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Control through Compassion - MCU/Lantern Corps

Discussion in 'Creative Writing' started by JeckJack, May 26, 2020.

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  1. MadGreenSon

    MadGreenSon Verified Devil Tiger, The Childish Yandere

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    Um. Filling oneself with one overpowering emotion strong enough to warp reality is very different from having emotions in general. Why would you think otherwise?
    Eh. I feel that you were saying it was somehow unusual when honestly only the Greenies manage to spend much time at all not seeming at least a little insane.
     
  2. abercrombie fizzwidget

    abercrombie fizzwidget Gone for Good

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    Because the ability to react intelegently to a emotion is based off of ones alternative methods of satisfying ones emotional drives being better then that of ones instincts. Simply having a larger emotional drive, of any type, shouldn't change that.

    Emotions aren't this alien and external thing here. They are what you are composed of. At best you are mediating between your past, present, and potential future selves in order to maximize the satisfaction of any given drive at any given time. That is what it means to be, at once, a Ego, a Superego, and a Id.
    Nah it's just that they're the commonly accepted type of insane.
     
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  3. Whenever Possible

    Whenever Possible Versed in the lewd.

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    An Insane Red Lantern is the Hulk, but an insane Green Lantern is Thanos: someone with the willpower to disregard their own needs, their own wellbeing, the needs of others, the wellbeing of others, reason, evidence, diplomacy, or sense in the pursuit of whatever goal they have chosen to pursue.
     
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  4. MadGreenSon

    MadGreenSon Verified Devil Tiger, The Childish Yandere

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    Yeah... look, you're saying there's no difference between being emotionally unbalanced and not being emotionally unbalanced from what I'm seeing here. Which is just dumb no matter how you try to dress it up. Also, you misspelled "intelligently"
    That's just empty sophistry and without real meaning.

    Green Lanterns are a proven thing. They were around a couple billion years without having members try to kill the universe. Red Lanterns were designed specifically to wreak havoc on the universe as part of one guy's blood feud.
     
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  5. Whenever Possible

    Whenever Possible Versed in the lewd.

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    I mean, I guess the actions/oversight of the Guardians that led to the massacre in sector 666 wasn't the responsibility of the Green Lanterns specifically, even if it was the responsibility of the people who mainline green light the most...

    I'm not saying that Green Light is worse/more dangerous than other lights. It's eminently more stable, but that stability can absolutely be a problem, same as any other light, it's just not as schizophrenic.

    Guardians commit to an action, never questioning the morality or being regretful of what they have to do. And even when shit gets real, they don't change their stance particularly quickly. For example, the Guardians kept using Manhunters for an indeterminate period of time after the destruction of Sector 666. Not even mass genocide was enough for them to change their minds on their robot servants.
     
  6. MadGreenSon

    MadGreenSon Verified Devil Tiger, The Childish Yandere

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    It is absolutely not surprising that the Guardians have fucked up. It is inevitable. They are also extremely powerful so their fuckups are super bad. What is surprising is that they haven't fucked up more. They've been around for a very long time, after all. The fact that they have so few dire fuckups hanging around after the last few billions years is a testament to how well they've done.
     
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  7. Keksimus

    Keksimus Not too sore, are you?

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    If by horses you mean cane toads, then yes. The horses are actually good for the environment if i remember correctly.
    This kind of makes me wonder how many well intentioned changes might actually hurt the respective environments.

    Also, they're not an introduced species, but the emus are a threat to rural communities and farmland please send help absolutely no concern to anyone, I for one praise our emu overlords.
     
  8. Whenever Possible

    Whenever Possible Versed in the lewd.

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    To be honest, when talking about the badness of fuckups, the Maltusians all ended up less crazy by dedicating themselves to a single emotion. The Maltusians created the Psions, and Krona created Entropy and the Anti-Monitor before they split into the Oans, Controllers, and Zamorrans.
     
  9. MadGreenSon

    MadGreenSon Verified Devil Tiger, The Childish Yandere

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    I guess it's just lucky for the rest of the universe that they were apparently designed to thrive when subjected to preternatural monomania.
     
  10. the RED and the BLUE

    the RED and the BLUE The Lurker at the Threshold

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    Gonna have to disagree with that, on principle alone. Indigo is the worst because it's actively made to fuck with people and be hostile to its users. The fact she forced something she rightly fears and loathes onto somebody else for her own convenience shouldn't inspire you to say "yeah, that's the right call."
     
  11. JeckJack

    JeckJack Mask Seller

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    Nah, she's talking about Brumbies, feral horses which are doing damage to the Australian ecosystem, but the degree to which is argued.

    The next chapter should explain a bit more of her logic about the Klaue situation, and you're right in that using the staff is changing her to the indigo light's methods, just not as abruptly and directly as using the ring, and it's going to turn her into a supervillain. She is being brainwashed.

    My overarching storyline is Atika falling down the slippery slope of using mind control to help people, with the eventual conclusion of her attempting to use it on a wide scale to try and make the universe a better place as the heroes of the MCU try to stop her. I gave her the last name Sandhurst as a reference to the supervillain the Controller. She never stops trying to help people, but she does become a well-intentioned villain in the process, where she uses methods that are evil for an overall good cause. She doesn't kill people, but the indigo light stops her from properly appreciating free will.

    She does stop all or help stop the major threats to the universe in this story, but the last boss of the story will be her. If that's not the kind of story you want to read, I recommend you stop now.
     
  12. MadGreenSon

    MadGreenSon Verified Devil Tiger, The Childish Yandere

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    That's fair. I think it's the right way to go. All the extreme colors are really very villainous or insane in their fashion and seeing someone be considered an unequivocal good guy while wielding them would be rather unbelievable. Now, you are gonna have to deal with the "protagonist centered morality goggles" that a lot of your readers are going to have fused with their flesh like some kind of Cenobite creature from Hellraiser and they will refuse to believe the PoV character is anything other than 100% right and just in everything they do. So... be prepared to ignore some comments.
     
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  13. Erik Phantom

    Erik Phantom Know what you're doing yet?

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    Oh, huh. Well then.

    Thank you very much for the heads-up, I'll be bowing out here then. I don't read tragedies and having MCs become the final boss via slow brainwashing into a monster and/or identity-death is very much that.
     
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  14. Vicjer

    Vicjer Experienced.

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    Atika: "Why do I hear Boss Music? … And why is it mine!?"
     
  15. Amazon Climber

    Amazon Climber Wholesomely Depraved

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    *Megalovania intensifies*
     
  16. Edifier

    Edifier Trusted within thoughts.

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    I love her already!

    Playing games while flying on constructs while having a personal construct AI butler attend to you, how much more class could she possibly have?
     
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  17. Threadmarks: Chapter 8 - Third Option
    JeckJack

    JeckJack Mask Seller

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    A few minutes earlier

    "What do you mean, you can't just scan for vibranium?"

    "I do not have the necessary sensors."

    "But when I asked you where Captain America was, you were able to tell me in an instant, and then map a way there."

    "His location is on SHIELD files. And I am connected to the internet and to HYDRA's satellite GPS network. I used Google Maps and cross-referenced my own location."

    I put my head into my hand, and close my eyes. I guess I can't just duplicate all of the ring functions just by having a pet AI, "...I guess we have to go down there and ask him where it is. That or... poke holes in the ship until we find it." I know from Age of Ultron that he keeps it in a secret chamber, but I don't remember where exactly inside the ship it is.

    I look down at my pack, and think about using the ring. If I just slip it on, ask it to show me where the vibranium is, and then slip it off, that should be fine, right? There's only 10% charge on it. Even if I get stuck again, it wouldn't be for long. Not if I remember not to recharge...

    ...No. That's too much of a risk. Having the ring and the staff together are a bad combination.

    Maybe I could give Zola the staff in the meantime? Order him not to give it back to me until the ring is out of charge. Or would he give in the moment blurred-me wanted to recharge? Or would giving him the staff make him his own master and unleash an orange-lantern Nazi on the world? No, no. This is a silly train of thought. The ring's not worth the risk. We can just search for it by hand, or drag Klaw up here and have him tell us.

    ...

    Actually, why not combine those two plans? Slip it on him, and then ask him. If I hold onto the staff, there's no way he can get trapped like I did. It's... not a plan I like, but I should at least test it.

    I have the greatest tool in the universe sitting useless in my pocket. If it drives me crazy every time I put it on, it's not helpful, but what if there's two of us?

    Warden and prisoner.

    It's already the same thought I had with Zola. The only difference is that I've experienced indigo first-hand, so I hate it.

    But what if I could just slip the ring onto Thanos and save the universe? What if I could get all the benefits of a power ring while making some criminal like Klaw do some good instead of evil? I wouldn't be cruel. It's not like I would make him use it forever, like the Indigo Tribe would. There's no shortage of criminals.

    I'm probably not going to have a better chance to test this out than now, or a better target. Worst case, he's blurred for a little while before the ring runs out of what little battery it has left. Best case, I have a new working option to control bad guys besides turning them into construct-lanterns permanently.

    "Should I go down and grab him?" Zola asks.

    "...Yeah. I think I'm going to put the indigo ring to it's intended use."

    "Indigo ring?" Zola asks.

    "It's... like when you compress down, you turn into an orange ring? I have an indigo ring. If people wore yours, they'd be forced to be greedy. But if they wore mine, they'd be forced to be compassionate."

    "Ah. You think he will turn the metal over to us because it is the morally correct thing to do?"

    "Something like that." I say, already feeling guilty.

    But no matter what happens, the ring is still only at 10% charge, and I'll be controlling the staff the whole time. He won't be trapped forever.

    I watch as Zola darts down to go grab Klaw.


    Now

    I dart between buildings, trying my best to keep up with Zola as he tries his best to keep up with Klaw. The rest of the school of construct-lanterns following me as best they can.

    But it looks like either Klaw is slowing, or I'm catching up.

    Zola shoots out, trying to grapple with Klaw once he stops in place, but the arms dealer simply drops down and out of the way, before landing, hard, on top of a truck going down the road.

    He walks along the top of the truck, ignoring the air resistance thanks to the ring, and then holds out his arm towards the front of the truck, and creates a huge, indigo, ramp. The truck can't stop in time, and it plows head on, climbing up the ramp and flinging itself into the air where Klaw covers it with his aura.

    "Klaw!" I shout, flying towards him.

    "Sorry, need to deal with this!" he shouts, before looking around, looking conflicted, "I should... put this at the bottom of the ocean. Can't hurt anybody there, right?"

    "It'll hurt fish!" I protest, flying in front of the floating truck to stop it, and taking note of the very scared driver. Thanks. I can use that.

    "Screw the fish!" he snaps, before looking pained as his collar glows a bit, "No, no, you're right. I'm sorry. Where should I put them, then? These missiles will make anywhere they drop on an irradiated poisonous caustic patch of forever no-man's land."

    "Why don't we bring them back to your ship? I'll help you find a place for all the weapons, okay?"

    He shakes his head, "You're right. I've got just... tons of the things. I need to get rid of them."

    "Then let's go." I urge, "Back to your ship." I remind him.

    "Right." he turns around, and starts flying, with the truck, back to the boat.

    I let out a breath of relief, before looking at Zola, hovering nearby, "Okay. So... how do you dispose of dangerous material safely?"

    "In most cases, simply bury it in a place that should be inaccessible to people for the foreseeable future."

    "Drag it to the moon, got it."

    The trip back to the boat, glowing truck in tow, seemed to have gotten a bit of attention as well as I can see sirens in the distance. If Klaw's operation was secret before now, it probably won't be fairly soon. Good riddance.

    But it does mean I'll have to be fast. He sets the truck down on top of the boat, and then opens the door for the driver to scramble out of. As the poor man drops to his hands and knees and starts to vomit, Klaw reaches down to stroke the man's back.

    "There, there. Let it out. Sorry, I should have made the ride smoother, shouldn't I? I could have avoided swervin' around those buildings at least. Sorry."

    "Boss? What's- what's going on?"

    "I have no idea. I'll probably figure it out in prison."

    "Prison?" the poor driver asks.

    "Oh, you too. Probably prison for all of us. We're doing horrible things you know." he says in an attempt to be comforting.

    I look over at Zola, "Hey, can you make a loudspeaker construct?"

    "Yes." he forms one out of orange light, and I blast a big hole into the deck of the ship, before prying it open. Then, I mentally guide Zola to place the speaker in front of Klaw.

    "Can you tell your people to evacuate the ship?"

    "Sure. Do drills for this kind of thing, you know. Got to be careful about fire safety, building bombs in an enclosed space." he takes the speaker, "Everyone! This is Klaue speaking! The ship is in danger, so everybody needs to evacuate, just like we practiced! Everyone off! Leave everything behind!" he smiles up at me, "There you are."

    "Thanks."

    "So, where are we dumping it all?"

    "Moon."

    "Hah! Perfect. Nobody's going to mind if the moon's radioactive." he says, grinning, before his expression sobers, "And then I'll have to look into the Ten Rings, and HYDRA, and AIM an' everybody else." he looks over at me, considering, "Actually... could I do this, instead of prison? I mean, I can't help anyone from behind bars."

    ...Tempting.

    "I'll ask you if you want to after you spend a bit of time without it on. There's certainly plenty of things you could help me with. Actually, if you could answer a few of my questions?" I could have probably asked these things earlier, I don't think I'd have to put the ring on. But... I've been avoiding thinking about it.

    "Shoot."

    "Could you ask the ring why I can't teleport?"

    "Sure. Ring, why can't she teleport?"

    <Analyzing.>

    "And after that, could you tell me if you can find any sources of alien DNA?"

    "Sure."

    We watch from above as Klaw's workers begin to file out of the ship from a few different openings in the ship, and gathering in large groups nearby. But some are already hearing the sirens, and are starting to move for hidden vehicles- "Zola, go make sure that nobody leaves, could you?"

    "Yes, Madam." He floats down to menace Klaw's workers into sticking around, and the rest of the construct-lantern school follows him.

    "I think the ring's got something." Klaw says.

    <Analysis of teleportation methods have resulted in deep-level errors.>

    "What does that mean?" I ask, confused.

    <The universe is not following the laws that this ring is familiar with, resulting in deep-level errors. Direct analysis of existing spacial disruptions required to address error.>

    "So... what, I have to scan someone while they teleport to figure out how to do it myself? How could the universe be following the wrong laws?"

    <Unknown. Majority of natural laws are working as expected.>

    How was I going to find- no, no. Plenty of people teleport in the MCU. Magic is an option- something to look into on its own -but power rings are famously fuzzy about magic. Other than that, maybe the Bifrost? Does that count as magic? Thor did say that Asgardian 'magic' is just sufficiently-advanced science, maybe that could work. Jane Foster called it an Einstein-Rosen bridge and was able to detect it when it came down.

    Maybe I could talk to Jane Foster about it?

    Actually... there are a lot of things I'd like to talk to Jane about.

    Definitely adding that to the list.

    Besides that, there are what the Guardians of the Galaxy, and probably most alien races use. Jump-points, I think they called them? How did those work? They seemed artificial with the hexagon design. Did the ships open them? And then of course, there's the Tesseract. Which is on Earth. Maybe I could convince Fury to let me look at it as a thank-you for telling him about Hydra?

    "Churchill's empty." Klaw said, jolting me out of my thoughts, "Now off we go!"

    "Wait-"

    He doesn't wait. He reaches out, and indigo light pours off of him. Construct chains whip out from the ring and reach out in every direction to lash across the ship. The entire thing groans as it's lifted into the air, and Klaw looks straight up, aiming for the barely-visible moon in the sky.

    And then he starts flying, pulling the ship after him.

    I rush after him, staring at the chains. Those are... they're bigger than anything I've made so far. Bigger than everything I've made put together.

    How much ring charge did he just use?

    He flies up and up, but already I can see him flagging, and see the chains beginning to go from opaque to transparent.

    The ring was at 10%, before the flight across the city, the giant ramp, carrying the truck, and now this. If that thing drops, it's not just going to leave a crater, it's going to leave a massive one. It's literally full of missiles. Well, not full. But carrying a lot of them.

    "Klaw! Stop!"

    The chains are fading fast.

    I need to stop it from falling!

    Green light erupts from the staff, and forms a gigantic pillow construct. I press it under the ship, and then start pushing it upwards, even as the chains start flickering and giving out.

    "KLAW!" I shout, "KLAW! You're going to run out of energy!"

    Careful to keep the pillow moving upwards, and to not break the connection between the construct and the staff, I fly up and above the ship, and stare at a terrified Klaw as he's lying against the deck of the ship. The ring is lifeless at his side. Frost is already starting to cover everything.

    I... I can't make any new constructs or the boat drops. I can't switch to another color or the boat drops. One life, a criminal, vs how many would suffer the fallout below?

    Do I just let him freeze?

    ...

    Can I just let him freeze?

    No.

    But how? I don't have any other options. My construct-lanterns are all still on the ground. What else do I have?

    Agh! I'm an idiot! I can still move me.

    I drop down, lengthening my filament connection to the pillow, grab him with my free hand, and extend my environmental shield over him.

    His body is absolutely freezing against mine. Parts of him are literally covered in ice. But he's still breathing. I can't heal him right now, so I'll just have to be quick with the boat.

    I push the pillow upwards, harder and faster than before, and the boat groans and creeks with the effort, but within a short time, we're free of Earth's gravity, and when I stop the pillow, the boat just keeps on drifting. I shift from a pillow, over to a net, and start pulling it the rest of the way to the moon.

    "Okay. Now to focus on you." I say to Klaw once the ship is secure.

    I look over at him, and freeze.

    He's not moving.

    I pour indigo light into him, and I see the frost peel away, and... he's breathing again. Good. But he's not waking up, and the nasty marks the ice left behind aren't going away. All I'm doing is warming him up, not actually fixing any of the damage I've done.

    He's- not crying!

    He's not awake enough to 'let' the compassion in.

    "I'm feeling enough compassion for both of us! Come on!" no, no, wrong direction. I really hope that my stupid test didn't just get a man killed.

    Blue light plays over his body, makes the black marks left by the ice disappear, and forces him to breathe harder and deeper.

    Klaw blinks awake, stares up at me, and then goes white as a sheet and slumps over, fainting.
     
  18. Edifier

    Edifier Trusted within thoughts.

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    Sidequest complete, one source of nuclear threats neutralized and an undefined number of people saved!
     
  19. Breadnaught

    Breadnaught Experienced.

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    Yeah, this isn't one of the DC universes, so it makes sense some of the underlying metaphysics the Ring and staff were designed to use would be different.


    And the loot. Can't forget the loot.

    All the vibranium is on the ship somewhere!
     
  20. RyubosJ

    RyubosJ But what if, we don't include lewds

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    Lady Rainbow continues to stumble from when well intentioned highjink to the next.
     
  21. Syphi

    Syphi Reading four stories at a time.

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    I think Klau is having compassion overload clashing with his past actions.
     
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  22. theBSDude

    theBSDude Space Ace

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    Where’s the Space Gem as this point?
     
  23. JeckJack

    JeckJack Mask Seller

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    SHIELD custody, in Project PEGASUS.
     
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  24. nick012000

    nick012000 Gone for Good

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    I think Klaw might make a good partner for Atika. You don't survive to be a veteran mercenary arms dealer without a good bit of common sense and know-how; the fuckup he had in the chapter only happened because he didn't understand how his Ring worked and it ran out of power. If they teamed up, he might be able to give her a voice of experience that'd help with preventing the overly-enthusiastic fuckups that she's stumbling from - even if he decides not to become a Lantern himself.
     
  25. the RED and the BLUE

    the RED and the BLUE The Lurker at the Threshold

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    As soon as the ring wears out, he's going to lash out at her, because she just mind controlled him and forced him to ruin his own life. There's a zero percent chance he'll ever willingly interact with her in a non-hostile way.
     
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  26. Amazon Climber

    Amazon Climber Wholesomely Depraved

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    Technically he voluntarily chose to ruin his own life. The Indigo ring doesn’t control you, it just completely rewires your emotions. That’s much more ethical.
     
  27. Threadmarks: Chapter 9 - Vibranium Socks
    JeckJack

    JeckJack Mask Seller

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    When Klaw woke up, three things happened: I apologized for putting him in danger, made an area filled with atmosphere so he wouldn't have to hold onto me, and then made him an offer as he bounced around in the low gravity.

    In the end, Klaw preferred prison to the ring. But to my surprise, he actually thought about it for a good while. The ring didn't seem to have any long-lasting effects on him. For a little while after waking up he did weep for a while over the people he had a hand in killing, but as he recovered, he got furious with me. But not too long after that he began trying to manipulate me into letting him keep doing what he was doing before, in exchange for a cut of his profits, and any other alien technology I was willing to throw in.

    While... it didn't end the way I liked, I still think that overall, the test could be considered a success, if a learning experience at the same time. It's disheartening to hear that the ring is just as horrifying to other people as it was to me... but seeing how quickly he could shrug it off made me a little more relieved.

    I am afraid of the change in mental state. That's one hundred percent true. But what I was, and am most afraid of is being stuck in that mental state. Of not being able to escape it again. If... I can just figure out a way to make sure that I would be able to pull out of it, I think I'd be willing to use the ring again. And I think that this Warden/Prisoner setup might be what I'm looking for.

    Having someone else who is able to think clearly holding onto the staff, they assure that the ring-user will only be under the influence for as long as it takes to burn through a single ring charge at maximum.

    I think having someone around to remind the ring-user of what to prioritize will help them a lot too. It means that while I couldn't control someone running on indigo, I could at least guide them. Using criminals as my Lanterns is something that I think could work. I'll just have to keep in mind what wrongs my potential future Indigo Lanterns will try to fix first. So... the experiment was a tentative success, as long as you can keep the ring-user from trying to leave the atmosphere without any charge left.

    After making sure as many of Klaw's people as possible were actually arrested, I decided to check out my brand-new moonbase, and the vibranium supply that was somewhere inside.

    The Churchill was a massive ship, that served as the workplace to hundreds of criminals. Unfortunately, as it turns out, much of it was not built to withstand a vacuum. Almost all the electronics in the place are fried, the lights are all broken, the generators died when their fuel froze over, and any container filled with air that wasn't perfectly sealed tight kind of exploded.

    I'm just glad none of the explosives went off, not that they could do much damage all the way out here.

    Right now, I have Zola sorting through and categorizing everything, to see what might be salvageable, what we should just destroy, and what might actually be of some use. While I and my other construct-lanterns poke holes in the walls looking for secret compartments filled with fictional super-metal.

    It took maybe an hour to hit pay dirt.

    "Hey! Zola! We found it!"

    He set down a crate of missiles he was examining, and floated over as I pried the rest of the compartment open to reveal the glowing blue vials of metal. I pick up one of the vials, and turn it in my head, surprised at how light it was. I mean, there was still some heft to it, but not as much as the same amount would if it were metal or even rock.

    "What kind of armor did you desire, Madam?"

    "...Honestly, I was thinking along the lines of something kind of skin-tight, that I could slip other clothes over. Shirt, pants, socks, gloves. A helmet. It doesn't have to be very thick, right?"

    "It completely absorbs kinetic energy." Zola confirms, "Less than a penny's width would turn away bullets. Although it will only prevent sudden and fast-acting bursts of energy. You will be protected from explosions, bullet impacts, and piercing wounds. Although I should warn you that a vibranium microweave will not prevent you from being strangled or slowly crushed, or blunt damage from objects moving with insufficient force. It won't do anything to stop you from being punched, for example."

    "It's still going to make me a lot safer than before."

    He begins to focus, and extruding out of his back came a large blocky machine. Mechanical claws emerged from his main body, and picked up one of the canisters, before simply pulling it into himself completely. "Please give me... an hour, Madam. Do I have permission to scan you for fitting purposes?"

    "Scan away."

    The camera shifted slightly, and then extended out of him on a long snake-like arm, circling around me, and then making another circle that went above and below me. It retracted, and I began to hear a strong hum from the machine.

    I spend the next hour exploring the ship some more, this time with the goal of just getting a good view of everything rather than looking for the vibranium. There was a cafeteria, although all of the food was destroyed by the vacuum. And even a few places to sleep.

    There were also a lot of dead rats. I tried to convert one to orange, on a whim, but while I could transform it into a construct, it was in the same way I could do the same to an inanimate object. Without any force of will behind it, it wouldn't move on its own. I let my Lamprey- who was quickly becoming my favorite, beside Zola, eat the dead rat-construct, and then set it and the rest of my school on cleaning the base of any other frozen animal corpses. Best to keep things clean as they can be.

    Eventually, I found another secret compartment, one which had conveniently exploded from air pressure and revealed itself, as opposed to the vibranium compartment.

    It was here that I found a number of other Wakandan-looking things. A case with a half-dozen spears inside, and one with a few guns. Besides that, there were other tools I didn't really recognize. No Kimoyo beads or anything like that, but blocky objects with buttons on the sides, a long strip of metal, something about the size of a lighter, a knife handle without the knife... all kinds of interesting things. I gather it all up in a construct shopping cart, and start pushing it back towards where Zola was.

    "Hey. Found some more cool stuff!" I say, spreading my atmosphere to him as well.

    "I am nearly finished with your armor. Is there a particular design you would like for the helmet?"

    The first thing that comes to mind is Mega Man's.

    "Understood."

    "Oh. Um. Alright! Thanks." darn it. How am I going to fit my ponytail through that? Ah well. I'll figure something out.

    I wait for Zola to finish the last touches, before the machine he created disappears, leaving behind... a shimmering silver body-suit, silvery armored gloves, a silver Mega Man helmet, and socks.

    Vibranium socks.

    "How do we wash these?" I ask, picking them up.

    "Giving them to any of your construct-lanterns with the orders to consume everything that isn't vibranium will leave them completely clean." Zola says seriously, before hovering over to the stuff I brought. He picks up one of the guns immediately, he fires it, unleashing a burst of blue light and a deep thrumming noise. The beam shot across the area I've covered with my aura, crossed through it harmlessly, and then... vanished as it hit open space. "A sonic-based weapon." Zola informs, turning it around and adjusting the settings, before firing a much smaller, weaker blast, and then a much stronger one that left my teeth rattling just being within a couple feet of it, even with the blast pointed in the opposite direction, "I believe this could also be used to effectively clean them. I believe at its higher settings, it is designed to disintegrate anything that isn't pure vibranium."

    "Cool. Can we please stop firing the Wakandan super-weapons inside my atmosphere bubble? What if it pops?!"

    "I will stop. But we are not in danger, Madam. Sound is designed to travel through your flight aura as if it wasn't there. Otherwise you could not hear." he looks down at the weapon, "Which I suppose could be a vulnerability."

    Not planning on invading Wakanda anytime soon, so I don't have to be too worried about that yet. "Hey Zola? Turn around for a moment, I want to put on my new costume."

    "Of course." he says, before turning and drifting away into another room.

    Which leaves me with the struggle of actually putting on a single-piece bodysuit (surprisingly stretchy) with one hand. Sometimes, doing stuff with the staff is really inconvenient.

    Maybe...

    No, that won't work. What if I accidently drop it switching hands, and get trapped in a vacuum?

    Could I..?

    No, no, I would need to let go to get my feet through the leg holes.

    I contemplate trying to hold the staff with my teeth, before giving up. I gather up all the pieces of my armor, before flying after Zola, "Hey, Zola? I'm going to need an atmosphere that I'm not generating in order to change. We have to go back to Earth."

    "Are we leaving the vibranium, or taking it with us?"

    "Do you think you could carry all of it inside you?"

    "I can increase the size of my monitor."

    "...Let's take one vial, in case we need to make anything else in a hurry, and leave the rest here. If we need more, we'll know where it is. Let's leave the weapons and stuff here in the meantime too."

    "Of course."



    We settled down on a small deserted island in the middle of the Pacific ocean, and I had him turn around again.

    The vibranium suit was cool and incredibly smooth to the touch, and surprisingly stretchy. A bit like... metallic nylon. I felt kind of like an idiot putting it on. First, I had to get almost completely naked, only leaving the underwear, and then stretch the neck hole wide enough to fit my legs through. Somehow, I managed to get each leg into the correct sleeve, and then I pulled upwards enough to wrestle my arms through the neckhole as well, and pull it onto myself.

    The end result was extremely snug.

    I had to pinch and pull at it a bunch to make sure everywhere was in the right spot, which took a few more minutes, considering it was fit to my body exactly.

    But as I admired the end result in a construct mirror courtesy of Zola, I did have to say I was satisfied. Skin-tight outfits were hot as hell, and so was I.

    In comparison, everything else was easy to work with. The socks went on easily, and seemed to magnetically seal onto the legs. They had a bit of padding underneath, so it wasn't uncomfortable to walk on them. In fact, I think I might forgo shoes or outer clothes entirely. Vibranium all the way.

    As I slip on the gloves, I'm surprised to feel that the palm and fingertips were exposed, and that when I made a fist, the fingers magnetically sealed together, not letting me open them back up.

    "What's up with the glove?" I ask, beginning to get a little worried.

    "You felt some anxiety about having the staff pulled away, Madam. This will maintain a grip even in the event of unconsciousness, as well as maintain skin contact with it."

    "Aw. That's so sweet! How do I let it go on purpose?"

    "Tighten and then relax your grip three times in a row, one second apart."

    "Right." I squeeze my fist tighter, release, one potato, squeeze, and release, two potato, squeeze, release and- hey! I have my hand again, "Could I set it so that only happens with my left hand? I like to keep my right free."

    He holds out a robot claw, and I hand the right glove to him, and he recreates the big machine from earlier.

    Finally, I look over at the helmet, and sigh, undoing my ponytail. Once it's all down in a big frizzy mess, I set it on my head, and smile. This is actually kind of comfortable. A bit heavy, but not too bad. I turn my head back and forth quickly, and it doesn't shift much. It also kind of forces all my hair out of the back of the helmet and directly onto my back, which doesn't look too bad.

    Zola hands me back the glove, which is now completely armored, and I slip it on as well. I look back in the mirror, checking myself out again, and I have to say... It's not bad at all.

    I reach out, and my staff floats into my grip. As my hand closes around it, my tattoos re-establish themselves, and to my surprise, I see that they shine through my new outfit. The indigo symbol shined from my belly, from the sides of my thighs, from my arms, and from my forehead, all of the symbols connected by glowing tron lines.

    I think I'm beginning to actually look like a superhero.

    Then I pull my fanny pack back on.
     
  28. Vicjer

    Vicjer Experienced.

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    … Couldn't spring for a vibranium backpack, tactical vest, or utility belt? Something secure and stylish (or at least aesthetically compatible with the armour)?

    Because that fanny pack not only clashes with the rest of the outfit and looks ridiculous, it's also a security risk. It's an easily destroyed bag containing an Orange Power Ring. This can only end poorly.
     
  29. Kaseywolf

    Kaseywolf Having ideas I'll never act on

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    i am kinda sorta on this story. I like it some but it does things I don't like too. Atm I feel like the mc is both gaining things too fast but not really gaining power persay. It's like, she's not op right now, quality of life things happen when a character has gotten op or they can do it the hard way. I don't know it just feels wierd to me.

    This is 100% my opinion.

    That's all I got to say, I hope you keep writing regardless.

    Good luck writing!
     
    nobodez likes this.
  30. IGotNothing

    IGotNothing Getting some practice in, huh?

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    Pocket Dimension: Within the ring exists the possibility of an entire world. When Green Lantern Abin Sur of Ungara defeated the evil sorcerer Myrwhydden, he reduced the magician to submicroscopic size and imprisoned him inside the power ring within a world created by the Green Lantern's will. This undefined space may be a tesseract or a virtual reality created by the power ring. Whether or not this area exists in all rings has yet to be proven.

    I'm liking this a lot so far but why isn't she subspacing things? She could have pocketed the entire Churchhill, The Orange Ring, The Indigo Ring, Her Fanny Pack.
    Does she just not know its possible? She hasn't even thought about it so far.
     
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