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

Well Paul has been thinking about finding John more and more lately, so maybe the spell is working overtime to make sure he's distracted.

 

Makes sense.

 

You know one reason why Paul comes off as scatter-brained to everyone else is due to how he operates when solving a problem; Paul makes plans using his own knowledge and the information from his rings, he then focuses on people or groups who can help put his plans into motion, and after making a few 'random' statements or questions he goes into action much to everyone else's bewilderment. Plus while these other characters are capable of growth a lot of them are in a a sense comic book characters who tend to remain largely static unless there's a situation that requires them to change, and given that none of them focus on uplifting humanity it's easy to understand why they don't share the same viewpoint as Paul.

 

After doing some googling, I now know that Bir Tawil is the basis for the plot of land Lord Lantern Manga Khan built that trade post on. Also I wonder if Atlantis would be Security Council quality as well- I know it wasn't on the UN as of s1, and I have no idea when it joined, but I do imagine 'we control the oceans' might be a good argument for them to get on if they wanted to press the issue.

Well Euathane is his. Good arguments work on Paul, but so does 'trust me it's bad and hurts me' when it's one of his saying it.

Other planet: No way Earth could have that!
Earth: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) No way Earth could have that?

 

Wait do we have confirmation that there is a John Spell fucking with Paul's ability to look for him or is it just an assumption we all agreed on? or is it just the general John record wiping spell?

 

Well it's either that or Paul suddenly developed an extreme case of ADHD.

 

Suddenly?

 

Grayven was much more blatantly in need of intervention early on, and consequently got it. Oh El made better choices early, masking the need for intervention until quite late and letting people get used to the problems until they gave up on the potential to deal with them. (At this point I suspect people who could successfully intervene don't recognize it is not too late. Batman, for example, has probably come up with some plan to seal him away for millenia, maybe in a magical super Arcam, only as a measure of last resort, but hasn't thought to politely ask him to voluntarily get therapy.)

 

Batman's probably started to plan how to seal OL ever since his report from Kadabra on the Orangest Night, honestly.
Doesn't take exactly a genius to understand how the Reach (who were the first targets of the identity theft wave IIRC) could qwa-matter bomb someone important enough to make Paul do something like that, and he already is "only" productively insane at his best

Though I imagine he only started taking it seriously after the hypertime shenanigans, which means he can now try to fix it and make a better timeline instead of being slapped by timetravel mechanics

 

After reading this my first thought was why doesn't anybody ever just sit down and talk about how they feel then I remembered the answer entertainment. We wouldn't have much of a story if everybody was rational or expressed their feelings.

 

And it tends to not he easy to.open up and talk because that risks getting you hurt more.

Is Oh El gonna end exiled from DC? That's were the universe hopping Pauls snips come from?

 

I bet this is what it looks like when Paul is freaking out. I get the vibe that he isn't consciously aware that anything is wrong, but he just has a feeling. The vibe is just off, somehow, and he isn't sure where or why, but he feels it. Something doesn't match up, and he's not sure what it is just yet, but he knows it's something.

Or maybe that's just me.

 

....Paul is a chaotic individual, follows a goddess of chaos and has a set of tattoos that absorb ambient magic.

Constantine doesn't NEED any complex spellcraft to keep him busy....he just needs to drip feed him an IV of raw Chaos and let the universe and OL bounce off each other. Which is pretty easy I'd assume considering that, much like the former lord of hell, he knows how the tattoo's work, and has a direct feed of something that makes up a fair chunk of his soul...chaos rather then greed in this case.

Since he's a LORD of Chaos he's got plenty to spare.

 

Uh... so anyone wanna explain?

 

The Demon Constantine appears to have put up a magical disguise almost good enough to fool Paul's empathic vision.

 

Unfortunately Paul is a greed elemental in a meat suit and he is the adopted son of the Great Snake.

 

"coordinates"

 

Paul found the Demon Constantine in his secret identity.
Apparently he's formed an actual positive and loving relationship with this illustrator lady. I'm still not 100% sure it isn't mind control.

 

I wonder how badly this is going to mess her up?

 

Thank you, corrected.

 

Given how... Lively... Transit through the Honden can be, I'm not surprised he's taking every precaution to ensure his little treat arrives in the same shape he left J with. I am impressed that he got one so quickly. All of two hours to score an early production model?

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

Well, you did say you missed having one. And if you two should happen to be able to make local versions...

The joy of connections. Heck, if it works out, he might well be able to arrange a trade deal. I'm sure Euanthe can contribute some clever things to J and Alstair.

That would be an amusing career trajectory for her. From super-powered eco-terrorist to UN member in all of two years.

I wonder, would the UN consider turning down having UN Peacekeepers with superhuman physiques. Even if they operate in their own units, just one such unit could make for a big stick.

Or rather, help her do it safely? One misapplied twist in the spells needed, and... Good bye biosphere.

Effectively running a simulation of what would happen, maybe? Sort of a precognitive divination?

You know, OL. With all the thaumic noise from your greediport.

Better than being a crazy Arkham frequent visitor obsessed with 'saving' the plant-life of the world from humanity...

Hopefully she didn't make them dress up in leaf-themed long-johns or something.

At least they'd have a high chance of surviving her service, unlike, say, the Joker's goons.

I'm guessing he's made his list of spell pings, and checked it twice...

O-ho! But is it actually John or just someone with the same trick? He had to learn it from somewhere, after all...

Hmm... Now what would Johnny-boy be doing in Ireland, hmm?

Evidently OL's memory of Hellblazer characters is damn good.

Okay, now I'm really curious... And kind of worried.

Oooh, the suspense.

...Hmm. To the Wikis!

At least he was smart enough not to go diving right on top of them...

OL, consider: Massive magical backup, just offering his help...

Well, good to see he can make a sensible decision.

Yes, please do exposit for those not in the know?

...Oh, hell. Literally. Not him again. Almost as annoying as Truggs. But less likely to cause a disaster directly.

So, is he looking to get his leg over with her, or just do something to her to hurt John? Or hell, both.

Pfft, right. Glamour!

Demon did his homework, at least...

...Pity OL has a direct line to check that sort of thing.

And if that sounds a bit excessive: Demon. Constantine. Either of those things is trouble. Both? Well, you do the math...

Now, what on Earth is he up to, I wonder? I suppose trying to hurt John directly is out now that he's well out of the Demon's league. But messing with his loved ones, as discreetly as he can manage? That might work. Assuming John doesn't find out and come down with the full force of his Chaotic powers... On the upside, it might let OL get in touch with him.

 

Under what grounds?

As much as some people might like, being a Constantine isn't a crime.

 

He did break out of prison.

 

I like to think of him as Ophidian's thinking-brain human.... But I suppose I should put quotes around "human" at this point.

 

"You're under arrest for the crime of being Lina Inverse John Constantine"

Well, he's certainly guilty of that.

 

Did he?

Or did he get out any number of legal ways?

And even if he did? Who's to say he didn't get a pardon for it due to doing something like helping in the Sheda invasion.

 

He broke out of Belle Reve and has been in the wind until now. It was in the same episode where Paul convinced Waller and John Quinn to put the Tower of Fate there for magic using criminals.

 

The Demon Constantine has done some shit. Placing him in restraints and arresting him immediately is correct.

 

If the desires weren't in Demon Constantine a year ago, does that hint they were artificially shoved inside his head?

Did the real John modify his Demon counterpart's desires to use him as a decoy?