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

Reader mode
Mr Zoat said:
15th April 1995
16:59 GMT

Peace.

Peace through power.

Heh.
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So, two weeks? A long time for a Lantern with not much to do besides improve what he's claimed as his. And knowing that he's pretty much the biggest dog on the block is gonna be keeping some folks in check, I would guess. It's the ones that won't that'll be the trouble...

Peace through the implied threat of geostationary satellite-mounted railguns. Peace through the very real possibility of a demigod turning up and… Killing everyone you tried to violate the peace with. And then you. Peace through dealing with ecological problems and the detritus of old wars.
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And since you can ignore just about anything they throw at you, a personal appearance or two made the lesson stick, eh?

It was the Earth's smaller countries who realised the implication of a new top-level power first. Someone who could deal with certain intractable problems they were facing without wanting military bases or cheap oil in return, and who would be happy to step in if one of the former top level powers felt like throwing their weight around. I've got honourary Chechen citizenship due to displacing the entire Russian army from their country while leaving all of their equipment in-situ, minus the unexploded bomb I left in the State Duma to make my point.
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That point probably being 'Play nice or I'll come over there. And I am not on anyone's side.'

I vaguely remember reading about the Authority doing something like that..?

I've hunted drug dealers and gangsters for the Mexican government. With a heavy heart I detoxified the Vietnamese and Cambodian jungles. I've removed mine fields from Iran and Iraq, and arranged for certain officials in the latter to have unfortunate accidents because you can't hide that stuff from me. I've hunted enough child-rapists that if I wasn't still enlightened I'd probably be in therapy for the rest of my life. And for my own dear home country, as the signing date of the Good Friday Agreement draws closer I've been making sure that the Real I.R.A. and Continuity I.R.A. don't get the chance to emerge.
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Improving the world, one kicked crotch at a time, eh?

I know that Magnificent Kev did something like that.

And I've been living on a space station that I built because I do not trust a single one of the political, military or religious leaders down there not to kill me in my sleep. Building that was… Interesting. Some of the technologies that I'm used to flat out don't work here. Bless Vril Dox II's logical, mildly paranoid and entirely fictional heart, I do actually have a protocol for testing the laws of physics after a parallel universe shift, though the actual scientific principles involved are entirely beyond me. No bleed torsion generators, alas, but metallic hydrogen still fuses perfectly well and centripetal force can sub in for gravity acceptably well until I can either find a spaceship or visit a space dock to crib local-rules gravity plating off.
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Fascinating. Different laws of physics, of course. Presumably this world doesn't have the loopholes that allow comic book physics to work the way they do.

With so little… Weird stuff going on compared to the fake world of my memories, I've… Got entirely too much time to… Think about things. Making friends is… Difficult, in these circumstances. So despite my old opinions on the subject I've been seriously considering building a companion AI. Maybe not even an android or gynoid, just a station brain that can monitor the world, me, and make helpful suggestions and casual conversation. Philosophically, I'm against making new life merely for my own ends and particularly when I'm not sure that what I think I know about emergent machine intelligence is true…
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Could well be making your own supervillain if you are wrong. Pretty sure at least one Sentai villain was an AI, if only because nearly everything has been a bad guy at some point.

I shake my head to myself.

Alright. I admit it. I need the Power Rangers. I've been in the insane superhero life for so long that it's the only environment I feel remotely at home in. The only people I can relate to and who can -hopefully- relate to me in turn.

I sigh, and… Transfer downwards.
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Which says something about super-heroing, doesn't it?

15th April 1995
10:00 GMT -7

The Command Centre now has a helicopter outside of it, perched on a helipad that… Looks almost but not quite like the surrounding rock. Zordon's work, I assume. Can't scan through the defence screen, but I'm not seeing any sign that the Rangers are on-site.
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Interesting. I'm guessing he's been playing nice after the local agents started knocking on the door.

Looking down the slopes I see the new military checkpoints that are springing up on all of the roads to the Command Centre. Those will obviously need to be replaced by something better disguised in the not too distant future, though a quick scan for physics anomalies suggests that Zordon has more subtle defences in place. Since no one immediately shoots me I assume that I haven't been uninvited, so I land and walk inside.
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I suspect the first warning you'd get arriving that way would be a ground-to-air missile headed your way.

Alpha in is the entrance to greet me.

"Hello Orange Lantern! Zordan and Agent Rodriguez are inside."
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Wonder if there's been any friction between them? I don't know how well Zordon ever worked with governmental organisations, after all.

"Thank you, Alpha. The Rangers not here?"

He hesitates, probably wondering if he should tell me. I mean, I know who they are and it probably wouldn't be hard to track them down-.
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Certainly, one quick scan and he'd know. But that wouldn't be polite.

"They are receiving additional training in small unit tactics from human soldiers."

"Ah. Probably a good idea, even if not all of it is applicable. Might-." No, he doesn't make policy. "Pass on my warm regards if you see them before I do."
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Still, if they can improve their combat skills from it... It can show that future teams might benefit from it as well.

"Of course."

I nod politely, then walk forwards into the main room.
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No doubt with a whole bunch of monitoring devices watching him...

"Orange Lantern."

"Zordon. You're looking well."
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...Well, as good as a giant blue floating head in a tube can look, anyway.

Agent Rodriguez turns around as I walk in. but his gaze doesn't seem to be able to settle on me. Rather, it's constantly drawn to one strange piece of technology or another, and I can see how uncomfortable he is with the situation.

"I see you're a man of your word. No wars anywhere on Earth."
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Well, no big wars worth mentioning.

"I wouldn't go quite that far. Stopping wars between two more or less functional nations is simple. Stopping wars between hostile groups within a country who have no desire to come to terms or moderate their demands is far harder. And then there are the failed states."
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...Just a bunch of little things that no-one outside their countries care about. Especially ones that other countries don't want to get involved with.

And there I'm increasingly leaning towards 'give anarchy a chance'. If a government can't govern, what's the point in paying for rich people's hotel rooms and the fig leaf of legitimacy that comes with their rubber stamp? People went without nation-states for most of human history. If subsistence farming is possible and no complex infrastructure needs to be managed then it should be alright. Only problem is that I remember that Somalia ended up with a big problem with illegal fishing and dumping, which means that I'd be tied to policing their territorial waters for a few years. Not sure how many ships I'd have to beach before people got the message…
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And you know there'd be the idiots who go 'Well, he's not going to come after me, I'm much too small-time.'

"You'll be pleased to know that the State Department is panicking a little less."

"A little."
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I shudder to imagine the screaming when he got started...

"And… I know you're going to tell me to shove it-"

"Probably."
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To be fair, he is basically an independent nation of one.The ultimate sovereign citizen, you might say? :p

"-but they say that if you want any information, briefings or assistance, you can get in touch."

"Thank you. I'll bear that in mind."
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Given that he could read their files at any time, it'd only be a courtesy for him to ask...

He looks expectantly at me for a moment, but I just shrug.

"Okay. I'll tell them I told you."
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Heh. I suspect they won't be happy about his response, but really, what could they expect?

If they couldn't be bothered to send someone here… Oh, I'm probably going to have to kick American government operatives out of a lot of places in the not too distant future, aren't I? Oh well.

I turn to our host. "Zordon. Have you been able to review my plan?"
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Might need a disguise if he wants to interact with the Rangers in civvies.

"Yes. With Rita dead, I believe that I would be able to return within a few years without assistance, but using you to drain the spell will make the process quicker and easier."

"And you're as sure as you can reasonably be that it's safe? I don't want to accidentally drain you by mistake."
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Ooh, that's something no-one here thought of, was it? If Rita was the one who trapped him... Her curse ceased being sustained upon her death.

"I sustain this connection with my own magic. If you drain me by mistake, I can cancel the spell in an instant."

"Alright then." I take my lantern out of whatever passes for subspace around here. "Let's get you back."
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I'm guessing he modified Rita's staff into it, and formed the Lantern around it. Which ironically makes him closer to some earlier Alan Scott versions than ever.

So, he's not been wasting time. a more reliable power source, multiple hotspots around the globe pacified, and others on his short list for observation. He's going to make his new world a better place one way or another, even if he's got to kick a few asses to do so. Which is a hell of a lot more proactive than any Ranger team ever would have been, for sure. And now Zordon's going to be free? That's a hell of a butterfly for future events.
 
Mr Zoat said:
"Alright then." I take my lantern out of whatever passes for subspace around here. "Let's get you back."
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Could someone more familiar with the Rangers source material explain how big a deal this is? I've never even heard Zordon as anything but a giant glowing head with a side of sass, what would be the impact of getting him back on his feat, so to speak?
 
You know, with Rita dead...the remains of the candle and that spell might have also been trashed and the power returning to the coin.

The comics did use the open plot point of the second green coin for a second green ranger that was picked up, and there were repeated rumors about the coin
 
SotF said:
You know, with Rita dead...the remains of the candle and that spell might have also been trashed and the power returning to the coin.

The comics did use the open plot point of the second green coin for a second green ranger that was picked up, and there were repeated rumors about the coin
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Mr Zoat said:
"So the added field training will be useful. Oh! Good news! With Rita's base completely destroyed, there's no more green candle. Green Ranger can return to active duty. I'll.. get the Dragonzord valeted."
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I wonder if Zordon is going to try to get rid of Paul. If this story arc didn't end with Rita getting nuked, then it has to end in suitably dramatic fashion, right? I can even think of a justification for why Zordon would want to do this.

Paul is a magical construct, and the effects of his direct actions would be undone if he dies. It was described earlier that matter he directly rearranged would snap back, even bringing the dead back to life. Now, let's say that Paul happens to get killed after ten thousand years. In just two weeks, he's moved an army out of a country, removed minefields and detoxified forests, and killed all sorts of people. Imagine ten thousand years of that sort of thing getting undone, how would that even work? Imagine the potential chaos. Would the people he killed just reappear where he killed them? What if a building ends up being in the way? What about the army he moved? Would it move their corpses back to the spots they were in before he moved them? What if it even goes so far as to bring them back in the state they were in when Paul moved them, bringing them back to life as well? What about the minefield he removed, or the bullets and artillery he stopped from hitting that city? The longer Paul stays alive, the more potential this problem has.

Sure, right now Zordon is having Paul help get him back, and that would be undone too. But if he's decided that the spell that is Paul can't be allowed to continue, he might figure a surprise attack when he's back to full strength is his best opportunity. If Paul thought that Zordon and the Power Rangers were a threat, he could probably evade them indefinitely.
 
Vaermina said:
Where did he get a Lantern from?

Also. Why is Zordon just suddenly trusting a massmurderer? That seems massively out of character.
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My bet is that Zordon knows Paul is, all else aside, a man of his word. A fact he is gonna exploit to kill him the instant he's back outta the tube, because, ya know, dude's being a "benevolent" dictator amd Zordon's not down with that.
 
All of you second guessing how Zordon is going to handle Paul's efforts to maintain peace and create peace forget that he is very, very old. And he likely has seen and dealt with dictators and other beings in his time before he was forced into the tube to maintain a connection with this plane of existence. He was and is a warrior and warriors know how other warriors think somewhat.

And the one thing a front-line fighter knows is that governments can and will make piss poor short-term decisions leading to short-term solutions. Orange Lantern is actively improving the lot of humanity.

Yes, Paul is an out of context problem when he 'Pauls' a bit too much. But likely what is going to happen is the world is going to get improved.
 
Only Chechnya?

I'd have figured most of the occupied Ethnic states in Russia would do a "holy hell it worked for Chechnya and go for independence.

I mean there's dozens.

Russia would start looking real weird, real quick if people knew they were allowed to leave if they want to.
 
TheLunarwolf said:
Only Chechnya?

I'd have figured most of the occupied Ethnic states in Russia would do a "holy hell it worked for Chechnya and go for independence.

I mean there's dozens.

Russia would start looking real weird, real quick if people knew they were allowed to leave if they want to.
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To be fair, it's been two weeks. Moscow might be pretty unpopular in some places, but a strong enough desire for separation that you're willing to overturn your entire political and economic structure takes a little while to build up.
 
Mr Zoat, random question. How has Kara Zor-L adapted to feeling the Anti-Life. Did she power through, or did it cripple her due to naivete?

Edit: Never mind, I asked this before and it wasn't answered. I will now change my question to: Will Kara Zor-L ever find her way back to her universe of origin?
 
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the implication that everything before- the OLC, telling off the Justice League, Jade, having so many unique Orange Lanterns (Ranxx? Mother of Mercy? that is cool as hell), the new Olympian way, all of that- was a fiction? it's honestly sad to me. i've literally been reading this for years. is all of that just gone? or am i going to get swerved?
 
Ngamer11 said:
Mr Zoat, random question. How has Kara Zor-L adapted to feeling the Anti-Life. Did she power through, or did it cripple her due to naivete?

Edit: Never mind, I asked this before and it wasn't answered. I will now change my question to: Will Kara Zor-L ever find her way back to her universe of origin?
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Kara Zor-L, the upbeat one? Yes.
BartlettMagic said:
the implication that everything before- the OLC, telling off the Justice League, Jade, having so many unique Orange Lanterns (Ranxx? Mother of Mercy? that is cool as hell), the new Olympian way, all of that- was a fiction? it's honestly sad to me. i've literally been reading this for years. is all of that just gone? or am i going to get swerved?
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[Looks at BartlettMagic]

[Looks at the date]

[Looks at BartlettMagic]

[Looks disappointed]
 
Mr Zoat said:
[Looks at BartlettMagic]

[Looks at the date]

[Looks at BartlettMagic]

[Looks disappointed]
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i'll be honest, i'm burned out enough from work and life's bullshit that i have no idea what you're talking about, and don't have the energy to investigate this. it's entirely possible that i already know, but it's just not coming to me. however, i'm choosing to interpret it as an indication that i should have reason to be hopeful about my concerns, so thank you.
 
BartlettMagic said:
i'll be honest, i'm burned out enough from work and life's bullshit that i have no idea what you're talking about, and don't have the energy to investigate this. it's entirely possible that i already know, but it's just not coming to me. however, i'm choosing to interpret it as an indication that i should have reason to be hopeful about my concerns, so thank you.
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This month has been the April Fools arc. We soon return to your regularly scheduled timelines.
 
BartlettMagic said:
i'll be honest, i'm burned out enough from work and life's bullshit that i have no idea what you're talking about, and don't have the energy to investigate this. it's entirely possible that i already know, but it's just not coming to me. however, i'm choosing to interpret it as an indication that i should have reason to be hopeful about my concerns, so thank you.
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I hope things are just turning the corner then, and a break to rest is nearby.
 
BartlettMagic said:
the implication that everything before- the OLC, telling off the Justice League, Jade, having so many unique Orange Lanterns (Ranxx? Mother of Mercy? that is cool as hell), the new Olympian way, all of that- was a fiction? it's honestly sad to me. i've literally been reading this for years. is all of that just gone? or am i going to get swerved?
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Different universes being fictional to each other is old hat in DC.

Julius Schwartz helped Barry Allen build the Cosmic Treadmill in 1968 when Barry accidented traveled to Earth Prime (aka our world according to DC lore).

Cary Bates murdered the Justice Society in 1974, but they were resurrected by Maggin.

Ambush Bug is from Earth Prime but has a method to travel to the DC universes.

Captain Carrot professionally works on the Justa Lotta Animals comic and he met Super-squirrel, Wonder Wabbit, and Martian Anteater.

Dr 13 once defeated Johns, Morrison, Rucka, and Waid.

Grant Morrison was also in the Suicide Squad.

Multiversity was an entire event which had the various universes of DC being mutually fictional as a plot point. Kyle Rayner has met people from comic books he's been paid to draw.

Justice Incarnate went to Earth Prime and met an avatar of Darkseid who infiltrated DC comics.
 
Mighty Morphin' Lantern Rangers (part 18) New
  • Threadmarks
    • 15th April 1995
    10:24 GMT -7

    I sit on the floor facing Zordon's projection, watching the faint shimmer in the air as I keep drawing on the magic Rita invested in the spell binding him. I've only got a very approximate sense of how much energy I'm getting, but the flow has been constant after ramping up for the first couple of minutes.

    "Alpha. Status."

    Alpha checks a control console.

    "The connection remains stable."

    "I had to learn the feel of Rita's magic to steal the staff. Assuming that the connection is maintained by a mixture of your magic and this technology, it's no effort to avoid draining it."

    "So, ah…" Agent Rodriguez hasn't started looking more relaxed since we started. "How long until we meet face to face?"

    "The binding has weakened enough that I believe that I could free myself now. However, that would leave me significantly weakened."

    "It's no trouble to take this slower. I half-imagine that an alarm will go off in Lord Zed's office the moment you get back."

    "Lord Zedd did not detect Rita and I being imprisoned. Or if he did, he chose to take no action. I do not believe that he will immediately react to my return."

    "Ah…" Agent Rodriguez looks even more unsettled. "'Lord Zedd'?"

    "Rita's immediate superior. Tactically more dangerous, but… Strategically, the only change to the situation is that if I nuke him then the really heavy hitters would turn up."

    "On the contrary, Lord Zedd is capable of creating monsters of much greater power than Finster's Monster-Matic."

    "That's a tactical issue. Strategically, his attacks still involve sending a wave of putties followed by a monster with a trick which then turns into a giant monster."

    "To my recollection, he also possesses a superior command of tactics as well."

    "I'll tell the Rangers to hit the 'Z'. Any plans for when you get back?"

    "I wish to contact old friends. And I will seek to ensure that you become fully real."

    "I would appreciate that. I'm going to get a lot of people referring to me as a fictional character and I suspect that I'm one lawyer consultation away from being sued by Detective Comics." I exhale through my nose. "And I'd appreciate your guidance on dealing with Earth. I-."

    My rings shine brilliantly, threads of orange light looping around my hands and striking the control room's consoles!

    "Aye aye aye! Orange Lantern, what are you doing?!"

    "I'm not!"

    I focus, bringing my desires for control and utility to the front of my mind… But it's not working. As Agent Rodriguez scrambles back I call my new lantern-shaped orb storage unit out of subspace and try channelling the orange light into that. It sort of works, though there's a good deal more sparking and flaring than I'd like.

    "Zordon! Any ideas?"

    "Yes. You have been absorbing Rita's magic continuously from my prison without discharging it."

    "I've been funnelling it into my own soul, the same as I did back in the-. Comic. I-. Does it not work like that here?"

    "No. I have reviewed the comics which the Blue Ranger brought here, and the depiction of the soul is inaccurate to this reality. I believe that you were able to do it due to the way in which Baboo's potion caused the universe to interact with you differently. However, you have now reached the overflow point at which you are channelling more raw magic than the potion can account for."

    "I'll take your word for it. What do I do?"

    "The orb cannot properly absorb Rita's power. If you could knew magic then you could use the power yourself."

    "Helpful suggestions only!"

    "Fortunately, there is an object on the table to which you have a connection. Channel the excess-" I look around-. They kept my comic? "-power into that."

    "Is that going to bring more people to life?"

    "No, but it should be able to absorb power without difficulty."

    "If you say so."

    I hold out my left hand, wincing as a console gets thrown across the room by an orange light surge. He's right, they're not acting like power rings any more, and I'm lucky that it hasn't gone wrong before now. Abandoning the effort to bring the comic to me I clamp my hands around the lantern and walk towards the table.

    "Could you deal with this if you were here right now?"

    "If I broke the remains of Rita's spell now I would return too weak to aid you."

    "Alright then." I reach the table and place my left hand on the white patch of paper left by my realisation. As Zordon said, the page drinks the orange light without issue. "Brace yourself."

    "What do you intend-?"

    Left hand on the comic, I reach out my right towards his projection and pull harder.

    "Please break free as soon as you can."

    "That is risky."

    "So is relying on fictional magic tattoos to not explode when they get overloaded with real magic. Just be ready."

    "I am."

    I look at the comic, and-. It's like one of those old magic eye pictures. It's still, but at the same time it looks like it's moving, the objects displaying their full range of motion. And as I'm staring at it, it's almost like it's stretching around me. I look back at Zordon and he's still there, but if I look down-.
    //////////
    1st April 2013
    09:19 GMT -5

    "-what you are seeing?"

    "Huh?"

    I'm-? I'm still in the laboratory, because-. Yes? Things… Went a bit strange there for a moment, but…

    "You said that your perception was altered." Kaldur looks at me expectantly. And yes, I.. did. "Can you describe it?"

    "For a moment, it was like I was more aware of the transition between instants of time, but…" I shake my head, looking over the analytic machine results. "I… Let me get back to you."

    He smiles indulgently, then turns to leave. "Very well."

    Alright then, let's see…

    What's that? I don't remember putting-. On the console surface there's Power Rangers comic, with… An Orange Lantern cross-over?

    I don't remember signing off on this.
     
  • New
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    • Personally, I don't like the idea that DC is fictional, while Power Rangers is real. It would make more sense to me if, as with most situations with magic on other planets in this story. Paul's understanding of magic is built upon a system that doesn't exist in the Power Rangers Universe, therefore his magic isn't working in that universe. In addition, it doesn't make sense that Paul has knowledge of the future if he is a fictional character, from a fictional world, thinking he is from the real Earth Prime. I prefer to think of this arc more in the lines of Paul traveling to another universe or having an avatar being conjured in place and his connection being through both Baboo's alchemy and Rita's magic, it's less confusing.
     
    Mr Zoat said:
    "-what you are seeing?"

    "Huh?"

    I'm-? I'm still in the laboratory, because-. Yes? Things… Went a bit strange there for a moment, but…

    "You said that your perception was altered." Kaldur looks at me expectantly. And yes, I.. did. "Can you describe it?"

    "For a moment, it was like I was more aware of the transition between instants of time, but…" I shake my head, looking over the analytic machine results. "I… Let me get back to you."

    He smiles indulgently, then turns to leave. "Very well."

    Alright then, let's see…

    What's that? I don't remember putting-. On the console surface there's Power Rangers comic, with… An Orange Lantern cross-over?

    I don't remember signing off on this.
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    Now I really hope we'll get to see Paul interact with this artificial version of himself in the future, if only so that the Power Rangers can react to the realization that they are also fictional.
     
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