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

On the upside, they're not likely to be traitorous - not enough ego of their own left, by the looks of it. But they may respond to any lawful order given to them, even by other people... Probably just as the First planned.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

The joy of having naturally chaotic beings as the ones maintaining order. Justice becomes subject to their whims, and their master cares not about their actions.

And no doubt, those who serve them are as mercurial as their masters. Punishing the weaker at their whims... Even if those they discipline have done nothing to deserve it.

Yeah, that was pretty much a given, just based on what's known about him via metaknowledge. The question is, what can you do about it that won't make things worse for the denizens of Purgatory.

Though no doubt he enjoyed the pain they were suffering. He is a sadistic bastard, after all.

And given some of the defectives that have gained power, it might be needed. On the other hand, letting them stay in power would keep Hell weakened, because a strong Hell...

I imagine the term 'Eldritch Horror' is a perfectly valid description of them. The best hope is that they lack the cognitive motivations to do anything more than sleep.

...No, summoning a Cthulu-alike is not a good idea, Renegade.

Which is interesting. He calls them brothers, but... They're more like sons. With their 'mother' being the shattered chunk of reality where the First faceplanted after being yeeted out of heaven.

The first would be confusing around Hell, the second is rather generic, and the third... Is probably a curse-word in Hell.

Observing the formalities, eh?

Hey, it might be following the lead of just about every other non-residential place on Earth.

I shudder to imagine the bizarre materials available to demons, and the sort of thing that could give some of them a buzz...

True. And I assume Demonstantine's done his research to know that the Renegade won't mess with someone unless they deserve it.

Heh. Could keep him on a very short leash if you can fabricate absolutely perfect ciggies. The sort that make all others terrible by comparison...

Like most things Hellblazer related, that's underselling it so much...

Though he's certainly earned his place since.

...Well, that sounds awkward. No doubt it can be linked back to the original Constantine somehow...

Not that he likes that, really. Yet it's probably to tied to his self-image that he couldn't imagine having a different face.

I'm sure Hell has far worse things for him to suffer. Just a matter of someone deciding to mess with him, really...

Yes, good question. Why is he here? Come to laugh at the Renegade? Come to offer his tainted advice?

Well, if it ain't broke...

Good to see he's realistic about his chances in a trickery contest with John...

If anything, it's more like exponential amplification.

...And I'm sure the Renegade will be happy to give you a dose of the Sword of the Fallen when you do.

Honestly, I'm amazed the Demonstantine has lasted so long as he is, given that he's not a particularly powerful demon, just an immensely crafty one. No doubt he uses headology to trick anyone coming after him with intent. And now he has a grudge with the Renegade. Well, this isn't going to come back later and bite the Renegade at all, no sir.

 

It's too much to say that Demon Constantine has a grudge. More like he sees an opportunity to take advantage of something and is waiting for the right moment to make his move. He just gave the Renegade an option to try and profit from whatever scam he's thinking of pulling off.

 

'Them', I think.

'making'

 

'ork-levels’ since they’re a species?
I always liked this explanation for orks running when their leader is killed. Is it actually canon, or just nice fanon?

Extraneous full stop?

 

Thank you, corrected.

In my day orks ran when the boss died because they were Ld7 and unlike the Guard didn't have leadership bubbles.

 

I think they were made by God, so technically, they are his brothers.

Wouldn't be the dumbest thing he did.

Remember the time he impersonated an Apokaliptian in front of a bunch of people who could report his presence to their leader and said leader could potentially send someone to apprehend him?

He is cunning, and useful.

Plus, some of the demons mau keep him alive to torture him because they can't get the original.

 

Remember when he followed that up by trusting a fatherbox, an item that was introduced into DC canon in the Orion series where it was secretly conspiring against Orion for Darkseid?

And assumed that his "Oh I'm Gravy but I lost my soul" would work against a device that undoubtedly could read his DNA and see that his DNA doesn't match, read his body's trace metals and pinpoint where in England he's from, read his immune system to notice the antibodies for every vaccine he's gotten and disease he's ever gotten in his life, and that his facial structure is similar but doesn't actually match?

 

That would just make things worse since it can't strip what actually makes Constantine dangerous from him.

 

Ok but it kind of did work. The Father Box totally believed him, and even helped him get his soul back.

 

And where did you get that idea?

Because Renegade believed it? Renegade was also surprised that Fatherbox was snitching to Darkseid.

So his understanding of Fatherbox's thought processes were obviously nonexistent.

 

Pretty sure we had WoG that Paul isn't actually some sort of DC amnesiac? At least that's what the TV tropes page says and I don't want to try and hunt down actual WoG.

Father Box being the one to start installing the aethric graphs after he first claimed to be Grayven would also be a good place to think about why he actually developed into a New God of Conquest (ignoring that he was pretending to be one at first). Especially if we think about what we learned about all those brain dead clones, the implications that Grayven was purposefully made rather the just another son. Why not try and actually turn this spiritually empty (no soul) human claiming to be Grayven into another Grayven. That also would heavily imply that Darkseid knows and doesn't care because this one is succeeding far more than the one who dove into the Bleed)

Renegade still can't say the word Paul, a trait he only shares with the various Paul's in the multiverse. And he's the only one who 'got his memory and soul back'? To me that seems like definitive proof that while he may be Grayven now (especially with fusing with the Grayven with the dreadnought), he wasnt ever originally Grayven.

Got a bit ramby, sorry about that.

 

My post was half sarcasm and half a mater of Grayven's claim being true retroactively, with how New God nature works it's possible he was always Grayven, and Paul was retroactively erased.

 

augments -> augment

die -> died

affect -> effect ?

 

Huh, Zoat changed Resurrection Man a bit there.

In the comics, you see, his resurrective immortality came from the tektites, alien nanites, yes.

The semi-random superpowers he gets in response to his death, however, is innate to him.

Before he reincarnated as Mitch Shelley, apparently he'd die, be reborn as someone with semi-random superpower depending on how he died last time, rinse and repeat.

In his series the alien tektites were also responsible for Vandal Savage's immortality and Immortal Man's immortality and presumably psychic powers as well.

I actually liked that origin, but of course DC retconned that, because comic book writers think consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds to mangle a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote.

 

I really hope this side digression ends with someone just killing this fucknugget and reversing everything he did to people.

 

I suspect that these ongoing attempts to date Artemis are what's going to lead him to internalize that he's lost the ability to coast on through keeping up conventional social relationships, but in a way where he doesn't react against his changes, and instead reacts against other people/society/the voice of his ring, leading to the true start of darkness/world conquest.

 

Oh, boy... Bringing your date to your mad science lair. This isn't going to seem creepy at all, Tang. Still, given that he's operating on rather lax morals right now, I can understand his missing that she might be... Concerned.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

Ah, that speaks of things gone wrong.

And before you say, how bad can it be: Chimpanzees are stronger than humans, despite their size. Breaking bones, tearing off patches of skin... It ain't pretty what they can do...

I suppose a morality-relaxing super-serum is hard to test on things with no innate morality that a human can discern.

Since he still carries a sidearm at this stage, lacking Enlightenment. As opposed to the SI's powered armour with various integrated low-lethality systems...

Yeah, not being a creepy guy at all.

...Wait, clock? Did you give a cat a goddamn resurrective healing factor?

You just shot a random cat in front of her. I don't think she's in the mood for science, Tang.

Well, that's just disturbing. Especially with you watching the corpse intently.

Regretting ever trying to be friendly with Tang now, huh, Arty?

A flying cat. Or at least anti-gravitational. No vase or mug near a ledge is safe now!

...You put his nanites in the cat. But not in yourself. Interesting.

...If it weren't for the fact you shot it a minute ago, this might be amusing.

...Only to you, Tang. Then again, the alternatives... Well, would an Evil Formula really do much to a cat?

True, even Shelly eventually dies... After about 850,000 years.

Especially if said reviving effect isn't instantaneous, or at least rapid.

And naturally, he doesn't give a flying fuck about the trauma it might be causing to her. Because evil.

...Well, it's not a lie. Technically.

Gee, how sad for you.

Hah, the Ring and I agree. Though really, anything would be better than something named the 'Evil Formula'!

I'm guessing massive body horror meltdown

Strange. It repairs all the damage anyway in the resurrection process. So why have it be slower? Safety features to preserve the mind because the process hurts?

...That should not be taken as any sort of advice.

Eesh. Tang could be a total power dealer if he turned supervillain openly.

Amusing, given her unwanted empowering in the SI timeline...

What, no 'healing factors in a bottle' at all? Or just some with nasty drawbacks?

I assume the DC Universe's research on it is that much more advanced because 'comic book science'...

...Okay, Tang, we all know you're not that much of an idiot.

...Or did you just enjoy forcing her to say it?

Can he? Of course. Will he? Cui Bono?

She is about one second from kicking him in the fork, storming out and telling the team what he's shown her...

Yes, no Hope, Compassion or Love to get in the way...

Goddammit, lady. Is his idiot act just that powerful that you can't see it's just that? Or does she just have a thing for assholes?

No doubt he won't accidentally rejuvenate her, like the SI did. No enough desire to help her.

My god, Tang is such a little... If we didn't know he wins out in the end, I'd want to see him foul up and expose his real behaviour in a way that the usual DC stupidity can't hide. Alas, with the future a known quantity, this side plot just ends up getting worse and worse for the good guys. I shudder to imagine what he'd do with the Ophidian's power if he got his hands on her.

 

’whenever’?

I’m surprised the ring didn’t tell him shooting a cat would be a faux-pas (and also animal cruelty). Hm, is it trying to allow heroes to see his bad personality in the hopes that they’ll somehow turn on him and force him to revert the Evil?

 

You know I don't get all the hate for Tangseid, I think he's funny.

 

I think he's interesting when contrasted against other alts and seeing how things can go differently, plus the unrepentant dick he is can be pretty amusing.

I can also understand why people find him morally repulsive, to say the least.

 

Thank you, corrected.

No, that's about where the real world was in 2010.

A problem about not having empathy is that he genuinely didn't realise that she might be asking for someone else.

 

Can we please go back to forgetting about this version, if I want to deal with psychopaths pretending to care I can read about politics. Chapters about this version are very much a chore to read.

 

I like reading TangPaul since it takes the sort sociopathic tendency of Para-Paul sometimes shows or thinks about without the dickishness of Grayven who renegade nature is unappealing to me. Plus there's something entertaining about everyone else in the cape business react to someone who investigates and exploits the weird things they usually leave alone or don't think about, be it schizotech or magic, and them being left bamboozled by someone so well prepared. Not to mention how difficult it would be trying to romance a comic book character depending on what sort of character the MC is at their core or under the influence of mind altering macguffins, in this case an aspiring heroine who feels accountable of her supervillain family's actions.

Plus given this universe version of Superboy is a girl who knows what other changes are possible and the sort of character interactions could happen. Like we know Diana his main squeeze in the future but maybe in the build up he winds up seducing/corrupting other heroines/villainesses as well. Depending on well Mia is getting on with being more than just a clone/weapon of Superman I can see her and TangPaul hanging out or going on dates where she figures out what she likes to do aside from being a hero. Maybe desperate characters like Holly end up being taken advantage by TangPaul, maybe robotic characters like Red Inferno or Red Torpedo depending on which is female get rebuilt as advance gynoids with secret subroutines to serve his interests, or his list of possible magical artifacts include objects with subtle mind/perception effects.

 

Ah, resurrection man my beloved. Nice to see someone acknowledging the existence of one of my favourite DC characters- though admittedly it’s a fair choice narratively speaking with his power. Super hobo is a pretty cool concept, though I prefer the original version to the newer comics.

 

That's cute, the word you're looking for is mind rape.

 

me too, but we already know that doesn’t happen

 

We can always dream.

 

Do we?

Maybe Booster Gold shows up in the past and fucks him up with anti-lantern future tech.

 

Agreed, as well as just really interesting to explore for how dark a turn this is from other variants of the OC.