cutie mark, is the thing. A Scarab Warrior would have the actual Scarab, wouldn't it? So it would be a pony in Scarab Armor. Cutie marks shouldn't change because of mind control.

Either something about the Reach's method changes it, or they got that pony well before they had a mark to begin with and that could indicate they have been there for a long time and may have some forces on that world.

The mark would take the shape of Scarab to signify the fact that the pony now serves the Reach.

AidanMorgan · Apr 26, 2020

Darko said:
Either something about the Reach's method changes it, or they got that pony well before they had a mark to begin with and that could indicate they have been there for a long time and may have some forces on that world.

The mark would take the shape of Scarab to signify the fact that the pony now serves the Reach.

That feels like reaching, and I'm not sure why that's a flee on sight. If anything, it'd be a capture on sight so Grayven can analyze what was done there.

Darko · Apr 26, 2020

AidanMorgan said:
That feels like reaching, and I'm not sure why that's a flee on sight. If anything, it'd be a capture on sight so Grayven can analyze what was done there.

The reason for fleeing could be that he fears his otherwordly origin would be revealed and the Reach can figure out what he is and try to attack him when he doesn't have all his recourse's at his side.

He may try to get rid of them at full power, when he is in his natural form and can use it for combat, but he isn't at full power right now and may honestly find it difficult to do so even at full power

Doccer · Apr 26, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
nod. A point in favour of the 'cutie marks are randomly-assigned mind control tools', which… Means that if I see a pony with a scarab beetle cutie mark I need to run.

Why?

Mr Zoat · Apr 26, 2020

Doccer said:
Why?

I don't remember, and since I didn't use it in the story proper it doesn't really matter.

Of course, a scarab cutie mark wouldn't mean they had a scarab. It would just mean that they'd be really good with one.

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

What is a self?

Versed in the lewd.

Just zis guy, you know?

Well worn.

Well worn.

Umm, ackchyually...

Dedicated ragequitter

Versed in the lewd.

Getting out there.

Veteran Lurker

Know what you're doing yet?

Dedicated ragequitter

The Colonel

Questioning The Nature of our Realities

Connoisseur.

Virgin Centrist

Versed in the lewd.

Getting sticky.

Dedicated ragequitter

Versed in the lewd.

Essentially Overworked

Connoisseur.

Essentially Overworked

Connoisseur.

Essentially Overworked

Connoisseur.

Essentially Overworked

Connoisseur.

Versed in the lewd.

Dedicated ragequitter

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