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

[CTrees]

Still, I'm very interested in where Zoat will thanks this or if it's just a single snippet.

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There will be at least four parts, based on the table of contents.

Also anyone know who the lizardman was/why he needed stabbing?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Of course one of the people that comes to interview is a conduit for the black pharaoh himself in disguise as a standard banker type - whose main demonstrated ability is very strong mind control that overwhelms most wards and affinity with beaurocracy.

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Also anyone know who the lizardman was/why he needed stabbing?

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Fabian Everyman got stabbed in the head here.

In the novel, when Dr O'Brien overcomes his glamour he briefly switches to a reptilian form before vanishing. Grayven skipped a step.

 

[crazygrox]

"I can enhance the offensive, defensive and administrative powers of those around me."

Something about that gets Dr O'Brien's attention. "'Administrative'?"

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From what I remember, doesn't the laundry recruit basically everyone who becomes aware of their existence/the existence of eldritch horrors?

And then find busy-work for them to do in the office?

If they're dealing with a drastic uptick in incidents they may very well want the ability to convert all of those dead weight office workers given make-work jobs who they feel they can't fire, into more efficient office workers capable of better contributing in the current crisis.

and stab the lizardman in the face with the Sword of the Fallen.

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It took me like three rereads and reading the discussion and wiki to match this lizardman to the supernatural entity they'd make prime minister of the UK in the later books.

Him just getting casually stabbed is definitely something.
I can't even tell how much that guy getting dead or turned into an average human somewhere else is going to change the plot.

Didn't they need him to stop other threats at a couple points?
Fight mind control with mind control style political conflict.

 

[Mr Zoat]

From what I remember, doesn't the laundry recruit basically everyone who becomes aware of their existence/the existence of eldritch horrors?

And then find busy-work for them to do in the office?

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Nearly. At the start of the series, anyone who does anything magic gets a choice between joining and never thinking about maths again. Later, the policy gets modified because it's no longer practical.

Didn't they need him to stop other threats at a couple points?
Fight mind control with mind control style political conflict.

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It doesn't so much 'stop' threats as change them into a slightly different and hopefully less catastrophic threat.

 

[crazygrox]

On my way out I send in the minotaur and stab the lizardman in the face with the Sword of the Fallen.

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It's just occurred to me that they probably asked him to send the minotaur in.
Did they ask him to kill the lizardman/nyarlathotep? Because if he went ahead and explained who the guy was/what he could sense from the guy and what that makes him suspect, and perhaps related it to his mentioned concern regarding their lack of security, I could see them doing that.
Or did he just do it on his own initiative?

 

[ForeverShogo]

As has been mentioned, magic in the Laundry Files is basically just high level math. You can do it in your head to cast spells, but every time you do you expose your brain to critters that think brains are a delicious snack. So before modern computing really took off, the cost of magic was progressively worsening brain damage that would make your brain look like it got hit by Mad Cow Disease. Afterwards, casting spells is basically something you can do with apps on an electronic device. Much safer for government agents.

There are a couple of doomsday scenarios with designations like Case Nightmare <COLOR>.

The big one is Case Nightmare Green. Basically, when the stars are right the world enters a period where magic becomes progressively easier to do. To the point that eventually anyone on Earth will be able to do so. The appearance of superheroes and supervillains is one of the signs that it's starting to happen, as their powers are just them being able to naturally perform magic. Magic becoming so common is a bad thing not only because of the brain damage, but because it effectively serves as a dinner bell for cosmic horrors.

Case Nightmare Red is having aliens from another universe invade the Earth.

Case Nightmare Yellow is a technological singularity that results in machines rising up to wipe out Humanity.

Meant more as a joke, there's also a Case Nightmare Pink that involves the Ponies from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic invading the Earth. Some fans like to further the joke by claiming The Conversion Bureau stories are examples of CNP. (It'd be pretty damn funny if this happened while the Renegade was present and he had to deal with an evil Equestria starting shit.)

The Laundry is the British paranormal agency. The American agency is known as the Black Chamber. The Black Chamber is a lot nastier because in this setting the Supreme Court judged that only Humans have human rights. And even then, you have to be purely Human. If you have mixed ancestry, you're also denied any rights.

 

[Mr Zoat]

170 After Genocide, Late winter

"You see, ah… Ma'am?" The sport earth bender who was advertising for new team mates visibly squirms under Azula's glare. "Pro-bending is… Ah…" He looks around for support from… Someone? But the only people in the gymnasium are other pro-benders preparing for the new season and the other applicants.

Applicants seem to be a little thin on the ground.

"Yes?"

"It involves… Moving around."

Azula's facial expression doesn't change. That doesn't seem to be making her interviewer any more confident in his position.

"Like… Jumping and.. stuff?"

"'Stuff'."

"Okay, so, how about I…" He looks around and spots a stack of the clay discs which the earth benders use as ammunition during sport bending matches. He jogs over, picks a armful up and then returns to Azula. "Throw some of these at you, so that you can get a feel for it?"

"That's fine." Azula walks towards the nets which the gymnasium uses to catch misses and the larger fragments of clay which explode off when the discs are destroyed. She adopts a loose stance, her face still stationary.

"Uh…" Bolin takes his own more solid stance next to the stack of discs, then hesitates. "You're not a water bender, are you? Because not everyone wears 'national dress' and I got really confused when-."

"No."

"O-kay. Here.. we.. go." He gently stamps his right foot, the uppermost discs jumping a few inches into the air. Then he weakly swings his right fist, the disc flying like an arthritic frisbee through the air towards-.

BOOM!

Blackened and melted fragments of disc explode across the room, Azula's right fore and middle fingers pointing exactly at where the disc used to be.

Bolin blinks, his eyes slightly widened.

"Oh. So, you're a.. fire bending master? Like a… Real one? Because my brother can bend lightning but I've never seen him do it that fast bef-."

"Yes."

"Okay, well, that's… Ah, good?" He raises his hands into a semi-defensive, kneading-the-dough-of-his-thoughts sort of way. "But the thing is, lightning bending isn't actually allowed in Pro Bending?"

"Fine."

Azula takes a slightly more orthodox stance, though now a few of the other benders in the gymnasium are taking an interest.

"Because it's about bending fast and often and we're not actually trying to kill each other-."

"Again."

"Yesm'm." This time he gives the ground a more solid stomp and swings his arm in a more solid punch, though he's clearly aiming to miss-.

CRACK!

The disc explodes with only a little less force than the first time, Azula's signature blue fire hitting the disk and eating through to the centre before releasing its heat and superheating the clay surrounding it. Azula calmly returns to her original pose, face unmoved.

She was interested to find out what new innovations there had been in bending since she left. But while improvements to communications technology have allowed more people to learn lightning bending, the fact that the intervening decades have been relatively peaceful has really cut down the rate of innovation in combat bending. Bolin's brother might technically be able to bend electricity, but that's probably something he's done firing electricity into a step down transformer in one of Republic City's power plants, not something he's skilled enough to do in combat. She found the innovation in earth benders controlling metal more interesting because the Republic City police department can definitely bend metal in combat, but that's not something she can use herself. And I don't want to encourage her to 'try re-fighting the Great War properly', something she suggested doing in our earlier sessions.

"Hey Bolin." One of the other fire benders nods at Azula. "Your grandma's pretty good. Why'd you pick Mako over her last year?"

"Ah-." He glances at the crowd. "Ah, she's not-." He takes a deep and calming breath. "Okay, I'm going to go a little faster now? If you want me to stop-"

"I won't."

"-then just let me know." He hesitates, then goes to pick up another armful of discs on a path that lets him pass by me. "Is she always this intense?"

"Yes, always. Literally always."

"Okaygreat!" He smiles broadly as he tops off his pile and resumes his stance. He stamps harder, two discs rising into the air as a left and a right combo send them flying towards Azula in different speeds and from different directions.

CRACK-CRACK!

Two tiny jabs from Azula turn them both in to dust, more efficient blows than she used for the previous one as she gets a better handle on how much force she needs to use to destroy them. Somewhat reassured that she can handle a basic attack, Bolin begins increasing the speed of his assault, stamping and swinging at a rate which I suspect is closer to what an actual practise session is supposed to look like.

Azula gradually shifts away from her classical form in favour of something that allows her to better make the small and fast gestures that more efficiently dispatch the clay discs. Not something appropriate to actual combat, where most combat earth benders are going to use considerably more mass than a small clay pigeon, but just the job here.

The fire bender who implied that Azula was Bolin's grandmother sidles up to me.

"She's really pretty good for an old lady. Are you joining the Fire Ferrets too?"

"Oh, no. I'd need to be a water bender, wouldn't I?"

He immediately starts losing interest. "Yeah, that's-." He frowns, and stares at my grey and orange robes. "What's.. required."

"And I'm not, so I can't. Azula, I'll meet you for dinner!"

She doesn't take her eyes off the incoming targets, but she does give me a small nod. I give the curious fire bender a polite nod, then turn and head out of the gymnasium.

I'm not.. sure how useful participating in sports bending will be for Azula recovery. But…

But I'm not the only enlightened Lantern any longer. And now there are a few more of us, the Corps has a rough idea of the mental transformations a Lantern needs to undergo to achieve this rarefied state. Except Azula's tried all of those, and she's still… She's very good, but she hasn't got that… Spiritual unity that we have.

Once she regained her sense of perspective with a little help from my counselling, she also regained her dedication and focus and has become an exceptional Lantern. Not the most spiritual, but she desires to master everything that she sets her mind to, and her command of constructs, strategy and tactics raised her above her contemporaries.

And with Dox retiring...

And in a few months she probably won't have the time to devote to self-reflection. She's going to become Clarissi, which isn't something I saw coming when I recruited her. And Clarissi is a full time job. She asked me if I had any ideas on how she could make a break through, and coming back here and confronting the things she felt conflicted about was the best idea I had.

Visiting her old prison didn't really trigger anything. It's actually a spa for stressed aristocrats now. She did splutter with laughter when found out what they think happened to her, a surprisingly unguarded response from her. But that was all. Visiting her father's grave didn't trigger anything, and visiting Ty Lee's grave only made her angry. Which might be useful, if she'd really been carrying that for seventy years.

But it's not what she wants. And I want to help her get what she wants.

I've got some thinking to do.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Or did he just do it on his own initiative?

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His own initiative. No one would have those spells active in a security agency building during a job interview without ill intent.

 

[Katillno]

She's old now? I thought she was still in her prime just a short while ago when dealing with the volcano?

 

[Stsword]

She's old now? I thought she was still in her prime just a short while ago when dealing with the volcano?

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She is in her prime, but she's choosing to look older "Azula has similar attitudes towards personal decay that I do, her eighty-five year old body looking perhaps a third of that. She only started allowing her hair to grey in places when people assuming that she was a lot younger than her true age began to irritate her."

 

[Mr Zoat]

She's old now? I thought she was still in her prime just a short while ago when dealing with the volcano?

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To be best of my recollection, pro benders are young. Teenagers and maybe adults in their early twenties. Azula looks older and has grey hair. She doesn't literally look her age.

 

[Lord Ernest]

So what do they think happened to her? And why was she mad on Ty Lee's grave? Is it resentment over what happened? But she didn't seem to have any on Zuko, beyond some disappointment apparently.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

170 After Genocide, Late winter

"You see, ah… Ma'am?" The sport earth bender who was advertising for new team mates visibly squirms under Azula's glare. "Pro-bending is… Ah…" He looks around for support from… Someone? But the only people in the gymnasium are other pro-benders preparing for the new season and the other applicants.

Applicants seem to be a little thin on the ground.

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He's hesitating based on her appearance, isn't he? I thought having seen Captain Bei Fong kicking all sorts of ass in middle-age would have shown him age does not mean weakness...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Yes?"

"It involves… Moving around."

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...Surely she doesn't look that decrepit, does she?

Azula's facial expression doesn't change. That doesn't seem to be making her interviewer any more confident in his position.

"Like… Jumping and.. stuff?"

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Brat, she could tumble rings around you. After all, she must have learned some tricks from Ty Lee.

"'Stuff'."

"Okay, so, how about I…" He looks around and spots a stack of the clay discs which the earth benders use as ammunition during sport bending matches. He jogs over, picks a armful up and then returns to Azula. "Throw some of these at you, so that you can get a feel for it?"

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Heh. Oh, he is going to have to pick his jaw up of the floor when he sees this.

"That's fine." Azula walks towards the nets which the gymnasium uses to catch misses and the larger fragments of clay which explode off when the discs are destroyed. She adopts a loose stance, her face still stationary.

"Uh…" Bolin takes his own more solid stance next to the stack of discs, then hesitates. "You're not a water bender, are you? Because not everyone wears 'national dress' and I got really confused when-."

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That is an interesting aspect of the culture of the 'Avatar' world. Each of the four nations do seem to have a certain palette of colour and styles for their clothing, even now. Rarely do you see anyone with bending skills who doesn't wear the appropriate 'look'.

"No."

"O-kay. Here.. we.. go." He gently stamps his right foot, the uppermost discs jumping a few inches into the air. Then he weakly swings his right fist, the disc flying like an arthritic frisbee through the air towards-.

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Don't insult her by going that easy on her. Unless you want a spanking for insolence.

BOOM!

Blackened and melted fragments of disc explode across the room, Azula's right fore and middle fingers pointing exactly at where the disc used to be.

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Ooh, Lightning-bending. One of the things she's very good at.

Bolin blinks, his eyes slightly widened.

"Oh. So, you're a.. fire bending master? Like a… Real one? Because my brother can bend lightning but I've never seen him do it that fast bef-."

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Another amusing aspect of the setting: The hyper-specialised skills of Fire- and Earth-bending had become so commonplace just eighty years after they debuted... Hell, Metal-bending took someone like Toph, whose blindness allowed her to sense the imperfections in the metal that allowed her bending to interact with it, to invent.

"Yes."

"Okay, well, that's… Ah, good?" He raises his hands into a semi-defensive, kneading-the-dough-of-his-thoughts sort of way. "But the thing is, lightning bending isn't actually allowed in Pro Bending?"

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Same as Air-bending, though in the latter case, it's because at this stage, only one family has any. And only one member is over twelve.

"Fine."

Azula takes a slightly more orthodox stance, though now a few of the other benders in the gymnasium are taking an interest.

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I rather think having her casually lightning-bolt the pigeon would naturally get some attention.

"Because it's about bending fast and often and we're not actually trying to kill each other-."

"Again."

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Honey, she could set the whole place on fire and not even be breathing hard.

"Yesm'm." This time he gives the ground a more solid stomp and swings his arm in a more solid punch, though he's clearly aiming to miss-.

CRACK!

The disc explodes with only a little less force than the first time, Azula's signature blue fire hitting the disk and eating through to the centre before releasing its heat and superheating the clay surrounding it. Azula calmly returns to her original pose, face unmoved.

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And that's going to get even more attention. Most firebenders have reddish-orange flames. The lower temperature kind. It takes focus to burn that hot.

She was interested to find out what new innovations there had been in bending since she left. But while improvements to communications technology have allowed more people to learn lightning bending, the fact that the intervening decades have been relatively peaceful has really cut down the rate of innovation in combat bending. Bolin's brother might technically be able to bend electricity, but that's probably something he's done firing electricity into a step down transformer in one of Republic City's power plants, not something he's skilled enough to do in combat. She found the innovation in earth benders controlling metal more interesting because the Republic City police department can definitely bend metal in combat, but that's not something she can use herself. And I don't want to encourage her to 'try re-fighting the Great War properly', something she suggested doing in our earlier sessions.

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Well, glad you talked her out of world conquest via Power Ring.

"Hey Bolin." One of the other fire benders nods at Azula. "Your grandma's pretty good. Why'd you pick Mako over her last year?"

"Ah-." He glances at the crowd. "Ah, she's not-." He takes a deep and calming breath. "Okay, I'm going to go a little faster now? If you want me to stop-"

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If you don't get the joke: Bolin and Mako are the children of a Firebender family and an Earth-bender one. Hence their mixed skills.

"I won't."

"-then just let me know." He hesitates, then goes to pick up another armful of discs on a path that lets him pass by me. "Is she always this intense?"

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...You should have seen her years ago. This is her being mellow.

"Yes, always. Literally always."

"Okaygreat!" He smiles broadly as he tops off his pile and resumes his stance. He stamps harder, two discs rising into the air as a left and a right combo send them flying towards Azula in different speeds and from different directions.

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I suppose having the 'old man' there watching is making him even more nervous.

CRACK-CRACK!

Two tiny jabs from Azula turn them both in to dust, more efficient blows than she used for the previous one as she gets a better handle on how much force she needs to use to destroy them. Somewhat reassured that she can handle a basic attack, Bolin begins increasing the speed of his assault, stamping and swinging at a rate which I suspect is closer to what an actual practise session is supposed to look like.

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I get the feeling that even if multiple earth-benders tried to barrage her like this, she wouldn't even be challenged.

Azula gradually shifts away from her classical form in favour of something that allows her to better make the small and fast gestures that more efficiently dispatch the clay discs. Not something appropriate to actual combat, where most combat earth benders are going to use considerably more mass than a small clay pigeon, but just the job here.

Click to shrink...

And now I picture her just doing little sassy hand-flicks, not even bothering to take a stance...

The fire bender who implied that Azula was Bolin's grandmother sidles up to me.

"She's really pretty good for an old lady. Are you joining the Fire Ferrets too?"

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...Because if the team gets someone that good on it, they're gonna have one hell of an advantage.

"Oh, no. I'd need to be a water bender, wouldn't I?"

He immediately starts losing interest. "Yeah, that's-." He frowns, and stares at my grey and orange robes. "What's.. required."

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Heh. Not far off the traditional colours of Air-bender robes. They were a bit more saffron yellow, but still... I foresee some confusion ahead.

"And I'm not, so I can't. Azula, I'll meet you for dinner!"

She doesn't take her eyes off the incoming targets, but she does give me a small nod. I give the curious fire bender a polite nod, then turn and head out of the gymnasium.

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Heh. I wonder if they know the rule: Do not be incautious when dealing with smiling old men...

I'm not.. sure how useful participating in sports bending will be for Azula recovery. But…

But I'm not the only enlightened Lantern any longer. And now there are a few more of us, the Corps has a rough idea of the mental transformations a Lantern needs to undergo to achieve this rarefied state. Except Azula's tried all of those, and she's still… She's very good, but she hasn't got that… Spiritual unity that we have.

Click to shrink...

Unsurprising, she was never the most stable person in her youth. I doubt that's changed that much even after most of a century.

Once she regained her sense of perspective with a little help from my counselling, she also regained her dedication and focus and has become an exceptional Lantern. Not the most spiritual, but she desires to master everything that she sets her mind to, and her command of constructs, strategy and tactics raised her above her contemporaries.

Click to shrink...

Not quite an Illustres-tier, but pretty likely an Honour Guard Lantern.

And with Dox retiring...

And in a few months she probably won't have the time to devote to self-reflection. She's going to become Clarissi, which isn't something I saw coming when I recruited her. And Clarissi is a full time job. She asked me if I had any ideas on how she could make a break through, and coming back here and confronting the things she felt conflicted about was the best idea I had.

Click to shrink...

I didn't expect her to be that interested in that sort of administrative-level position. Then again, she was trained to rule from a young age, and that involves management and bureaucracy...

Visiting her old prison didn't really trigger anything. It's actually a spa for stressed aristocrats now. She did splutter with laughter when found out what they think happened to her, a surprisingly unguarded response from her. But that was all. Visiting her father's grave didn't trigger anything, and visiting Ty Lee's grave only made her angry. Which might be useful, if she'd really been carrying that for seventy years.

Click to shrink...

Not the sort to have had the popular romantic view of the duo, then. Or perhaps she was frustrated at missed opportunities.

But it's not what she wants. And I want to help her get what she wants.

I've got some thinking to do.

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Like ultimately working out what she really does want. Breaking through self-deceptions like that probably contributes to Enlightenment, I bet.

Somehow, I get the feeling she doesn't know what her ultimate desire is. To rule the world? She's worked past that one. To be the best? She already is. Somehow, I get the feeling it'll be something entirely out of left-field that brings on that realisation. Surprised she hasn't tried to visit Zuko yet, though. Maybe she wants to work her way up to that one.

 

[Whenever Possible]

So is Azula gonna have to confront her actions/issues vis a vis the Avatar when Korra shows up, and then use that to get past whatever unprocessed issues are preventing her from reaching Orange Enlightenment?

 

[Bigking321]

Wait...

Is this normal orange lantern?

Is this in a different universe or is avatar on a planet in the DC universe now?

Huh... so this arc is paragon and renegade a long time from now. Neat.

 

[crazygrox]

She did splutter with laughter when found out what they think happened to her, a surprisingly unguarded response from her. But that was all. Visiting her father's grave didn't trigger anything, and visiting Ty Lee's grave only made her angry. Which might be useful, if she'd really been carrying that for seventy years.

But it's not what she wants. And I want to help her get what she wants.

Click to shrink...

Honestly, things Azula cares about but doesn't want to admit she cares about is a difficult subject to approach.
Maybe go into the spirit realm and talk to iroh? Not sure that would actually work.
Or maybe Zuko?

 

[Ngamer11]

"Hey Bolin." One of the other fire benders nods at Azula. "Your grandma's pretty good. Why'd you pick Mako over her last year?"

"Ah-." He glances at the crowd. "Ah, she's not-." He takes a deep and calming breath. "Okay, I'm going to go a little faster now? If you want me to stop-"

"I won't."

"-then just let me know." He hesitates, then goes to pick up another armful of discs on a path that lets him pass by me. "Is she always this intense?"

"Yes, always. Literally always."

"Okaygreat!" He smiles broadly as he tops off his pile and resumes his stance. He stamps harder, two discs rising into the air as a left and a right combo send them flying towards Azula in different speeds and from different directions.

Click to shrink...

I am enjoying Bolin and Azula's interactions and hope we'll get to see his reaction to learning who she is.

"She's really pretty good for an old lady. Are you joining the Fire Ferrets too?"

"Oh, no. I'd need to be a water bender, wouldn't I?"

He immediately starts losing interest. "Yeah, that's-." He frowns, and stares at my grey and orange robes. "What's.. required."

"And I'm not, so I can't. Azula, I'll meet you for dinner!"

Click to shrink...

Did this guy think Paul is an Air Acolyte or something? Also, is Azula's not a big enough indicator to people of who she is? Because I would think most people wouldn't want to name their daughters after her.

I'm not.. sure how useful participating in sports bending will be for Azula recovery. But…

But I'm not the only enlightened Lantern any longer. And now there are a few more of us, the Corps has a rough idea of the mental transformations a Lantern needs to undergo to achieve this rarefied state. Except Azula's tried all of those, and she's still… She's very good, but she hasn't got that… Spiritual unity that we have.

Click to shrink...

Will we get to see Orange Lanterns attaining Enlightenment in the main story? Also, based on what was said, it's implied that Azula is a member of the Honor Guard. How long did it take for her to become one?

And with Dox retiring...

Click to shrink...

The only thing that I think would get Dox to think of retirement is Brainiac's demise. Did that happen?

Visiting her old prison didn't really trigger anything. It's actually a spa for stressed aristocrats now. She did splutter with laughter when found out what they think happened to her, a surprisingly unguarded response from her. But that was all. Visiting her father's grave didn't trigger anything, and visiting Ty Lee's grave only made her angry. Which might be useful, if she'd really been carrying that for seventy years.

Click to shrink...

I really want to know what people think happened to Azula and why she got angry at seeing Ty Lee's grave.

All the set ups in this part really gets me excited for how it will all play out. Hopefully we'll see Tenzin in the next part of this.

 

[WereDragon]

I'm not.. sure how useful participating in sports bending will be for Azula recovery. But…
-snip-
I've got some thinking to do.

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Some interesting stuff here.
Kinda surprised Azula bothered to maintain her bending skills to that degree, it is nigh-worthless when you have a Power Ring and she always struck me as a utility orientated individual. Guess she was sentimental. Or doing it out of pure habit for seventy years.

If Dox is retiring than they have probably ended Apocalypse as well as the Reach and are moving towards a more peace-keeping organisation than their previous war-making stance.

Wonder who managed to match Paul's enlightenment first?

To be best of my recollection, pro benders are young. Teenagers and maybe adults in their early twenties.

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Because real benders consider it a child's plaything. Possibly because the rules of the game are specifically designed to favour weak but athletic benders over people actually good at bending.

 

[AmericanNumbers]

Is the implication that Paragon is doing multiversal recruiting or that the Avatar world is in the DC universe somehow?(a Valor world somehow?)

 

[Mr Zoat]

So what do they think happened to her?

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That she overcame her trauma and ascended to the spirit world. Given what happened when she left, that's actually a little more reasonable than it sounds.

And why was she mad on Ty Lee's grave? Is it resentment over what happened?

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Oh yes. Being backstabbed by the closest thing she had to friends followed by her father's whole Phoenix King thing is what pushed her over the edge.

But she didn't seem to have any on Zuko, beyond some disappointment apparently.

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If your expectations are low enough, nothing can disappoint you.

Did this guy think Paul is an Air Acolyte or something?

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If you asked him, that would be his best guess. Not everyone wears national clothing, particularly in Republic City, but orange and grey robes are odd.

Also, is Azula's not a big enough indicator to people of who she is? Because I would think most people wouldn't want to name their daughters after her.

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No, but a few generations back there were plenty of girls named after Fird Lord Azulon. It's an old woman name now, but she does look like an old woman so that fits.

Will we get to see Orange Lanterns attaining Enlightenment in the main story? Also, based on what was said, it's implied that Azula is a member of the Honor Guard. How long did it take for her to become one?

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Probably, eventually. There's no set timeframe, though the SI managed it unusually fast.

The only thing that I think would get Dox to think of retirement is Brainiac's demise. Did that happen?

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Yes. That you will actually see.

All the set ups in this part really gets me excited for how it will all play out. Hopefully we'll see Tenzin in the next part of this.

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Yes.

Some interesting stuff here.
Kinda surprised Azula bothered to maintain her bending skills to that degree, it is nigh-worthless when you have a Power Ring and she always struck me as a utility orientated individual. Guess she was sentimental. Or doing it out of pure habit for seventy years.

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Same reason the SI is still alive after all this time. Abhorance of decay. Losing skills would mean that she was getting weaker, and that is unacceptable.

If Dox is retiring than they have probably ended Apocalypse as well as the Reach and are moving towards a more peace-keeping organisation than their previous war-making stance.

Click to shrink...

At this point the Reach is no longer a going concern.

 

[Ngamer11]

That she overcame her trauma and ascended to the spirit world. Given what happened when she left, that's actually a little more reasonable than it sounds.

Click to shrink...

I really want to see people react to learning what really happened to her.

Yes. That you will actually see.

Click to shrink...

Now I am excited to see how this will go down.

Yes.

Click to shrink...

I can already imagine Paul trolling Tenzin before revealing his snake form.

At this point the Reach is no longer a going concern.

Click to shrink...

Is it safe to say the OLC has at least as much acclaim as the GLC by this time? And what would be the OLC's main goal after the Reach is made a non-issue?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Is it safe to say the OLC has at least as much acclaim as the GLC by this time? And what would be the OLC's main goal after the Reach is made a non-issue?

Click to shrink...

In formerly Reach occupied areas, that much or more. But you can't match the work of millions of years in a few thousand.

 

[Steelplaza]

A day late on the Laundry Files excerpt, but I wanted to say that Grayven getting rejected because he didn't have his work visa in order is the most Laundry thing that could happen. That gag with the Laundry was always that they are British Civil Service and take the Civil Service rules very seriously.

 

[ForeverShogo]

Is letting gray get into her hair really all it takes for her to be considered old? Because she was also described as looking 1/3 of 85, and that's just 28.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Is letting gray get into her hair really all it takes for her to be considered old? Because she was also described as looking 1/3 of 85, and that's just 28.

Click to shrink...

Makeup.

Oh, I'll change it to 'half'.

 

[Dur'id the Druid]

Somehow, I get the feeling she doesn't know what her ultimate desire is. To rule the world? She's worked past that one. To be the best? She already is. Somehow, I get the feeling it'll be something entirely out of left-field that brings on that realisation. Surprised she hasn't tried to visit Zuko yet, though. Maybe she wants to work her way up to that one.

Click to shrink...

Honestly, things Azula cares about but doesn't want to admit she cares about is a difficult subject to approach.
Maybe go into the spirit realm and talk to iroh? Not sure that would actually work.
Or maybe Zuko?

Click to shrink...

Actually I'm making a prediction now. She's going to seriously try to find out what happened to her mother. And probably find Zoh's mother in the near future. Though it's going to be a bit of a journey doing so.

Quick question, what is the first part of this story arc called? I want to reread her recruitment.

Edit: Nevermind, found the links. Wow this is an old story arc.

Edit2: Hmmm, had another thought. How interested will people be if Azulza pulls out some REALLY exotic bending she learned with off-world knowledge. Personal lighting shield for example, or electromagnetic levitation, or a 'drill' that slowly tunnels through solid rock? Especially if she can explain more scientific than spiritually?

 

[DAT_NOOB]

"Oh. So, you're a.. fire bending master? Like a… Real one? Because my brother can bend lightning but I've never seen him do it that fast bef-."

"Yes."

Click to shrink...

Azula takes a slightly more orthodox stance, though now a few of the other benders in the gymnasium are taking an interest.

"Because it's about bending fast and often and we're not actually trying to kill each other-."

"Again."

Click to shrink...

Damn, is Azula going to show the pro-benders what an actual firebending master from the war can do? I wonder if this will result in her stomping or getting overwhelmed?

 

[Old Knife]

Wait. This is Paul from main timeline?
I was wondering how he got the orange " ".

 

[RoninSword]

Wait. This is Paul from main timeline?
I was wondering how he got the orange " ".

Click to shrink...

The original implication when the first Azula chapter came out wqs that it was main timeline Paul but from far in the future (Brainiac is dealt with and so is the Reach).

 

[Mr Zoat]

25th June 2015
08:36 GMT

I smile as a gaggle of convention-goers gawp at me, waving cheerfully as I stride past them in search of my wandering companion. Kevin the Human Cowboy has come a long way since I began working my Apokoliptian-sufficiently-advanced-technology on his mildly demon-gnawed brain, but he still has a worrisome tendency to get a little distracted. This is supposed to be a working event for him, after all.

Once that nonsense with the government's abortive attempt to put together a superhero team blew over, there was still quite a bit of interest from various parties in trying to work out how be to utilise those who came down with a sudden dose of superpowers. Being a Booth Dude for the Leeds Animated Festival and Anime Convention is at the low risk low reward end of the spectrum, but given the difficulty Kevin's physical alterations make holding down a normal job I felt that this was the way to go.

"Um, excuse me?"

I look down at the young woman who worked up the courage to speak to me, wearing… Looks like something from Avatar: the Last Airbender. I'm wearing a costume myself, but unlike the fanciful designs rendered in cloth and plastic worn by the convention-goers I'm dress in an extremely functional Keldon outfit which shows off my impressive musculature and inhuman nature to best advantage.

"Yes? How can I help you?"

"Are you.. a superhero?"

"Not at the moment. I applied for that government team, but…" I shrug. "I was unsuccessful. I knew that putting Batman down as a reference was a mistake." I pause. "He never liked me."

The joke appears to fail.

"But you have superpowers? Like the Mole Man?"

With superpowers being a bit more… Strange here than back on Earth 16, some real… 'Odd' characters have managed to rise to an unusual degree of prominence. Including a man who's power allows him to burrow through the ground at surprising speed and who really has it in for people who don't pick up their dog's excrement.

"No, I have useful powers. Here." I slide a steel bar out of my costume and hold it out to her. "Test it."

She takes it and has a quick go at bending it before passing it back.

"Okay, so-."

I grip one end with my right hand and use my left to wrap it around my right fist, the metal screeching in protest the whole way. Her eyes widen.

"My colleague and I are doing a demonstration just after lunch today, if you're interested. He's the minotaur? I don't suppose you've seen him around, have-?"

"Oi, Gravy-mate!"

"You…"

I'm undone as much of the damage from his traumatic brain injury and negligent intuitive magic use as possible, but the man was born north of Watford. There are some things I just can't change. That said, Kevin… He's turning out okay. Despite his huge size -he's just about the only semi-conventionally organic intelligent creature on the planet who's larger than me- and at best average intelligence, he's never been violent. No criminal record at all, beyond a couple of incidents of accidental damage. And for some reason, despite me pointing out all of the disadvantages, he still wants to try and become a superhero.

And unfortunately, I think he's going to get his chance well before he's ready.

"Kevin!"

I smile and saunter across the hotel lobby to greet him. The shape of his mouth doesn't really allow him to smile, but I can generally tell when he's in good cheer. Like today.

"Smelt summat weird out of ma window, mate."

"Something weird?" His lexicon is improving by leaps and bounds as well, but… It's a muscle that he isn't used to exercising. I'm not exactly certain how 'super' his sense of smell is, but I've rather got the impression that he's not entirely limited to airborne chemicals. "Can you narrow it down?"

"Like fire, and cleanin' stuff and petrol and that." His happiness vanishes and he looks concerned. "Think it's a crash or summat? Think we should go help?"

The closest thing we've done to superheroing to date is helping the emergency services when they need some unusually resilient muscle. Pulling apart a wrecked car to free those trapped within is something which someone with super strength can do without too much training. But in central Leeds, I'm sure that the police will be on top of things. Still…

"Can't hurt to have a look. Let's have a quick…"

A member of hotel staff briefly tries to intercept a group of convention-goers who are intent on leaving the hotel, and is swiftly bypassed by the mass.

"Look. Come on."

I stroll over to the tail end of the early-riser crowd as the hotelier trudges back to the front desk.

"Excuse me, what's.. that about?"

She looks around and up, a slight intake of breath as Kevin and I fill her vision. I smile in a way which I hope is disarming, and Kevin-.

"Mooooo."

…

Yes. I guess it's not offensive if a minotaur does it.

"Ah, there's some sort of police emergency; they're shutting down the whole city centre."

I look out through the front doors at the mob of convention-goers ambling across the car park.

This…

I arm up, Apokoliptian armour I haven't touched for months replacing the Keldon leathers covering my body, daiklave appearing on my back and goggles appearing over my oh dear.

I'm half-way to the exit before I'm consciously aware of it and I accelerate, the doors exploding outwards from the force of my shoulder-barge. Being security glass they don't shatter, but being made of mundane materials they're still torn from their hinges.

"Kevin! Hero time!"

"Fookin' hell fire!"

The mage-knights on their monster steeds are barely visible at the far end of the road but the wave of magic hits us, clawing at our minds and senses. I'm fine, Kevin just snorts and one of the locals appears to go into a trance but everyone else collapses and I feel magic…

The cameras are targeting people-.

I get a dome shield in place just in time to block the transmutation rays coming from the CCTV cameras. What the fuck are they-? No.

"Kevin, get people back inside the hotel."

He's looking down the road at the… Unicorn riders?

"… The fook 're they?"

"Supervillains, and we'll be dealing with them presently but right now I need you to rescue people."

"Right, cap'n!"

He grabs recumbent cosplayers with his right hand and loads them into the crook of his left before dashing back into cover. The knights… Yes, they've seen me and they're accelerating into a charge. I.. was not prepared for this.

But that's okay. Days like this are why the Source invented beam singularity projectors.