• The site has now migrated to Xenforo 2. If you see any issues with the forum operation, please post them in the feedback thread.
  • Due to issues with external spam filters, QQ is currently unable to send any mail to Microsoft E-mail addresses. This includes any account at live.com, hotmail.com or msn.com. Signing up to the forum with one of these addresses will result in your verification E-mail never arriving. For best results, please use a different E-mail provider for your QQ address.
  • For prospective new members, a word of warning: don't use common names like Dennis, Simon, or Kenny if you decide to create an account. Spammers have used them all before you and gotten those names flagged in the anti-spam databases. Your account registration will be rejected because of it.
  • Since it has happened MULTIPLE times now, I want to be very clear about this. You do not get to abandon an account and create a new one. You do not get to pass an account to someone else and create a new one. If you do so anyway, you will be banned for creating sockpuppets.
  • Due to the actions of particularly persistent spammers and trolls, we will be banning disposable email addresses from today onward.
  • The rules regarding NSFW links have been updated. See here for details.

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

Reader mode
Mr Zoat said:
Late Summer, IC 687
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
And back to Gate-verse to round things out. Wonder how Diabo's getting on...

"Shit."

"Prince Diablo, the dragon may have-"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Well, I see he's doing well. Needs to remember to focus on Want, not Fear, but so far, so good.

"Shit."

"-an understanding of language and it-"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
...Okay, not so good. Focus, lad, focus.

"Shit."

"-genuinely wants to comply-"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
"Well, Diabo's gone bye-bye. Any other suggestions?"

"Shit."

"-with your instruction, but you do need to actually-"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
At this rate, he's gonna lose control of the dragon. Unless OL is handling it.

"Shit."

"-express them coherently."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I don't know, maybe he wants it to defecate on whoever he's flying over?

Diablo merely clutches the hastily converted saddle's reins and stares straight ahead as the dragon he's sitting on flaps towards Alnus Hill. As I suspected, he found it far easier to force it to do what he wanted it to than he would have to beat it down, and right now it's got a glowing Orange Lantern sigil shining out of its forehead. We interrupted it in the middle of 'burninating' an elven village, where the local were ineffectually trying to kill it with what appeared to be longbows. Fortunately for the locals, Diablo drew its attention almost immediately, and now we have a way to make an epic entrance.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
On something much bigger than a wyvern. That would definitely get people's attention, I think.

"Shit."

If he can regain sufficient control of himself to actually use this ring.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
At this rate, he may well force himself into Fear enlightenment. He's certainly in no danger of a heart attack, at any rate, thanks to Wholeness Rightly Assumed.

"I can't really see from here, but from the sound we were hearing earlier I suspect that the people we are flying towards have a large number of weapons which can accurately hit flying targets. If you can't get a hold of yourself, they will shoot you dead. If you want to live, I can only suggest that you grow some testicles."

"Yes, yes I want to live, but this is insane!"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Good to see some rational thought at last. Now, back on task, lad.

"I know. You beat a dragon in a fight. Who knew you had it in you?"

"I don't-."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Show some confidence, kid. You're wearing the greatest tool in the universe on your finger, and have the greatest Illustres of the Orange Lanterns advising you.

"Oh that's right! Me. I did. And while you're not exactly impressing me right now, I have faith that you can handle this."

"R-really?"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
There we go, he's finally focusing on how awesome he just was. That's a great help to his desire to continue looking cool.

"I could have chosen anyone in the Empire. I chose you. Now, can you work with me?"

"What range to their air weapons have?"

"Want to know, and the orange light will show you."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Given it's modern day military tech, the answer may as well be 'Yes.' Especially when the locals are still wielding spear, shield and bow.

It takes him a moment, but glowing orange reins appear around the dragon's muzzle and pull it into a circling pattern while Diablo's eyes glow orange. Interestingly, I can see what he's showing himself as the ring picks out infantry fighting vehicles, tanks and gun emplacements owned by the people who now hold the area around the gate. Looks like… NATO standard equipment… Late twentieth century. High rate of fire explosive-driven kinetics for the most part. They don't appear to have any dedicated anti-air, though that may be because they saw that diving wyverns died perfectly easily to automatic rifles. The flag is… Post World War 2/Pre Great Awakening Japanese, though oddly I'm not seeing anyone from America.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
In other words, there won't be quite as much dick-swinging macho bullshit from their leadership. :p No Americans, after all.

The ring also shows his ranges and arcs of fire, and while he twitches he doesn't let his fear of getting shot distract him. I metaphorically nod approvingly as he bards his mount and armours himself in glowing plates instead.

"What should I do?"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Howsabout not go charging in like a dumb Mob. With Environmental field and Construct Armour in place, you are effectively immune to everything short of a bunker-buster. You have all the advantages here.

"That depends on a number of factors. Meeting up with the commanders of the Empire's armies will firmly establish your authority with them, and allow you to halt any foolish attacks against the Japanese position. Attacking the Japanese directly will allow you to utterly destroy them. You could then use this ring to shut down the gate, or bury it in a hole. You could even use this ring to mentally dominate the Japanese and learn their secrets."

"That sounds risky."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yes, dominating a sapient being with clearer-defined wants isn't as easy as putting the mind-whammy on a dumb overgrown lizard.

"I'm afraid that there is nothing that can be done here that is entirely without risk. Another option would be to attempt to negotiate with the Japanese. This ring will allow you to understand any language and be understood in any language."

"And they won't attack me?"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ah, the benefit of OL advising him. Going for the rational, non-combative route. The joy of Diplomancy.

"There are no guarantees. But there are ways to indicate that you wish to parlay that it would be surprising for them to ignore."

"A.. white flag. We use something similar."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's something of a near-universal symbol, isn't it? Are there any cultures on Earth that don't have something like it?

"Though to be honest, establishing yourself as powerful and then attempting to negotiate might be a better idea. Are there any wounded Empire soldiers down there?"

"They-."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Against modern weaponry? Hamburger would be a charitable description...

And now he sees what heavy machine gun ammunition and canister tank rounds do to people in lamellar armour. Ah… Well, the Empire's army has only just arrived, so those are almost certainly the reserves for the original attack…

"No."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yep. Not pretty. At least it'll reinforce his desire not to be hurt.

"In that case, I'm going to suggest flying down and landing just ahead of the Imperial army."

"Those are actually.. vassal armies. The Imperial army hasn't arrived yet. Which… Is almost certainly my father's intention."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
No wonder people don't like him much. It sound like he's planning to throw his disposable grunts into a meat-grinder.

"They die, he has some spies watching and learns what the Japanese can do without risking any further Empire soldiers and doesn't have to worry about the vassals siding with the Japanese. What a depressingly short term thinker." Hm. "Do you have a personal standard?"

"Yes? I don't.. use it very often…"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I doubt it's ever been seen in public at all, outside of formal occasions, probably. Diabo doesn't strike me as having been given much authority anywhere.

"Prince Diablo, you're hesitant. And I understand why. But I'm sorry to say that the only way to overcome these obstacles is to rise to them. To confront them. The only way to stop feeling the constant fear that you feel is to throw yourself into it. If you were now the man you ideally want to be, what would you do?"

He breathes in.

He breathes out.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Be a badass. You are riding a fricking dragon covered in magic orange light. This is not hard.

Then we're diving towards the centre of the battlefield, construct wyvern riders bearing the standards of the Empire and the Imperial family and blowing battle horns. Through his ring-granted sight I see the moment the Japanese soldiers spot us. They're well-disciplined; there's no panic or shouting, just people rapidly talking on their radio. And I see one man… A lieutenant, mouth the words 'raid boss', and I see the tanks and IFVs aim their primary armaments in our direction.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Whahahahaha. Time to show these rubes what a Lantern can do.

And then we land, the dragon-

The air in front of us lights up, rifle rounds, depleted uranium anti-armour rounds and heavy machine gun rounds slamming into a construct barrier just in front of us! I see that Diablo has reinforced his own armour. Not to better protect him, but to keep his limbs from trembling as he endures that assault. The wyvern construct escort fall in close by our dragon's sides and are dismissed.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
And now he sees just how tough his desire to stay safe is. More confidence-boosting.

Then Diablo rises off the dragon's saddle, floats over its head and stops just this side of the construct barrier he's using to keep the firepower of the Japanese assault force off him. He stays there for thirty seconds, until an order goes out on the Japanese side and the fire slackens off somewhat. They're still shooting, but it looks like they know that the weapons they're using aren't going to brute force their way through.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
And somewhere inside the ring, OL is smirking to himself about outdated weapons. Good way to show you aren't scared of guns.

Then Diablo lands, creates a construct table and chairs and sits down. Behind him, a construct standard appears with the flags of the Empire, the Imperial family and a third which I assume is his personal device. Next to it, he transmutes a white flag and attaches it to a wooden pole.

As the fire from the Japanese army stops he puts his feet up on the table to wait.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
And that is how you make an entrance! Bonus style points for him nonchalance. I wonder how long they'll take before one of the Japanese officers steps forward...

"You were right."

"Oh?"

"Yes. It is very hygienic."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Brick joke! ;) ...because he was literally shitting bricks? Eh? Eh? ...Or... o_O Not shitting them as it turns out.

It's almost a pity we'll not be seeing this scenario again for a while, really. I kind of want to get snippets of Diabo and the Japanese sorting things out through jolly cooperation. Bonus hilarity if he goes through the Gate, and OL pops back into humanoid form because the local gods can't stop him.
Diablo
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You did this multiple times throughout the scenes... Everything I can find says his name is Diabo Sol Caesar... Or maybe Ring-OL just doesn't care enough to keep it straight?
 
Chojin Patriarch said:
You did this multiple times throughout the scenes... Everything I can find says his name is Diabo Sol Caesar... Or maybe Ring-OL just doesn't care enough to keep it straight?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
No, a faulty assumption of mine that given the number of punny names his would fit that mould.
 
Chojin Patriarch said:
In other words, there won't be quite as much dick-swinging macho bullshit from their leadership. :p No Americans, after all.

It's almost a pity we'll not be seeing this scenario again for a while, really. I kind of want to get snippets of Diabo and the Japanese sorting things out through jolly cooperation.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...



This is GATE...that...yeah, that really isn't going to happen, sorry.

Remember this is the series written by what is the Japanese version of a hard-right unapologetic nationalist who included a scene where unprepared JMSDF recruits thrashed veteran U.S. Special Forces. You'll get more restraint on the macho jingoism from a Tom Clancy novel.
 
BR549 said:


This is GATE...that...yeah, that really isn't going to happen, sorry.

Remember this is the series written by what is the Japanese version of a hard-right unapologetic nationalist who included a scene where unprepared JMSDF recruits thrashed veteran U.S. Special Forces. You'll get more restraint on the macho jingoism from a Tom Clancy novel.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


I wouldn't be too bothered if it was just a squad of special forces, the Jsdf are the protagonists so its expected. No what bothered me was that it wasnt just a single US squad, it was an unprepared jsdf vs multiple special forces from around the world... and it was a one sided stomp.

But then again that is far from the worst the writing gets so...
 
BlueMangoAdea said:
I mean, Paragon's last episode ended with him discovering that the Sheeda have already started their invasion. The next episode was always going to be about that, one way or the other.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yeah, but I think most people were hoping that it would just have a short segment where he just merges with the Ophidian and eats them, and then just move on to something else.
 
Darko said:
Yeah, but I think most people were hoping that it would just have a short segment where he just merges with the Ophidian and eats them, and then just move on to something else.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Honesty would have been so hard to warp this arc earlier? Is getting TNMT 2003 in the future kind of tedious.
 
Pinklestia said:
Honesty would have been so hard to warp this arc earlier? Is getting TNMT 2003 in the future kind of tedious.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This is basically the end of 'season 4' of this fic (the other major events, going by rough episode numbering, were the canon season 1 finale, the confrontation with Nabu, the Silver City invasion and now the Sheeda) but usually things are wrapped up in two 'episodes,' while we've had three so far (even if one was Renegade). Unless the Crisis of Infinite Pauls was the end of season 4, in which case it seems strange to have a multi-episode arc so soon after, relatively speaking.

Part of me is hoping for some actual Faerie content instead. I'd like to see how Paragon reacts to/deals with Morgaine le Fey.
 
Nashk said:
I wouldn't be too bothered if it was just a squad of special forces, the Jsdf are the protagonists so its expected. No what bothered me was that it wasnt just a single US squad, it was an unprepared jsdf vs multiple special forces from around the world... and it was a one sided stomp.

But then again that is far from the worst the writing gets so...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
IIRC it wasn't a one-sided stomp. It was a bunch of different special forces teams killing each other in a multi-sided fight while the JSDF hunkered down and shot the ones who came at them.
 
Even if DC Comics is a thing in the Gate version of Earth, I'm pretty sure the protagonist was just a huge anime and manga otaku. Not a geek for American comic books.

So someone else would probably have to inform the Japanese what they're dealing with if enough information got out.
 
My understanding is that Gate appeared in April year 20XX, and we aren't getting the Earth dates in these updates.

So this might be happening before orange lanterns were even a thing in DC comics in Jan 2008.

So "Oh, like the green lantern ring?" might be the response.
 
Cold Iron (part 1)
  • Threadmarks
    • Cold Iron

    25th June 2012
    11:25 GMT

    John and I simultaneously generate construct barriers to shield the population of the park, and I rise a short distance into the air as I use my ring to scan the area. Patchy return from the Sheeda units, and it looks like they're dropping off infantry in the town.

    "Orders, Captain?"

    More proof that the Justice League needs a better-. An actual command structure. Diana has command of the mission, but everyone else who went along only has the authority she chose to give them. I'm asking Major Adams for orders because he has seniority… Literally, a higher number, not because he's actually supposed to be in charge of anything. But if a man who fought in the Vietnam War is shy about ordering us to kill people…

    I glance down and I see him reason through the issues associated with using League power in a situation like this. He isn't ignorant by any means, and I see my own face from multiple angles, his recollections of points I raised giving direction to his own-

    "Military order. Stop the attack."

    -intuitions.

    "Good-"

    Thin strands of orange light leap from my shield constructs, each one terminating in-. Okay, they dissolve into orange mist just before hitting the Sheeda. Fine, since the Sheeda seem to be members of the 'no helmet' club, I generate pulse laser constructs and open fire with those instead. Three, four drop, flies wallow in the air as their wings begin to burn-.

    "-show."

    The horde vanishes. I continue shooting at their predicted last locations, careful to aim upwards so that I don't risk hitting the town I'm trying to protect. Next, armour from subspace and-

    The first entropic rays burn lines across the sky, but with my armour still optimised to withstand them I'm not all that worried.

    -switch to sensor-based targeting. Visible light lasers aren't going to work on people using invisibility, so I switch to masers.

    Below me, Beulah has her jezzail out and I hear a boom as she opens fire. Abednego is sheltering the theonomist who is clutching a cluster of small sigils and chanting quickly. Hopefully, some sort of mass-countermagic. Major Adams is receiving a frantic briefing from a British Army captain someone found him. Without any sort of augmented vision his ability to kill our attackers will be severely compromised.

    There's a flash of light-. A tent I hadn't noted before is marked with the sword on a shield design of the Congregation glows brilliantly for a moment, then a group of five Congregationalists run out. They're not wearing their usual loose red clothes with white detailing any more; they're in light body armour with a runic design which.. a momentary review suggests is there to improve their energy discharges. Further flashes follow as more of them teleport in.

    Whoever's firing those entropic rays has gotten their eye in. A series of beams strikes my cuirass, a flicker of light at first and then a continual beam. The origin point appears to be an empty space and if they're not worried about focused electromagnetic energy at all… Yes, the beams don't cut out when I point my masers their way.

    But guess who's not the only one who can create entropic rays?

    The maser constructs grow slightly but maintain their outlines, then the maser beams vanish and red beams flick out. I can't see the Sheeda, but I know their shape and can judge their approximate loc-.

    Yes, there we go. Beams cut out and there, the gunfly and its passengers flicker back into visibility with chunks of their bodies missing. Fragile, then.

    A cluster of Congregationalists are gathered at the south side of the park, glowing as they build up power. About half of the army contingent is forming up in a line behind them, all either wearing goggles or obviously shielding their eyes in preparation for the eventual discharge.

    It's been a while since I've been to Ipswich, but the place looks reasonably intact. I don't think this area has seen sustained fighting-.

    A crisp packet vanishes and I fire again, hitting a Sheeda soldier who had been too confident in his invisibility. Spraying fire at that area gets me another two kills and a dozen potholes. I've got no idea whether the Sheeda can see each other or what their drill is, so I don't know if there will be others close together like that… But the streets look relatively empty. I-.

    The light flares and my world briefly goes dark. The town is blindingly illuminated, and-. I'm getting returns from the Sheeda. I stick with entropic beams, shooting out the heads of the flies with support weapons. There… Don't appear to be as many as I registered coming in. Pulled back? Teleported?

    "You best with the soldiers or staying here?"

    John might not be able to kill people without specific Guardian authorisation, but he can shield other people while they do it. And he can beat someone nearly to death and then leave them for someone else to finish off. And… If the Sheeda start using mass entropic ray fire on the refugees, he… Probably couldn't stop that. I could.

    "Staying here. I've got the shields."

    His constructs vanish and he heads to the front lines as the soldiers storm forwards, medics checking the collapsed Congregationalists and directing stretcher-bearers to move them back out of the way. Radio detection shows John relaying the positions of the Sheeda to the officers directing the attack while I continue my fly cull. Red beams flash out of a house in the path of the advance, but John's command of ablative barriers and his sheer bloody-mindedness allow him to keep his shield up for long enough to swing a wrecking ball construct into the wall next to them. Soldiers just behind him… Don't bother taking cover, which… Yes, with guns like these there wouldn't be much point. Instead they crouch to minimise their profile and open fire, shredding the interior of the upper floor of the house.

    Not a lot of flies left. I'm leaving a few to try and tempt the Sheeda soldiers to cluster around them to try and escape, as well as shooting Sheeda in the path of the soldiers' advance to thin their numbers and reduce their ability to resist. I don't think they're taking it-.

    Across the town, Sheeda soldiers fix shields in place while others move to whatever flat surfaces they can and trace out symbols-.

    I begin sniping the ones doing the tracing, shifting guns around-.

    Red beams from my right, outside of the cone affected by the Congregationalists! I shift focus, retraining my guns on the place the beams appear to come from and reinforcing-

    "AAAAH!"

    -the barrier protecting the panicking civilians below me. Major Adams takes a shot and the burned remains of a gunfly and its crew collapse and fall to the ground. Since the ground on that side is open fields I switch to railguns, loading Columbian-enchanted mageslayers and opening fire. I miss twice as the fly riders learn how to shoot and scoot, but clipping a single wing is all it takes to break the invisibility effect. Beulah hits my target with an incineration round a moment later and immolates them.

    The rapidly-traced circles shimmer into… They look like Dolmen gates. I… No, Major Adams is in charge and my primary responsibility is to defend the civilian population.

    I abandon my gun constructs, generate a large fly swatter construct and swing it through the area occupied by the distraction attack. Tiny disruptions mark where flies are struck and I extrude cables to assimilate them. As predicted, the local Sheeda are under the same onus as those in Columbia and decay the moment I get solid contact.

    "Orange Lantern!" I look around to Major Adams. "Try and take some alive!"

    I stop the swatter construct on its next hit and change it into a net, which wraps around something I can't see and binds it. Then… Drain.

    There's a weight on the bottom of the construct as the fly and its passengers collapse, shimmering back into visibility as the enchantments on their chitin and armour are consumed. Looking back at Ipswich I see that all of the Sheeda who were rendered visible have retreated. Those still alive, anyway; rushed Dolmen gates appear to have a failure rate.

    "Orange Lantern, stay on overwatch but keep listening. Green Lantern, stay with the soldiers as they sweep and clear. I need to find out what the hell is going on."
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • You know... Realistically Paul's actions in Gate would probably backfire...

    Because if the JSDF can't actually secure things, they will probably shove a nuke through, and not one of those low yield nuclear weapons Grayven dealt with either, but a double or triple megaton yield big boy that would completely annihilate everything.
     
    Vaermina said:
    Because if the JSDF can't actually secure things, they will probably shove a nuke through, and not one of those low yield nuclear weapons Grayven dealt with either, but a double or triple megaton yield big boy that would completely annihilate everything.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    JSDF don't have nukes. Japan probably could create their own nukes if they wanted to, but it would take months.
     
    Reader mode
    You must log in or register to reply here.

    Users who are viewing this thread

  • ... and 4 more.
    • Total: 20 (members: 17, guests: 3)
    Back
    Top