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

Discussion in 'Creative Writing' started by Mr Zoat, Jan 27, 2019.

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  1. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    That explains why he didn't eat it. Captain America would never be interested in lollis.
    Let me put some commas in there.
     
  2. Pinklestia

    Pinklestia Well worn.

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    My take in the Super Soldier Formula is that's Alchemy. That's why they couldn't do better to copy it in over sixty years that the super nutrient. And the Super nutrient works a lot like the Alchemist (Fantastic Four enemy) formulas, meaning you have to keep taking it or loses effect. Unless you have a metagene, in that case the effect might end being permanent if you take super nutrient for long enough.

    And yes SHIELD eventually did fully copy it, but not only is suspected that HYDRA mystics are the one that actually did it, they prefer super nutrient because that way is easier if however is taking it decides to revel.

    Not to mention that one of the fake Captain America's went crazy due to taking an imperfect copy of the super soldier formula.
     
  3. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Darn if it alchemy then OL won't be able to take it.
     
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  4. dogbertcarroll

    dogbertcarroll Random lurker

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    Of course he can. He just can't take two different formulas, because they have a tendency to react explosively.
     
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  5. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    There wouldn't really be any point. The 616 version of the Formula just brings the recipients to the theoretical peak of human abilities. In the case of the SI, his ring already does that.
     
  6. WhiteNoise

    WhiteNoise Making the rounds.

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    Yes, that's what many of us *like* about the story.

    Ruining, or actually holding them to standards rather than sweeping their wrongs under the rug?
     
  7. DrThoth

    DrThoth I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    But this is peak comic-book human ability, a very different beast than what any (ring-altered) SI seems to have demonstrated.
     
  8. Tzeentch

    Tzeentch I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Here's hoping that besides waging war against Sublime, this version of Paul has suggested that perhaps Xavier should open his school to other sorts of superhumans besides mutants.

    They've a right to an education of their own, after all!
     
  9. PDV

    PDV Revelation That Uncertainty Is Itself An Answer

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    Wolverine is in everything. Kill Wolverine? Wolverine is there.
     
  10. zerofarad

    zerofarad Know what you're doing yet?

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    Rainbow Dash.
     
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  11. zerofarad

    zerofarad Know what you're doing yet?

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    Ah, I had read it as "actual" opposing "fictional." If instead it's "actual" meaning "true" in the "true Scotsman" sense, my bad.
     
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  12. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Zoat does OL have peak human physical traits like strength, speed, stamina, like Batman and Captain America and just lacks the skill to use them effectively like they do, I thought he was just healthy and in good shape not that he was on the same physical and athletic level as those two?
     
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  13. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    What's wrong with separate but equal?
    For the purpose of this story, peak human and peak comic human are the same.
     
  14. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    People also tend to forget that it has a moral component.

    And while Paul wouldn't turn out as bad as the Red Skull, with his orange ring he's going to be a lot closer to that end of the spectrum then Captain America.
     
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  15. Mquz

    Mquz Versed in the lewd.

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    Because in real life, it doesn’t tend to work like that. Segregation (which is what anyone in America who hears “separate but equal” thinks was and is a huge thing in the US that is still causing problems. It’s the kind of thing that makes others not care about your group.
     
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  16. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Sarcasm doesn't work on the internet. I will remember that in future.
     
  17. Maxx Crowley

    Maxx Crowley I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    *doesn't click the link* Bold of you to assume I care.
     
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  18. TheMidnightRook

    TheMidnightRook Well worn.

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    Supposedly, the engine that became the Hogwarts Express was stolen specifically because it was being retired and replaced with a more modern diesel engine. It was chosen specifically because nobody would really miss it.
     
  19. Senevri

    Senevri Not too sore, are you?

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    Personally, I like to pretend that words mean things. Specific things.
    I am begrudgingly acknowledging that the meaning can change over time, however the meaning is a matter of consensus, not the opinion of an individual.
     
  20. Tzeentch

    Tzeentch I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Very funny.

    But in all honesty, if Xavier really wants mutants and ordinary homo sapiens to get along, including other non-mutant superhumans in the student body would certainly be a step in the right direction.

    ....Although, if this turns out to be HoX/PoX Xavier, I could see why he might be somewhat resistant to the idea.
     
  21. King of Frost

    King of Frost Wishing I was somewhere colder no doubt.

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    So in this version of Marvel, is the hatred the public feels for mutants caused by that psychic parasite like in that one past snippet?
     
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  22. Tzeentch

    Tzeentch I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    It's not so much a parasite that causes the hatred for mutants, but rather a sentient telepathic bacterium that inhabits most of humanity, subtly nudging them against mutants because it can't inhabit them.
     
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  23. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Essentially, this. Sublime couldn't cause Marvel's anti-mutant paranoia if it wanted to. But humans have always found it very easy to learn to hate.
     
  24. Tzeentch

    Tzeentch I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Something that obviously delights The One Below All to no end I imagine, if such an entity that is self-described as being "hollow", "dark" and "dead" is even capable of such an emotion other than infinite malice.
     
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  25. Bramble Thorn

    Bramble Thorn Verified Silhouette

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    While I don't believe it absolutely, something like this seems very much where “That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be.”

    If this event actually happened, really is something that should be laid out. And in as raw and visceral a way a possible so they can't just pretend anymore, or delude and lie to themselves that all those people they killed because 'reasons', weren't actually people. That the thing that was done was in fact a horrible horrible thing, and not just an, "Oopsie, my bad," or a "But technically."

    Sugarcoating it because it hurts feelings, or worse, just deciding to never bring it up because it is 'cruel' is an abomination against truth, justice, and common decency. The only question from a pragmatic viewpoint should have been whether it makes them more or less likely to use the five elements on him, which would have decided whether it would be better to reveal it before or after his Anti life fragment was dealt with.

    This could go the other way because the things he is currently doing, while personally painful to them, are also exposing wrongs they have done for redress. Someone actively trying to be a good and virtuous person might see what he is doing as something ultimately benificial to their ideal of the greater good.

    If fact, it currently looks like everything he is doing 'to force them to smite him' are things he was intending to do anyway during his trip, because he didn't care for how things were handled and wanted to take corrective measures. He's just trying to get double duty out of the same action.

    Like instead of getting a dragon an formal education by bring up how he currently isn't, he is now getting a Dragon an education and encouraging them to give him the old Care Bear Stare with the same act. More convenient for him.


    Why were they killing all of the clones anyway? Was there some compelling reason, or was is it like the Krikkit encountering a universe full of stars and life that they hadn't accounted for and just deciding 'Well, they've got to go.'

     
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  26. Gantradies

    Gantradies Not too sore, are you?

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    again, you raise an interesting point- i wouldn't necessarily say he'd look similar to schmidt- but it WOULD be fascinating to find out how the Original/True SS Serum would bring his "true" self to the surface, visibly-and how it would manifest....

    it gave Steve the Strength and nobility in body that he'd always had in spirit- and like Sheev taking a face full of his own force lightning, stripped off Schmidt's masquerade of humanity....

    then there was that soldier/merc in one of the hulk movies who was juiced up with a (probably flawed) version of the serum, AND gamma exposure....
     
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  27. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    Oh doing a wiki walk I discovered something interesting.

    Dr Erskine's work was based on duplicating the superhuman abilities of the soldier John Steele- superhuman strength, speed, durability, healing factor, and retarded aging. He fought in the Civil War, WW1, and WW2, died in 2012.

    As someone who fought in WW1 with superhuman strength, durability, and speed, the wiki comments that he could be seen as Marvel's answer to Hugo Danner.

    Although it was implied that Steele got his via alien experimentation.
     
  28. Nervaqus987

    Nervaqus987 Well worn.

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    By definition, he already did.

    Graviton only fought the Avengers in the first episode special. Captain America wasn't found until episode 4 I think it was.
     
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  29. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    It is possible that this version of OL never fought Graviton in the first place and only showed up and joined the Avengers after his defeat like how paragon and renegade showed up after the events that formed the Team.
     
  30. Threadmarks: Earth's Orangest Hero
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    13th June
    08:36 GMT -5
    Earth 8096


    I take a moment to look at myself in the hall's full length mirror. I bought this suit specifically for things like this. I've been to court more than once since I started working with-. Since I became an Avenger. Those escapees weren't going to testify against themselves, were they? But I haven't been-. Okay, family court isn't anything like that adversarial. This isn't even a trial. But still

    I shift my weight awkwardly from my left foot to my right. No, it's no good. Anthony was right about the quality. I can't feel uncomfortable about this suit if I try. The cobbler was even able to realise my desire for trainers that look like dress shoes. The nerves are all me, all internal.

    And I feel bad for a moment. Because I know at least one person feels worse about-.

    "Big day today, huh?" I turn around at Anthony invites himself in, leaning against the dining room's door frame. "I had my people look up Judge McAlister's records. He's an okay guy. There shouldn't be any surprises."

    "Yeah."

    "Hey." He shrugs, frowning. "You know these things are basically formalities, right?"

    I turn away from the mirror and face him. "Honestly, Anthony, I'll be pleased just to walk free from court."

    "In that case… Don't punch the judge. I guess? Unless you really want to." He sees my reaction. "Ah. I.. really don't get why you're so worried about this."

    "Because I'm a single adult man trying to adopt a teenage girl he's not related to." I shake my head and head for the door.

    He steps back into the corridor as I approach and spreads his hands out. "Yeah, but there's extenuating circumstances. I should know; I proof-read the forms."

    "Pardon me?"

    I turn around as Cap-. Steven-. As Steve walks down the corridor toward us.

    I smile. "Good morning, Steve."

    "Are you worried about today?" I nod. "I thought Tony said it was just a formality."

    Anthony nods. "Tony did say it was just a formality because it is just a formality. The absolute worst thing that can happen is that they reject your application and that's pretty unlikely. If the judge decides it looks suspicious he'll probably just ask for more evidence, and if her folks aren't… Aren't trying to get her back, that doesn't really change anything."

    Steve frowns. "Is there a reason why this is so difficult? In my day, if someone wanted to adopt a child and their parents weren't able to take care of them, it was just a matter of signing a form."

    Anthony rolls his eyes. "Orphan Trains kinda went out of fashion."

    Steve pauses for a moment, which I've learned is a sign that Anthony's made an age-quip that has annoyed him but that he plans to rise above. "Orphan Trains went out of fashion in nineteen twenty nine. That's why I grew up in New York rather than Kansas."

    And that expression means that Anthony knows that he said something that he shouldn't, doesn't plan on apologising for it and might well double down unless someone else says something. So I'd best say something.

    "Steve, the problem is… Humans are instinctively bad at judging risk. Proportionally to the number of people who use them, planes are far safer than cars. But there'll be a major investigation after every plane crash while car crashes are… Pretty much regarded as the price of driving cars. Newspapers, radios and television news programs keeping everyone informed of the worst things that are happening don't really help. The result is that people.. passing laws are hypersensitive to things going wrong. For example, children sent to the aforementioned Kansas being used as cheap labour rather than being taken into a loving family as a new son or daughter."

    Steve frowns. "Sure, it wouldn't be ideal, but I'm.. not sure that growing up as a farm laborer would be worse than growing up homeless on the streets in New York."

    "But them growing up homeless on the streets of New York wouldn't have been specifically authorised and enabled by law."

    "I see what you're saying, but I think that's a little cynical."

    "Yes, yes it is, and as a man who earnestly desires to raise a young woman with.. no one else willing to care for her as his own daughter I'm experiencing that in a way I hadn't ever expected to. But that's.. what I meant about judging risk. People find out that a particular adoption went badly wrong, they demand that laws be passed to prevent it happening again, and… Mostly what that does is make life harder for good people. But it also stops a small number of… People who would abuse their charges. There's always balance to be struck between complexity and risk."

    Anthony tilts his head to the right. "If you want really cynical, it's actually in some people's interests to cause those sorts of moral panics. Not that hard to get elected on a promise to fix a problem everyone's worried about, even if you have to make up the problem yourself."

    Steve exhales involuntarily and looks away for a moment.

    Anthony smirks subtly, then runs his eyes over me once more. "Not wearing your 'power ring'?"

    "It's on a cord around my neck. I don't want to get accused of using an unnatural mental influence."

    "Ah, don't worry." Anthony pats me on the back. "Only Mutants get accused of that."

    Steve shakes his head. "Logan told me about anti-Mutant prejudice, but I still don't understand why it's so common. The fact that there aren't shops with 'no blacks or Irish' signs up front is my favorite thing about the future. It just seems so.. strange to me that Mutants are still victimized."

    Anthony shrugs. "Hey, I'm not prejudiced myself. Y'know, I guess people are just.. put off by people who can do.. weird things."

    "In the Second World War I fought alongside the King of Atlantis, a robotic man who spent most of the time on fire, a vampire, and a man who could run at the speed of sound. None of them aroused this sort of fear."

    Anthony twitches slightly. "Okay, maybe it's because there's so many of them. I don't know."

    "Hey guys!" Janet's wings buzz as she flies does the stairs and beaming as she does so. "All ready for the big day!?"

    I seem to remember that in the main Marvel universe, her powers are the result of some sort of science experiment gone wrong while in the Ultimate Universe she says that they are while actually being an x-gene Mutant. One ring scan is all it took for me to find out that the latter is true here. That.. might be why she's been so willing to help me with Anna Marie. Or it might just be that she's that nice.

    I shake my head. "No, but here we are anyway. Is Anna-?"

    Anna steps self-consciously around the corner of the landing and starts down the stairs. It's really.. too hot for the layers that she's wearing, but between Henry's expertise in material science and Janet's skill as a fashion designer we've come up with something that looks… Nice? I think? While also preventing that accidental skin contact that would set off her life-drain power.

    "Anna? All ready?"

    She meets my eyes for a moment, then returns her gaze to the stairs. "Yeah."

    Janet pointedly raises her eyebrows in my direction, but I'm already walking up the stairs and sticking my left hand inside my shirt to touch the ring. Just a touch to get an environmental shield, then I reach out with my right hand and gently hug Anna. We.. haven't been together long enough for me hugging her to be a normal thing, but she does understand that I'm not trying to… Take advantage of the situation of being the only person on the planet outside of her immediate family she can touch without putting them in a coma. She cautiously returns the gesture, her arms going around my chest and her right cheek touching mine for a moment. Still some work to go on convincing her not to completely avoid human touch, but… Better than when we first met.

    I pull back, smiling at her in an attempt to reassure her. "You ready?"

    She looks away to the left, shrugging helplessly.

    "Anna, if you don't want to do this-."

    "No, I-." She looks up at me. She isn't crying, but she looks very far from happy. "I just.. wish it.. didn't-."

    "I know. I know."
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2020
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