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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. Radix

    Radix Not too sore, are you?

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    Have you been following the story? The rules were set up at the start of the arc when Paragon met Grayven. New Gods take to the field in a metaphysical way.

    Renegade went against her and called in backup from an outside power, this signified he was weaker. That weakens him metaphysically, particularly as he is Conquest.
     
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  2. Coda

    Coda Versed in the lewd.

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    Vaermina is right this time. Technically, that does count as a loss against the Renegade, and it likely does imply a minor ding to his puissance. But it's a minor loss. If he thinks about it he can feel the reduction in his power, but it's more like putting a rock in your backpack than shackling you to a boulder -- yeah, you can feel it, but it's not going to stop you and it probably isn't going to make an actual difference about anything.

    And of course, this is metaphysics. If he comes out on top in the end and turns it into a win, then that's a correspondingly larger boost to his stature -- overcoming a foe that was strong enough to stand against you is worth more than curbstomping someone who was never really a problem for you in the first place.
     
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  3. Agumentic

    Agumentic Not too sore, are you?

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    Barda is not working directly under him, though?
     
  4. AverusBlack

    AverusBlack AKA Aisling

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    I can feel Renegade eyebrow waggling intensely at this sentence
     
  5. Bramble Thorn

    Bramble Thorn Verified Silhouette

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    I would like to point out that Renegade arranged Diana as a thematic Counter to whoever 'the thing that smells like divine amazons' ended up being before Astarte ever took the field. And mentioned that if they (Wonder Woman and Astarte) ended being similar enough it actually made his leadership buffing powers more effective working through her.

    So given the specific circumstances, him calling in Diana seem less like losing and needing someone else to come save his butt, and more like, 'Silly Gravyen, by when you played Astrte, you triggered my Amazon Demigoddess Trap Card™,' HaHaHa laugh optional.

    Where the matchup would have been allowed even if Astarte was a direct lieutenant. Which she doesn't seem to be, but still part of a separate force, which happens to be currently allied with Grayven.
     
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  6. Threadmarks: Veganism (part 7)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    1st September 2012
    14:47 GMT


    "Who is she?"

    I generate a positron cannon on my left arm as the boom tube closes behind her.

    "Name's Astarte, and-."

    Diana rockets forward as Astarte tries to aim her gun one-handed-

    END.

    -and fires-?

    Diana dives in the way of the shot, bracers crossed before her! What? I look around as the fury of the Omega Beam blasts at the protective shield Diana's bracers generate. The evacuation portal, she was aiming at-.

    Right, bitch. Aegis of Authority.

    I carefully target her as Diana recovers and pushes onward, forcing Astarte to stow her gun and brandish the stolen mega rod. Mega rod. Ah, yes. Eyes dipping down I see Barda try to rise for a moment, then collapse back to the ground a moment later.

    Mother Box.

    Ping.

    A hush tube opens next to Barda, so as not to distract the brawling Amazons. Then a construct claw tosses her through. I'll check up on her later. Generally, when Darkseid hits someone with the Omega Effect there isn't anything left to study, so it will be fascinating to learn from the damage pattern. Once I'm sure she isn't going to die, I mean.

    Diana's doing well. It looks like Astarte can actually fly, but her efforts to keep Diana back using the reach provided by her mega rod are failing due to Diana's skill in aerial combat. She's comfortable moving in any direction and striking at whatever part of her opponent she can reach. Submission holds might be the best way to win super strength fights, but strikes to nerve cluster and joints can still do a heck of a lot to disable someone who can't regenerate.

    But… wait for a clear-. Defeat By Resource Denial.

    I fire, a magnetic beam protecting the positrons as they howl through the intervening space and slam into Astarte's gun! Her eyes widen as she glances down at it, orange Kirby dots now appearing from the breach in its side. Diana gets a clean hit to her chin as she's distracted, but even as Astarte's head jerks back she manages to get a hand on her gun so she can toss it-.

    Toss it at me.

    And for a moment I'm tempted to dive for it and try integrating its power into myself as Darkseid and presumably Other Grayven managed to do. I mean, I've got the same soul structures as the other fellow. It should be possible. And the ability to fire an erasure beam from my eyes sounds darn useful, even if I don't get some of the more esoteric abilities I know Darkseid has managed to use it for. But that sounds like a stupid risk to me. So instead-

    Mother Box?

    Ping.

    -I open a-

    BOOM!

    -boom tube to the ship Lantern Green Man was just trying to communicate with.

    The gun tumbles through the aperture and vanishes from sight, the portal closing down immediately. I feel a little smug-.

    Diana hits into my chest left shoulder first, forcing me to brace to avoid being knocked back. She's bleeding from a dozen weeping wounds on the left side of her chest, the skin reddened in a slash where the mega rod got a clean hit.

    "Is she supposed to be your me, impostor?" Astarte is bleeding from her nose and I can see where she'll be showing bruises on her face in a few hours. "Could you find no one stronger?"

    Diana regains her feet.

    "What strength I have earned was not gained by slaughtering billions of defenceless civilians, murderer."

    "I am surprised that you called her. Grayven would have insisted on single combat with the entire Citizenry as witnesses." Slight by Comparison.

    I raise my eyebrows. "Did he?" Your Words Are Dust.

    "But you are apparently too weak for that. I can replace the gun."

    "It's not a matter of weakness. It's a matter of efficiently achieving your objectives. Diana wanted a swing at you so she could find out why you feel like her, mystically speaking. But unlike my lesser half I don't want to win your service. I just want you to not attack my people. If you died fighting him, he'd have lost a useful resource. If you die fighting me, I'm closer to achieving my objective. And since single combat clearly has some sort of significance for your people, they might all decide to leave."

    I shrug.

    "Or not. Diana, do you want another crack at her?"

    "Yes."

    "Too bad." Die.

    Twelve death ray drones and eight freeze ray drones drop stealth and open fire at Astarte. I see her body wither as it's stripped of vitality, and I grip her with a -heh- construct lasso and pull her to the ground as she loses control of her flight ability.

    I dismiss the construct and walk towards her, arms once more folded behind my back.

    "I am not a warrior. I am not a soldier. I'm not even much of a tactician. But it seems that you're even less of one. You brought sn-" I punch left, causing the snake lunging at me through the air to splatter all over my left side. "-akes to a gunfight."

    I shake my head.

    "Honestly."

    Quick check… Yes, my Lanterns have finished and moved on. Which is good because those ships that Karras warned me about are opening their gun ports.

    Astarte grits her teeth and pushes herself up into a crouch. Tools Obey Their Mistress.

    "But you're not, are you? Did you miss it?" I lean a little closer to her. "I'm still taunting you. The life you're losing for your own foolhardiness is the punch line, the proof that I'm right. Die knowing that you brought this on yourself, substandard one."

    "Grayven, call off your guns."

    I straighten up. "Diana, that's not a good idea. If you want her as a prisoner-."

    Diana detaches her lasso from her belt and partially uncoils it.

    "Fine, but we need to leave. Grayven isn't here."

    Mother Box.

    Ping.

    BOOM!

    "Grayven to fleet, disengage and return to Vega. I'll follow shortly." Diana pauses as the drones cease fire, slamming Astarte into the earth before using the lasso to bind her arms behind her back. "We have captured the fleet's leader and need to interrogate her."

    "Understood. We're falling back to the edge of their interdiction systems now."

    Diana pulls Astarte to her feet and shoves her towards the boom tube aperture, and I notice that Astarte is already starting to heal while Diana isn't. I assign a healing ray drone to her before following her through the tube a moment before the ships above us open fire.
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2021
  7. SaltyWaffles

    SaltyWaffles I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    But Barda wasn't directly working under him. Hell, she didn't even attack on his order. Barda is his relative, not his subordinate (even informally). Also, she didn't press him to the point that he had to call in outside help; he just wasn't arrogant enough to assume that he'd win no matter what and called for her ahead of time. It turned out that he didn't need the help; he'd already overcome her main trick without taking a scratch.
     
  8. Pinklestia

    Pinklestia Well worn.

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    If she is an Amazon does she have the same weakness to being tied up that Diana has?
     
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  9. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Assuming this really is the Effect and not something else.

    How considerate of you.

    'projecting the'

    Yeah, seeing as she has a connection to weapons grabbing that thing may be like a Trojan Horse, it seems good but it's a trap.

    Sassy.

    'apparently'

    Ass.
     
  10. AverusBlack

    AverusBlack AKA Aisling

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    She seems like the type to kinda like it instead
     
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  11. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    I don't think that's a thing here.

    Diana may be vulnerable to being tied with the Lasso of Truth, but it's a magic object created by the gods so it makes sense.

    Her weakness to being tied up with non magical objects, like ordinary rope, is probably absent from here.
     
  12. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    A little late, but - Godspeech!
     
  13. DrThoth

    DrThoth I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Fairly sure Zoat's not going to go with that being a thing (at least in terms of being generally tied up, which I believe was the original weakness; using the Lasso itself is another matter). Edit: Kanto'd.

    Astarte being able to match and exceed Diana (such as in healing abilities) is definitely interesting, given the latter's origins should make her metaphysically stronger (though I remember one of the SIs saying Barda is slightly physically stronger than Diana, too). I imagine it's a consequence of all her actions and actively pursuing power growth through war and slaughter. Would be nice to see Diana actually grow in capabilities, either by tapping into her Titanic heritage more or doing things otherwise. Ever since I read (a bit of) Promethea, I'd like to see Diana do more esoteric/metaphysical stuff.
    Did Zoat retcon Astarte to be able to fly or is the new chapter mistakenly saying that she can?
     
  14. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    Just because you try and claim her words are dust doesn't make them any less true.

    Grayven could easily beat you by just showing up in a speedo and nothing else, then pulling that "fight on equal terms" thing to force you into a fist fight.

    Doesn't change the fact that you're retreating.

    Especially given that was really Diana's win and not yours.
     
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  15. Ngamer11

    Ngamer11 Experienced.

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    That should be 'just'.
     
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  16. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    No, they're protecting the anti-matter from matter. It isn't supposed to explode until it hits the target.
    Thank you, corrected.
    It is.
    Thank you, corrected.
    She can fly, thought the Renegade doesn't know whether it's an innate ability or from equipment she's wearing.
     
  17. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    After, wouldn't you want to know the name of the person whose ass you're kicking? And this will be quite the fight, given Astarte's Amazon training will probably shine through.

    Speed of the winds, baby. Got to hate speedsters, huh?

    Oh, that bitch. Trying to lessen the sweet taste of victory?

    Once her ribs recover to the point she can breathe, she's going to have a few things to say to Astarte... And her fists will be doing the talking.

    "About time you noticed your injured ally."

    I still don't think it's the full Omega Effect energy. More than a few New Gods have a weaker essence they command, right? Like Orion and his 'Astro Force'...

    Indeed. And if they can still feel pain, well... It hurts like hell.

    Now, we'll get to see who's the better melee combatant...

    No. Bad Renegade. Remember the Evil Overlord list! 'I will not try to consume any energy field bigger than my head.' I'd say this qualifies!

    "I think that would be a bad idea. I don't like the look of that stuff. Best to get rid of it, though."

    ...Ouch. I rather think that'll make communication even harder if the bridge crew are all dead from the explosion...

    Oh, yeah, Astarte still has that. No wonder Barda likes it so much if it can do that...

    At least the Princess got a few good hits in in that last bout. On to the next!

    Oh-ho. Versed in Narrative combat and physical? Quite the all-rounder.

    Probably not easily, I hope.

    To wit: She's the current leader of the Citizenry. They have a rule that anyone who defeats her replaces her. In the original storyline, that's Diana, who refuses to take the position.

    Unfortunately, Diana, you don't have all day.

    Impressive that she isn't outright dead. Though I suppose as a demigod, Immortality and increased Vitality are part of the deal.

    Indeed. I suppose she had to answer the implicit challenge in his interference in the Citizenry's harvest. She might have bit off more than she could chew, though.

    Feh. No concern for their leader? Guess they figure if she doesn't survive this, she didn't deserve the job after all...

    One problem with that, Renegade...

    ...League rules of engagement applied as soon as Diana showed.

    Not yet. Assuming he bothers to even slow down in passing, either.

    "Let's try not to antagonise any more allies, please?"

    Presumably the Lanterns will continue search-and-rescue operation. After all, with Boom Tubes, there's no need to ensure they have a more mundane escape route.

    The lady really needs to learn how to tap into her godly and Titanic heritages.

    So the fight is done. I hope they managed to rescue a good amount of the population, though. It'd be a shame if they died out because of this. And presumably we'll be cutting away for a little while, at least while Astarte has recovered enough to talk. Bring on the alternate Pauls!
     
  18. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    He kinda already did consume an energy field bigger than his head.

    When he got Grayvens soul from Fatherbox.

    Also it makes sense to keep her alive.

    They may need to figure out if she knows anything about Actually Grayven like where he is, how many resources does he have, any allies he may have etc.

    They may also need to figure out about the Citizenry, like what they are, what they do, where they came from etc.

    Also things like if there are more of them, since having a bunch of genocidal psychopaths running around is not something most people would want.

    And figuring out how Astarte came into this in the first place.

    A difficult thing to ask of the renegade.

    At least paragon Diana is doing that.

    We saw her sensing the land around her during that training exercise, and I think Paul mentioned something about her using her esoteric powers during the fight with Malvolio.
     
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  19. AmericanNumbers

    AmericanNumbers Not too sore, are you?

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    I know the technological arms race is a real thing in this universe but damn if an omega effect gun doesn't feel like a massive cheat.

    I wondered if Renegade is linked to MulletGrayven and is influencing his nature. It does seem like Astarte has been evolved like Renegade tends to do with his retinue.
     
  20. BR549

    BR549 This is filth! FILTH!!

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    "Soundwave. I require a groundbridge."
     
  21. Hell's Razer

    Hell's Razer Passive Member

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    Mr Zoat continuity error, or typo?
     
  22. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    He didn't get Grayven's soul, because Grayven still has Grayven's soul.

    What he got was a New God framework and a bunch of fake memories slapped together by Darkseid.
     
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  23. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    In the comic they developed green light weapons after killing a Green Lantern.
    My mistake. In the revised version, She chose not to use her flight ability against Grayven and that confused him.
     
  24. DrThoth

    DrThoth I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Are they the alien-equivalent of the Sivanas or something? With those capabilities, it seems like they would be a bigger deal, though if they're nomadic and don't have a large population, I suppose that's understandable.

    I'm sure people have asked, but where is Krolotea, Rann and that galactic space court from YJ Season 2 located in relation to all the places we've seen in space?
     
  25. Ngamer11

    Ngamer11 Experienced.

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    The Sivanas innovate and create new kinds of technology all the time. The Citizenry seem limited to copying the energies used against them and incorporating them into their guns.
     
  26. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    I don't think anyone has asked this before, but I'm at least betting that it's in some secluded part of the galaxy that doesn't have much contact with the rest of the galaxy, so that's how it took several years for the League to be put on trial.
     
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  27. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    No.
    The space court is well inside Krolotean space, and that and Rann are a long way from anywhere where the characters in this story have been.
     
  28. DrThoth

    DrThoth I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    I feel like I asked this before, but Renegade at least should know what the League did when mind-controlled by the Light, given his assimilations. Has he (and every other interested party like Batman, though I forget if the League knows the Light's fates) just forgot to ask? Someone should have asked him even if they don't know the Lights are around as constructs, because Renegade could plausibly have gained that information from his time as a member.

    For a more out of the box way of Paragon finding out, presumably Queen Bee ended up in Hell, so he could ask Mammon to locate her soul and find out what the Light's plans were up to that point. I'm not sure where R'as and Orm would have ended up.

    When did Adam Strange accidentally teleport himself to Rann? I forget if it happened during or immediately before the time of Season 2, or a few years earlier. Given Paragon knows that Rann is a thing thanks to comics knowledge, I assume he's kept some sort of tabs on Adam Strange.

    Does Renegade know about Alpha Centurion and his spaceship? Given his own work with Lex's fleet, it seems like something to look into, even if isn't a priority.
     
  29. Rockinalice

    Rockinalice Versed in the lewd.

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    I see people mentioned that Diana should be stronger then her aunt. Well it's true I believe that she is the child of Gaia. which makes her a Titan/Goddess I think most people forget that Diana doesn't know what her Mantle is which would make her weaker. Remember most God's & Titans are weak Until they get their Mantles examples are some of the children of the Titans or the lowies on apocalypse that while they are technically baby gods and titans none of them have the power or gone through the trials required to get a Mantle

    I believe that's how it works For the young ones Like Diana. while old for our standards is very young by the standards of Titans, Gods, New Gods and Most of the powers she usually uses Aren't hers they're the blessings given to her by her gods to limit her to just demigod level and so she doesn't reach her full potential Which Would put her above most of the Olympians Except a few

    Side Note :It's funny that people think Zeus Hades and Poseidon are the strongest in their pantheon when in Myth Hestia Demeter and Hecate were all in line to be Ruler of Olympus way before Zeus and his brothers but they all declined
     
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  30. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    The attack didn't happen. The Renegade's team hit them early enough that the Light weren't even able to get them to Rimbor.
    Mammon was still pretending to be Satannus when she went south. She'd probably have ended up in someone else's care.
    I don't think there's a canonical answer. It hasn't happened yet in story.
    Yes, but it's not human technology.
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2021
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