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

Mr Zoat · Jan 31, 2024

Darko said:
"increased"
"species"

moralrelativity said:
We've -> We're

inglorius said:
Let's see how evilmaxxing works out for heroics.

Thank you, corrected.

Stsword said:
Tangsied, being soulless, would therefore be more vulnerable than normal to having evil god energy influencing him, just like Gaia's magic made Paul as giddy as a school girl.

It depends on how the process works. It would either hit him harder or fail completely.

Zoat, Booster's forcefield doesn't come from his ring, it comes from him also helping himself to Brainiac 5's forcefield belt when he raided the superhero museum, as shown in Booster Gold 6, which he integrated into his suit.

Now if you want the Booster Gold from this universe to have a forcefield ring, author's prerogative of course, but I just wanted to make sure you were doing that as a conscious decision.

Eh, no. I'll change it.

Chojin Patriarch · Jan 31, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Unreal

29th March 2013
07:00 GMT

Jade watches her mother carefully as she stares at the city surrounding us. This is Paula's first look at an alien city, and she seems to be coping.

Ooh, giving Mom some time away from the still-recovering Earth, eh? Though I expect this won't have a significant bearing on the main plot. Still, got to love these cold openings. Been a while since they had to chance to stretch out like this...

The 'capital' of Maltus has grown a little since I first arrived, but… L.E.G.I.O.N. is commanded from Ranx or from regional command centres closer to the extremely loosely defined 'front line'. Orange Lanterns are powerful, but the whole Corps numbers in the thousands and it would be unusual for there to be more than a few hundred on Maltus at once. Darkstar numbers have increased a great deal, but unlike before when this was the only true safe harbour for them they can be posted on any one of hundreds of allied worlds.

Suitably decentralised, eh? And it stops the Reach from wiping out your full command with a single planet-killing attack.

The only real addition to the population are the diplomatic personnel, frustrating Hinon with their requests for a face to face meeting with one of the leaders of our movement. Controllers… Are… Not good diplomats, for the most part, and they certainly don't like people from civilisations younger than their current hairstyle acting as if they owe them something.

The people who have suggested that the ambassadors might form a legislative assembly and appoint their own representative to the N.E.M.O. council have been invited to read the treaty they signed.

All their new allies and refugees, eh? I like that, though.

'Younger than their current hairstyle' indeed.

"How many species live here?"

"How are we counting AIs?"

At least she got the terminology right. 'Race' would just not fit such a diverse world.

She looks around from the flying traffic flow, focusing on me.

"AIs?"

Don't worry, I'm sure none of them are like Skynet or Ultron or stuff like that.

"Do you want to count all AIs as one species, or should I group them by type?"

"Type, I think? Do they find that rude?"

As in 'original programmed function' or 'origin of consciousness', though? Either way, I doubt they worry much about semantics.

I smile. "I think they'd be more offended by the 'they' in that sentence than anything else. AIs can be far more different from each other than humanoid species can. Humanoids have similar basic drives to each other with fairly few exceptions. AIs can be programmed to prioritise just about anything."

"Ah… By type, then."

And then you get stuff like omnicidal loonies or paperclip maximisers... With any luck such mishaps get caught early and rehabilitated.

"There are members of six hundred and thirty seven species on Maltus right now. The majority of the population are-"

I gesture to a group of clickers who are walking nearby and then wave at them. The smaller ones rear up and waggle their forelimbs back at me.

I wonder how well known OL is on Maltus? He'd certainly be recognisable as an Orange Lantern, if nothing else.

"-clickers, like them."

And not so like them. We've actually expanded far enough that non-Maltusian-aligned clickers have worlds inside N.E.M.O.'s territory. I think Dox was planning on sending a diplomatic team, though that's not my responsibility unless he asks for my input.

And really, it seems like something Dox would rather keep OL far away from, given his track record of diplomatic missions thus far.

Jade nods as her mother stares at them.

"Roughly half our military are clickers."

Heh. I bet they're badasses on the ground.

The smallest clicker makes eye contact with Paula, then sort of hops up and down before bending its head backwards and lifting its mid-section up. There's a slight delay and then it rolls backwards, rotating all the way around before landing flat on its feet.

It then looks at her expectantly.

Aw, look at the little kid doing a backflip to show off.

Paula hesitates, and then smiles and nods, clapping in appreciation. The small clicker hops again and looks at its caregivers for their reaction.

The lesser A adult bows the forward part of its body, then leads the way along the street and into one of the buildings.

I see it knew humanoid body language well enough to understand the applause.

"That was.. cute?" She turns to Jade. "That was a child, wasn't it?"

"Yes Mom. About three years old."

And showing off. Very outgoing of them.

Paula looks around at the city once more before walking over and sitting down at our table.

"Was that normal behavior for a three year old..? Clicker? Is that really their name?"

It's probably all a little overwhelming, isn't it? Especially since Gotham would have been hellishly quiet since the Anti-Life...

"No, their real name is something like-." A rap my knuckles and scrap my fingernails against the surface of our table. "But they know that humanoids can't say that. I haven't met one who objects to us calling them 'clickers'. One actually told me to."

Jade smiles. "The little ones can be pretty playful. They didn't used to have biological families, so their children needed to be able to bond with any adult they met."

An interesting quirk, but a logical one. Makes sense that younglings could transfer caretakers like that.

"Oh. Then who raised them?"

"Any adult who wanted to. They learn a lot faster than human children, so it's like taking on an apprentice. Traditionally."

Yeah, Humans are kind of the slowpokes of cognitive progression in their young. Side effect of the necessities of human reproduction. Human babies have squishy, underdeveloped brains for their size compared to other primates. So they end up having to leave a lot of their development for post-natal periods.

Paula nods slowly. "Not… Raising their own children…"

Jade doesn't react to that. I… Maybe there wasn't anything to react to, but I can't help but connect it to Paula's absence in most of her childhood.

I suspect both of them are feeling the pain of that absence...

"It wouldn't work. In their traditional hives, the fertile ones don't live long, and can have thousands of children. The Controllers changed how that works with the hives on Maltus, but they left the instinct to please adults. It was too much a part of how they expect their children to behave." She smiles. "Click-screech-clack used to live on my floor, and he was always having to chase down his kids when they started following some random adult."

Ouch. Sounds like a nightmare for child safety. Then again, I doubt most clickers would care to hurt younglings.

"He should put reins on them. That is dangerous."

"Not around here. The crime rate is just about zero, and everyone in the building was a Darkstar. And most of them were clickers who'd gone through the same thing themselves."

Heh. So they would have been in good hands, and quietly returned to their caretaker is short order.

"I see. It is very different to Gotham. Do you still live here?"

"No. We get barracked wherever we're stationed. I was just living here while I was training." She smiles faintly. "So many new Darkstars have joined since then that I've gained seniority over half the organisation." The smile fades as she looks more closely at her mother. "Mom, are you..? Okay?"

Yes, I noticed she wasn't using contractions. After-effects of the Anti-life, eh?

"Yes?"

"Paul told me you shut.. down to hold off the Anti-Life. I got taught that when I joined the League of Shadows. No one keeps it up for more than a few days."

And she had to do it for almost two months... That has an effect, whatever you think.

"People can do surprising things when it becomes necessary. It was strange, but it was better than feeling… That."

"And you're okay now?"

Somehow, I don't think she's perfectly fine, but then, what human on Earth isn't?

"I am f-." Paula exhales and looks away for a moment. "I am mostly fine. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it is safe to feel things, now. Sometimes I forget for a moment that I can feel things, and I will feel something and for a moment it will surprise me. I am sure that will fade as I adjust."

I nod. "And… The Anti-Life itself? No lingering effects?"

No desires to blindly follow charismatic leaders?

"No. And I was fortunate that I did not do anything regrettable before you defeated it. Not everyone I know was so fortunate."

I nod. "It's a long list."

Even if it was simply serving as a labourer, I suppose. But I suspect she would have been working as an enforcer or even a Justifier if she'd given in.

"The man who was responsible…"

"Mannheim?"

"No. You said that Mannheim was controlled by someone called 'Darkside'?"

Ah, the 'man' behind the man. And probably very curious about Earth right now.

"Yes."

"What does the Justice League plan to do to stop him?"

"H-chih. We don't." I shrug. "Try to look boring so he doesn't do it again? Apokolips is so far out of our league that it's decidedly not funny. Right now, we're focusing on restoring Earth's civilisation. Mannheim defeated everyone who fought him directly. Picking a fight with the full version is not on the agenda."

Especially if he sends an army this time, rather than a mere manipulator.

So, a new episode begins. The title leaves very few clues to the meat of the plot, but I have a feeling it'll be involved with something esoteric. After all, all of the mystical networks of Earth were disrupted or outright destroyed by the Anti-Life invasion (like the Mexican Afterlife. That may not have snapped back into place after Mannheims' defeat, after all.) And there's still the issue of Olympus and Themyscira's absence. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

crazygrox · Jan 31, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"H-chih. We don't." I shrug. "Try to look boring so he doesn't do it again? Apokolips is so far out of our league that it's decidedly not funny. Right now, we're focusing on restoring Earth's civilisation. Mannheim defeated everyone who fought him directly. Picking a fight with the full version is not on the agenda."

Hoh boy.

I think? Darkside usually ends up focusing on Superman because the guy beats him once, but in this it's more difficult to identify a single individual who beat him and defeated the anti life, but if he was inclined to reduce it down that much he would identify Paul as the guy to focus on.

Vaermina · Jan 31, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
So, a new episode begins. The title leaves very few clues to the meat of the plot, but I have a feeling it'll be involved with something esoteric. After all, all of the mystical networks of Earth were disrupted or outright destroyed by the Anti-Life invasion (like the Mexican Afterlife. That may not have snapped back into place after Mannheims' defeat, after all.) And there's still the issue of Olympus and Themyscira's absence. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

Oh right... Wasn't he supposed to be " first thinging" the Olympus and Themiscara problem due to the Eldritch horrors said Island was keeping a cork on?

DAT_NOOB · Jan 31, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"H-chih. We don't." I shrug. "Try to look boring so he doesn't do it again? Apokolips is so far out of our league that it's decidedly not funny. Right now, we're focusing on restoring Earth's civilisation. Mannheim defeated everyone who fought him directly. Picking a fight with the full version is not on the agenda."

Paula: "What does the league plan to do to stop Darkseid?"

Paul: "Lol, Lmao."

WereDragon · Jan 31, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Unreal

Good to see the sane… well, the benevolent and functional insane Paul again.

"What does the Justice League plan to do to stop him?"

I think the unofficial plan is to wait for the Orange Lanterns to solve the issue. Shouldn't take more than a millennia or two at current rate of progress.

Impartial Panic · Jan 31, 2024

WereDragon said:
I think the unofficial plan is to wait for the Orange Lanterns to solve the issue. Shouldn't take more than a millennia or two at current rate of progress.

Lets hope the orange lanters have better luck than the green lanterns did.

Mr Zoat said:
"Try to look boring so he doesn't do it again? Apokolips is so far out of our league that it's decidedly not funny. Right now, we're focusing on restoring Earth's civilisation. Mannheim defeated everyone who fought him directly. Picking a fight with the full version is not on the agenda."

"How bad is it?"

"The real Darkseid can bitch slap superman through a planet just by looking at him."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Omega effect is no joke."

Lord Ernest · Jan 31, 2024

Don't they know about New Gods being vulnerable to Radion or something like that? Because honestly, new agenda should be get allied with New Genesis, considering the importance of Earth, or do what villains and people did once Superman's vulnerability was known, develop a plethora of weapons using said vulnerability as basis and build up an arsenal of them.

Anyway, glad we are back to our regular, insane but endearing, Illustres shenanigans. I want some proper update on how this unrecognizable Earth is looking.

Vaermina · Jan 31, 2024

Impartial Panic said:
"How bad is it?"

"The real Darkseid can bitch slap superman through a planet just by looking at him."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Omega effect is no joke."

It's a consistent part of the mythos that Superman does in fact beat Darkseid when he stops holding himself back.

Mr Zoat · Jan 31, 2024

Lord Ernest said:
Don't they know about New Gods being vulnerable to Radion or something like that?

No. Nor would they know how to get/make any.

RoninSword · Jan 31, 2024

The only reason Grayven was able to get a radion blaster was because he stole one from the thanagarians on Earth 50. I can't imagine New Genesis would be eager to share any.

Darko · Jan 31, 2024

RoninSword said:
The only reason Grayven was able to get a radion blaster was because he stole one from the thanagarians on Earth 50. I can't imagine New Genesis would be eager to share any.

Savage also had one.

How he got it wasn't answered, but maybe Mordru, who can travel through space and may know a lot about New Gods, could have given it to him.

Lord Ernest · Jan 31, 2024

I mean, is it that mysterious or unknown? I didn't like nor remember much of Final Crisis but I do recall that Batman shot Darkseid with a bullet made of "New God kryptonite". And where are Mr. Miracle and Barda, wouldn't they know of it?

Dr. Sivana, Sr. developed a humongous one to ambush and threaten Grayven with prior to the Sheeda Invasion, under the belief that he didn't need to be particularly clever with it, just have one big enough to bypass defenses since the energy was already so noxious to Grayven's kind. I don't know where he found out about it or how he made it (did Grayven spill something of it?) but wouldn't the Maltusians know of it as well? And if one Dr. Sivana, Sr. managed to create that weapon in the Renegade timeline, the one that since the Sheeda Invasion was being consulted by world governments should be able to as well, no?

I'm just saying, after what happened, getting invaded by Apokolips should be enough of a fear for Earth to look into proper defenses, once they have recuperated enough, instead of trying to behave like an ostrich.

Vaermina · Jan 31, 2024

Lord Ernest said:
I'm just saying, after what happened, getting invaded by Apokolips should be enough of a fear for Earth to look into proper defenses, once they have recuperated enough, instead of trying to behave like an ostrich.

Keep in mind, what Paul thinks is happening, and what is actually happening, are often two wildly different things.

And well, Darkseid scares Paul, because he can completely shut his rings down.

Darko · Jan 31, 2024

Lord Ernest said:
. Sivana, Sr. developed a humongous one to ambush and threaten Grayven with prior to the Sheeda Invasion, under the belief that he didn't need to be particularly clever with it, just have one big enough to bypass defenses since the energy was already so noxious to Grayven's kind. I don't know where he found out about it or how he made it (did Grayven spill something of it?

Maybe he found it in another universe.

He did mention that he once met up with multiple versions of himself, so he could have asked if any of them know about it.

Lord Ernest said:
And where are Mr. Miracle and Barda, wouldn't they know of it?

I'm not so sure about where Barda is.

Last time she was mentioned she was abducted by Manheim, so she may now be free on Earth or she's on Apokalips.

But the two of them may not know about it.

Other New Gods may not know about it since it could be something like mutually assured destruction and if one sides uses it then the other will also use it.

Lord Ernest said:
And if one Dr. Sivana, Sr. managed to create that weapon in the Renegade timeline, the one that since the Sheeda Invasion was being consulted by world governments should be able to as well, no?

Assuming he's still consulting, or that he'd be interested in making it.

Ardy · Jan 31, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
No. Nor would they know how to get/make any.

Yes they do? Paul mentioned it during the lead-up to returning to earth. Something about Mr miracle knowing they exist and they work but having never seen one

Mr Zoat · Jan 31, 2024

Ardy said:
Yes they do? Paul mentioned it during the lead-up to returning to earth. Something about Mr miracle knowing they exist and they work but having never seen one

Oh. My mistake.

ThatDamnPaladin · Jan 31, 2024

Hey! I wanted to thank you Mr. Zoat for quite literally making one of the few series of Fanfics that I have trouble putting down. This has gotten me through many terrible events in my life and I am always delighted to restart reading your work when I forget my place in your immense work.

So, once again- thanks man.

RoninSword · Jan 31, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
1st January 2013
21:37 GMT
I talked it over with Mr. Free once, whether there were any weapons which New Gods are particularly vulnerable to. Turns out that the only thing that he and Barda could think of is weapons using something called 'radion', and that it was only used in a handful of places on Apokolips due to the obvious danger it posed to its rulers. According to them they've never even seen one. I've kept half an eye out for one… Maybe add a radion round to my railgun ammunition varieties? But that does mean that railgun fire probably isn't the best solution here.

This is the only real indication of radion in the paragon timeline. If he's asked Hinon about it, it wasn't on screen.

Because why would an X-Pit fighter be given something like radion. I find it a little odd that the head of Darkseids bodyguards has never seen one either but /shrug.

Ardy · Feb 1, 2024

RoninSword said:
This is the only real indication of radion in the paragon timeline. If he's asked Hinon about it, it wasn't on screen
.

That's exactly what I was thinking of. Thank you

Mr Zoat · Feb 1, 2024

14th August 2013
Morning

The force field emitters spark and fail as my construct blade cuts into them.

Charge?

Ninety two percent maximum power remaining.

Okay. Okay. I've got no idea where I am or what the hell's going on-. I mean, those weren't Earth's continents I saw on the way down, but at least the air's breathable, and… And there were settlements, civilisation, and they almost certainly don't speak English.

Why do I have a power ring and no lantern?

The light goes out, and I freeze, listening, peering into the blackness of the underground complex that the ring says has a lantern in it. The walls are covered in mosaics made of precious stones and the ceiling is gold-plated, so if there was any light down here it would be reflected. It isn't. It's pitch black now that the faint glow of the force field is gone, and-.

I need to focus, yes, that's better. The faint orange glow of my environmental shield is enough to show me the… Mosaic appears to show… A king or god handing a scroll to a… Noble? Who then goes around taking precious things from other people. Lesser nobles? And then… And then yes, that's an orange personal lantern give me!

WOOMPF!

Agh!

Block block block!

WOOMPF! WOOMPF! WOOMPF!

Energy bolts hit my barrier and it doesn't look like it's going to last! Fire back! Fire back!

Orange beams flash into the treasure room, slicing through some sort of gun built into the wall. There's a quick flare of flame as it's destroyed, then… Nothing.

Ah… Armour. And scan for more guns.

None detected.

Other weapons?

None detected.

Force field or other things that aren't walls?

Awareness expanded.

Aaaagarhgah.

Awareness contracted.

That was-. That was unpleasant, but at least I know there aren't any more guns. I walk past the area that was blocked by the force field and-.

Something glowy appears in front of me and I immediately shoot it. The energy bolt goes right through and slams into a pile of gold jewellery on the far side, scattering it. The glowy-. It's a hologram, the translucent image of a man dressed in… Ancient Middle Eastern clothing? Plenty of jewellery from what I can tell, but the colour is fairly washed out. The image flickers, disappearing entirely for half a second and then reappearing.

"Interloper! You trespass on the territory of the Great God Mammon!"

His eyes seem to glow for a moment.

"You have already earned-"

The image starts jerking.

"-earned earned earned-."

It disappears.

Ah.

"God Mammon!" Glow. "You have already earned your death. Surrender to my guards and it shall be swift."

I walk around it and ignore the rest of its spiel. If there were any guards when this place was buried, they've either left or died. I haven't seen any bodies, so… Hopefully, they got away.

Ah, where's the lantern already?

Displayed.

Ah. Either through that wall, or in a concealed compartment inside that wall. Can I..? Ring, open it.

Light strobes out, focusing on an oblong outline. The glow caries on for a moment, then there's a click and the panel pulls in and then rises up and there's the orange personal lantern! I-! I scan for weapons again and find nothing. Then I make a construct hand and grab it and pull it over to me.

Safe.

My light goes out again, but the glow from the lantern and the hologram still illuminates the room.

"God Mammon!"

Safe.

On an alien planet with no idea where I am. I never learned to spot constellations, much less how to actually navigate in space! I've got work…

I glance at the pile of jewellery on the ground.

I've got work tomorrow, though between that and the power ring I can probably afford to resign. Need to train a replacement, as -management aside- I've liked working at the company and don't want to be an arse about it. I don't think I'll have to worry about finding something to do with my time instead of work-.

But that all presupposes that I can get back. Mum and Dad will stop by on Sunday for our walk, and… That's probably when they'll first notice that I'm gone. Unless work phones them. Me not turning up without notice should make them try phoning me, but they might not try phoning other listed contacts for-.

That doesn't help.

In theory, if this is an orange power ring like in the comics, I should be able to find Earth eventually. Just check every star in the galaxy, and if that doesn't work, pick another spiral galaxy and try there. Eventually I should find some sort of spacefaring civilisation and get them to tell me how to narrow it down. I should be able to detect main sequence stars with rocky worlds from a distance… Hopefully.

So do I start immediately, or do something else?

I'm on a planet with aliens.

I didn't get a close look on the way in. None of the settlements I saw were in this area. I realise that they're almost certainly not humanoid, and… Seeing me will probably be very disturbing for them. I remember seeing a report on a Call of Cthulhu game on 4Chan where a character is teleported to an alien world. He looks around, passes his sanity check for seeing their 'strange geometries' and then fixes the teleporter and returns to Earth. Then the players ask why the GM is still rolling dice.

The aliens needed sanity checks for seeing the player.

But… I have a power ring. It shouldn't be difficult for me to look down on them from space. See how they live. And it would be a long shot, but maybe they've got records of whoever built this and got this lantern.

And since I don't need to conserve power anymore…

I rise off the ground.

Heh.

Ring, do I have a subspace pocket?

Confirmed.

A strobe of orange light deposits every valuable object in the room into that pocket. I leave the images on the wall with their precious stones. They might have archaeological value, and I can always take them to the British Museum once I know where it is.

And then I fly back towards the entrance.

Ngamer11 · Feb 1, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
14th August 2013
Morning

Anyone have any idea where this version of the SI ended up? Because I'm drawing a blank.

Azzy Rael · Feb 1, 2024

"Yoink! Mine!" -average Orange Light enjoyer.

Whenever Possible · Feb 1, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
Anyone have any idea where this version of the SI ended up? Because I'm drawing a blank.

The fact that there's a preexisting orange lantern would seem to indicate it's a DC continuity even if I have no idea which one. But if there's some explanation for an orange lantern to exist outside DC then "Great God Mammon" isn't a lot to go on.

Impatient_Quill · Feb 1, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
Anyone have any idea where this version of the SI ended up? Because I'm drawing a blank.

Kill Six Billion Demons?

kedgisgo · Feb 1, 2024

ahahaha he's in Stargate! haha oh goodie the goa'uld are going to get a very rude awakening

even a fresh lantern (with a lantern) can steamroll most of the setting.. ahh this could be quite cathartic

unless he ticks off an ascended enough to make them act.. then he's doomed.

Chojin Patriarch · Feb 1, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
14th August 2013
Morning

The force field emitters spark and fail as my construct blade cuts into them.

Charge?

Interesting. A new Alt!Paul? And one just starting out, it seems. I see he's still calculating dates based on his original displacement time. So then: Ideas on where this one may be? I suppose we'll have to find clues within the chapter.

Ninety two percent maximum power remaining.

Okay. Okay. I've got no idea where I am or what the hell's going on-. I mean, those weren't Earth's continents I saw on the way down, but at least the air's breathable, and… And there were settlements, civilisation, and they almost certainly don't speak English.

Not that that will slow you down, given you have a Power Ring. And as you'll find out, they are awesome.

Why do I have a power ring and no lantern?

The light goes out, and I freeze, listening, peering into the blackness of the underground complex that the ring says has a lantern in it. The walls are covered in mosaics made of precious stones and the ceiling is gold-plated, so if there was any light down here it would be reflected. It isn't. It's pitch black now that the faint glow of the force field is gone, and-.

Heh. Still learning to focus on his wants, I see. Wonder if he's had the self-improvement moment yet or not?

I need to focus, yes, that's better. The faint orange glow of my environmental shield is enough to show me the… Mosaic appears to show… A king or god handing a scroll to a… Noble? Who then goes around taking precious things from other people. Lesser nobles? And then… And then yes, that's an orange personal lantern give me!

WOOMPF!

Hmm... A culture of acquisitiveness. Not a lot of clues there.

Agh!

Block block block!

Good, right frame of mind. Don't fear the threat, want it gone.

WOOMPF! WOOMPF! WOOMPF!

Energy bolts hit my barrier and it doesn't look like it's going to last! Fire back! Fire back!

Ah, desperation, the mother of invention... And violence.

Orange beams flash into the treasure room, slicing through some sort of gun built into the wall. There's a quick flare of flame as it's destroyed, then… Nothing.

Ah… Armour. And scan for more guns.

He'll be wanting to get something more protective than flannel pyjamas soon.

None detected.

Other weapons?

It's a poor tomb that only has one trap.

None detected.

Force field or other things that aren't walls?

Yeah, never assume that the AI understands what you mean. Though Orange Rings to tend to be smart that way.

Awareness expanded.

Aaaagarhgah.

Awareness contracted.

Ooh, that must have stung. Especially as a rookie.

That was-. That was unpleasant, but at least I know there aren't any more guns. I walk passed the area that was blocked by the force field and-.

Something glowy appears in front of me and I immediately shoot it. The energy bolt goes right through and slams into a pile of gold jewellery on the far side, scattering it. The glowy-. It's a hologram, the translucent image of a man dressed in… Ancient Middle Eastern clothing? Plenty of jewellery from what I can tell, but the colour is fairly washed out. The image flickers, disappearing entirely for half a second and then reappearing.

Twitchy, but understandable. It's been quite the morning.

"Interloper! You trespass on the territory of the Great God Mammon!"

His eyes seem to glow for a moment.

Hmm... As in the same demon of Earth?

Well, Hell is supposedly universal. But according to his comment about the continents, this isn't Earth itself.

"You have already earned-"

The image starts jerking.

Glitchy from age, or from Paul's little barrage earlier? No telling for sure at this stage.

"-earned earned earned-."

It disappears.

Okay, it's a junker.

Ah.

"God Mammon!" Glow. "You have already earned your death. Surrender to by guards and it shall be swift."

So, is this guy Mammon, or merely a priest of him? The joy of a blind introduction...

I walk around it and ignore the rest of its spiel. If there were any guards when this place was buried, they've either left of died. I haven't seen any bodies, so… Hopefully, they got away.

Ah, where's the lantern already?

Hmm... So it's likely this is either a DC Universe or one adjacent enough to have Maltusian Spectrum technology. Which could be anything from a sub-imprint to a licensed property.

Displayed.

Ah. Either through that wall, or in a concealed compartment inside that wall. Can I..? Ring, open it.

Ah, good. Already getting into the habit of having the Ring 'do the thing'.

Light strobes out, focusing on an oblong outline. The glow caries on for a moment, then there's a click and the panel pulls in and then rises up and there's the orange personal lantern! I-! I scan for weapons again and find nothing. Then I make a construct hand and grab it and pull it over to me.

Safe.

Feeling a lot safer, I bet. We've seen how desperate other Pauls were to get personal lanterns.

My light goes out again, but the glow from the lantern and the hologram still illuminates the room.

"God Mammon!"

Focus, Paul. Don't want to get caught with your defences down...

Safe.

On an alien planet with no idea where I am. I never learn to spot constellations, much less how to actually navigate in space! I've got work…

To be fair, most people wouldn't know the latter skill. Hell, I don't think many would bother learning about constellations, especially if they live in big cities. Light pollution, you know?

I glance at the pile of jewellery on the ground.

I've got work tomorrow, though between that and the power ring I can probably afford to resign. Need to train a replacement, as -management aside- I've liked working at the company and don't want to be an arse about it. I don't think I'll have to worry about finding something to do with my time instead of work-.

Easier than asteroid mining, but probably less profitable.

But that all presupposes that I can get back. Mum and Dad will stop by on Sunday for our walk, and… That's probably when they'll first notice that I'm gone. Unless work phones them. Me not turning up without notice should make them try phoning me, but they might not try phoning other listed contacts for-.

That doesn't help.

Getting home may take some time.

In theory, if this is an orange power ring like in the comics, I should be able to find Earth eventually. Just check ever star in the galaxy, and if that doesn't work, pick another spiral galaxy and try there. Eventually I should find some sort of spacefaring civilisation and get them to tell me how to narrow it down. I should be able to detect main sequence stars with rocky worlds from a distance… Hopefully.

...Heh. Sounds a bit more the Greenies' type of process, but with a little 'get it done', it shouldn't take that long.

So do I start immediately, or do something else?

I'm on a planet with aliens.

Green Alien Space Babes, captain. Or Blue. Or Yellow. Or Pink. A whole technicolour galaxy.

I didn't get a close look on the way in. None of the settlements I saw were in this area. I realise that they're almost certainly not humanoid, and… Seeing me will probably be very disturbing for them. I remember seeing a report on a Call of Cthulhu game on 4Chan where a character is teleported to an alien world. He looks around, passes his sanity check for seeing their 'strange geometries' and them fixes the teleporter and returns to Earth. Then the players ask why the GM is still rolling dice.

Ah. A GM rolling dice is never good for the players. Especially if they're not doing anything that needs rolls.

The aliens needed sanity checks for seeing the player.

But… I have a power ring. It shouldn't be difficult for me to look down on them from space. See how they live. And it would be a long shot, but maybe they've got records of whoever built this and got this lantern.

Ah, yes. The 'Humans are Cthulu' trope. When we're too weird for the spacemen to understand. Or that one 'Powers' page with the interdimensional traveller popping in, rendered in full 3D, and someone pukes upon seeing them. Or maybe it was 'Top 10'? (Sadly, it's really hard to search for something that generic.)

And since I don't need to conserve power anymore…

I rise off the ground.

Don't go too power-mad now, Paul...

Heh.

Ring, do I have a subspace pocket?

Confirmed.

...Especially since you have functionally unlimited inventory.

A strobe of orange light deposits every valuable object in the room into that pocket. I leave the images on the wall with their precious stones. They might have archaeological value, and I can always take them to the British Museum once I know where it is.

And then I fly back towards the entrance.

Ah, Archaeology in the finest British fashion: Loot everything that's not nailed down, and come back with a crowbar...

Well, still no obvious clues, at least to my limited knowledge. But then, I'm not read up on a lot of sci-fi franchises. Though the likelihood of the locals being human-adjacent is pretty high based on that hologram.

Unless it's some distant post-apocalyptic world inhabited by animal people. I guess we're stuck waiting for upcoming chapters to find out.

Darko · Feb 1, 2024

kedgisgo said:
ahahaha he's in Stargate! haha oh goodie the goa'uld are going to get a very rude awakening

Seeing as this takes place in 2013 the Goa'uld may be already defeated.

Someguy Somewhere · Feb 1, 2024

The eyes are a bit of a hint, the woomph noise fits with Staff Weapon blasts.....hologram and god comments would fit....don't think I've ever heard Mammon as a name for one of the snakes....huh.

If it is SG-1 I'm honestly kinda shocked....I just recently stumbled on a stargate fic around here, that sounds odd in premise seems to work.

Mr Zoat · Feb 1, 2024

Darko said:
Seeing as this takes place in 2013 the Goa'uld may be already defeated.

That's just the date the SI thinks it is. Check when this story started.

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

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