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

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

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  1. NightmareWarden

    NightmareWarden Versed in the lewd.

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    I wonder which of Paul’s quotes, anecdotes, and fun facts she winds up sharing with her coworkers.

    Has Paul ever asked a Controller or other Malthusian about the Speed Force?
     
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  2. Bud-E

    Bud-E Stand up so I can push you down!

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    I had no idea someone tried Wednesday's deposit scam in real life? How much did they get?
     
  3. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    The fact that the person doing the scam was a god could have helped with it if he used some magic to make sure it worked.
     
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  4. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    I suspect it's the latter, likely as a warning to less savoury elements to 'not mess with these people'. Not quite a flat-out escort - I doubt OL or Jade would allow such a thing - but just making it clear that 'no, these two are not suitable targets, so you should look elsewhere, scum'.

    Because why just waste their time drawing the eye when they could actually try to accomplish something?

    I doubt the birdies would deign to live on the ground, outside of their preferred mountain peaks.

    A highly effective minority, though. Innate flight would be a big force multiplier before you develop firearms.

    I suppose they offer the lizarkons places the thanagarians themselves would be reluctant to inhabit...

    Because they might weaponise them, I suppose.

    Oh, she knows him well.

    Sounds kind of unpleasant, and easily abusable.

    Instead, whatever beliefs they had, any culture of their own, is lost to history. :( Tragic... And infuriating.

    Different people enjoy different things, you know. I mean, I doubt she reads bodice-ripper romance fiction, but stuff like '1984'? Kinda depressing.

    Like I said, different tastes. Leonard, on the other hand, seems more the 'Playboy' type. :p

    Oooh, do tell? Sometimes Truth is stranger than Fiction, after all.

    And that would probably work. People, at heart, prefer to take the easy route when they can. When the easy route has a veneer of officialness? Yeah...

    Depends on whether they got a good picture of him on security cameras. These days? More than likely he was found after a couple of days.

    And none of them thought to go inside and do the deposit there... :rolleyes: People are lazy.

    Easily in the range of ten thousand dollars or more.

    Besides, a society this advanced? Most people would just make electronic transfers. Probably using simple cash cards loaded with 'walking around' cash...

    Not that OL would actually consider any of them, of course. Their allegiances would be too unreliable, at a minimum.

    Hopefully that's going well for her...

    Sounds like an amusing day out.

    Probably kind of hard to be good at having a holiday when both of you are basically workaholics...

    Little unclear there, Jade. Remember, this is OL you're talking too.

    Funny how that keeps happening...

    Real relationships aren't all 'exciting moments' all the time. That sounds very tiring.

    Ah, OL, you and your sometimes-abusive way with words.

    Sounds like she's just choosing to shrug and roll with it... Probably the best way to live with OL.

    Of course, no mention is made of what their tailing watchers are going to do while they're off a-rambling. I picture them leaning over the rail, watching them go, and arguing about whether they should follow or not. Which might be amusing. the sight of a couple of thanagarian heavies, clearly not geared up for where they're headed, trying not to stand out too much while OL and Jade have a chuckle at their expense...


    ...and looks out across the valley below us.
     
  5. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    That's now...

    But what's going to happen in ten or twenty years when she's tired of the adrenalin junkie lifestyle and wants to settle down somewhere quiet and raise a family?
     
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  6. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    Knowing the story of how Wilhelm Voigt became famous and other similar stories I'm not very surprised.
     
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  7. Ciber

    Ciber Know what you're doing yet?

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    Most people don't actually want to settle down. It's just that their failing body forces them to.
     
  8. Rebu

    Rebu hey, little Anna, you're the one

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    The IRL scam came first, just in case you were wondering.
     
  9. goricnac

    goricnac I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    A perfect couple of workaholics
     
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  10. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
    Sorry, no idea. I just remember Gaiman mentioning it in an interview.
    No, this was after bank closing time.
    Thank you, corrected.
     
  11. Ngamer11

    Ngamer11 Experienced.

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    Mr Zoat, I was rereading and found an error. That should say 'Rocket Red'.
     
  12. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
     
  13. Hell's Razer

    Hell's Razer Passive Member

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    Chojin I believe that Mr Zoat meant hiding it from empathic vision there, though it is entirely possible I am mistaken about it.
     
  14. Coda

    Coda Versed in the lewd.

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    outnumber
     
  15. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
     
  16. Zig

    Zig Not too sore, are you?

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    It was done by Frank Abignale of Catch Me if You Can. They tried to film it for the movie as well, but people kept walking up to Leo to give him their money.
     
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  17. Threadmarks: Workhorse (part 21)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    14th October 2012
    08:15 GMT


    "-you must keep it raised! The death toll if the city were-"

    I glance upward at the base plate of the Thanagarian city of Enndupar as my construct struggles to keep the city aloft. I mean, it's not like I want these people to die but I'm literally supporting the caste system here.

    "-to fall from this height would be-."

    "Yes, yes, I know, thank you."

    I duck as my shield construct fractures, an Nth metal railgun round narrowly passing over my right shoulder. Marvellous. Jade and I come to Thanagar's tourist hotspot and we weren't even here for a day when the local Seven Devils cult decided that now was a great time for an uprising.

    What are they even trying to achieve here?

    The head of the garrison -an overweight thanagarian woman whose name I haven't picked up- tightens the bandage around her corpulent left thigh. "I'm simply trying to provide you with something to focus on."

    "I'm an Orange Lantern."

    "I'm colour blind."

    "But you can see the shape of the sigil, r-?"

    A trio of thanagarians bearing the ritual scalp scars this particular cult seems to find appealing throw themselves over the parapet! One is immediately tackled out of the air by the last of the garrison chief's bodyguards, not even bothering to bring his mace to bear in favour of immediately increasing the distance between principal and assailant. Thanagarian aerial grappling is fascinating but I can't afford the distraction to watch an expert at work.

    Sidearm up, levelled, lead the shot and avoid the thick Nth metal armour that the cult's elite appear to all have and fire fire fire until the cultist falls out of the air missing their right eye and the back of their head.

    I do not appreciate having my subspace arsenal rendered unavailable by the thanagarians' 'precautionary measures'.

    "HRRRRRRRK!"

    The last cultist dives in, the garrison chief clumsily flapping in to jab at them with an Nth metal spear. The cultist rolls in the air and swings at the point with their mace, trying to knock it aside and open their target for a killing blow. The commander withdraws the point, but the spear is designed for positions where it's possible to keep an attacker at a distance, and flying attackers-

    "Yeh!"

    -with Nth metal in their bodies can manoeuvre around it. The commander is forced to wield the spear like a quarterstaff, pushing forward with her wings to block the next mace strike with the haft. That works, but she's knocked back, weight going on her injured leg for a second before it collapses and she falls to the ground!

    I bring my gun around, firing but hitting Nth metal breastplate and the round shield carried in his off-hand. The commander takes advantage of the brief distraction to thrust from her prone position, the spear point skittering off her assailant's gorget.

    "Darkstar to Orange Lantern."

    The first cultist shoves the bodyguard into the wall and turns towards us, then staggers and drops to her knees, a knife embedded in her throat just under her chin.

    The commander tries to rise, stumbling as she does so but managing to turn it into a second thrust that the cultist wasn't expecting. A cut to the cheek and he's forced to flap sideways, then-

    "Agh!"

    -reel as the bodyguard recovers enough to take a shot. It burned through the feathers of his right wing, and though that won't remove his ability to fly it will reduce his aerial agility.

    "Go."

    "We're in position. They've dug a shaft going deep under the mountain. It's heavily guarded and the priest is shouting praises to someone called-"

    "Onimar Synn."

    "-Onim-. If you knew, why am I down here?"

    The surviving assassin throws his shield, which smashes edge-first into the bodyguard's right shoulder with a crack that tells of pulverised bones.

    "Because I need to hold up the city. I think they were planning to use the Downside population as a sacrifice."

    "So am I killing them or not?"

    I don't know anything like enough about Onimar Synn to answer that reliably.

    "Destroying their equipment should be top priority. Ideally, neutralise any magic users nonlethally, but if they were planning a big sacrifice then a couple of dead priests probably won't be enough."

    A flap-hop and another thrust and the spear goes right through the side of the assassin's face, though-

    "Gughakha!"

    -it doesn't disable him. He grabs the part of the spear just below the head and pulls, jerking it out of the commander's hands and through. He now looks like a dog carrying a long stick in his jaws, aside from the blood. I start reloading my gun as he turns his head towards me-

    "Understood. Out."

    -just in time for him to get smacked in the side of the head by the bodyguard, using his own shield as a bludgeon! He staggers back, and the bodyguard grabs the end of the spear and yanks, the weapon coming free in a spray of blood and teeth! The cultist swings clumsily with his mace, forcing the bodyguard back but allowing me to step forward, insert the barrel of my pistol into his eye and pull the trigger.

    BANG!

    The assassin collapses to the ground in a heap, and the bodyguard cautiously walks over to check on the commander.

    "Your wound?"

    The bodyguard shakes his head. "I'll live."

    "I'd fix it, but…"

    I glance up. I really hope that the technicians are going to fix the antigravity generators soon.

    He picks up the assassin's mace and tests the balance.

    "I'll live."

    The commander's head twitches. "Responding. Good. Coordinates are available-." She looks up at me. "Lantern, pull your operative out. Ships are in position to bombard-."

    "No. Onimar Synn feeds on souls. This was an attempt at mass ritual murder, most likely to feed him. If you bombard the place, you do their work for them. Don't bombard the place."

    "Hold the bombardment. What do you suggest?"

    "Riot control gear. Gas, tasers, do you have shotguns?"

    "We have low wattage electrified plasma guns."

    "Them. Get the cultists, remove them from the city, interrogate them and then execute them once the ritual site has been made safe."

    "How do we make it safe?"

    "I'd have to check. If you're pushed for time, fire usually works."

    "Captain, the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps suggests that we need to treat this as a city riot. We've both done the training, and we've both been briefed on what these lunatics can do. Yes. Good."

    She looks up at me.

    "It will be done."
     
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2022
  18. Ngamer11

    Ngamer11 Experienced.

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    That went from zero to eleven pretty fast. Mr Zoat, what exactly are these 'precautions' that Paul mentioned? And will this get the higher ups to reconsider the pros and cons of letting Paul have his full arsenal when the Seven Devils attack again?
     
  19. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Ahh, so in just a few days all hell breaks loose.

    So I was kinda right.

    'They've dug'

    'shouting'
     
  20. jasonh23761

    jasonh23761 Not too sore, are you?

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    Silly Thanagarians, killing isn't always the answer.

    I mean it could be if you were prepared to give up the whole planet but still.
     
  21. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Zoat the time for both these chapters is the same.

    The second one should probably be a few hours later.
     
  22. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
     
  23. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    ...I feel cheated. That went from 'pleasant countryside walk' to 'all hell breaking loose' real fast. That's some mood whiplash! On the other hand, it's probably a really lucky thing OL and Jade were here. I can't imagine how bad this would be if that thing dropped without resistance...

    I mean, if he were any other Lantern, the person prattling on would be a distraction...

    Mass murder? Seems pretty simple to me. Their gods want souls, and they want lots of them. A veritable smorgasbord of death.

    ...I'm going to call her Emily. Worm fans will know what I refer to. Though I am surprised any Thanagarian could get that hefty. I'm guessing the only thing she usually flies is a desk.

    Hey, bizarre alien biology. She could well be Orange-Green colourblind... Or she's just dropping a ton of snark. Kind of a stress response, you know?

    Probably lot of joint locks aiming to interfere with the opponent's wings, or positioning them so that you don't hit the ground first...

    Oh, yes, I foresee him having many words with whoever ordered that sort of thing put in place. And more than a few of them will probably be rude.

    Lucky fellow. One wrong move and he'd have spitted himself like a turkey. Of course, that would benefit him anyway, because if he had any friends left, they'd have a free shot at Emily.

    And that is why you don't go hand-to-hand while injured, Emily. I can see why you didn't try to escape, but right now? Risky.

    That would be Jade, of course. No doubt doing what she does best, and hunting shitheads down.

    Someone's got a heck of a throwing arm. Unless that was the bodyguard's handiwork.

    Still hurts like a mother-lover, though. At least it'll distract him a little.

    So, which of the Seven Devils is behind this little performance?

    Oh, that arsehole. Yeah, kind of an easy bet, huh?

    Ow. Yeah, that guy's out of the fight. And I should think dropping a city would be pretty bad for those on top, too. Certainly worse for the unfortunates underneath, but imagine all the people trapped inside buildings or unable to take wing to flee.

    I can see the Thanagarians being reluctant to discuss their greatest monsters. Especially if they were thought of as myth by this era.

    Double ow. Unfortunately, unless she caught bone, that ain't a knockout.

    Oh, he's high on something to be that inured to pain.

    Talk about painting the town red. This has to one of the most brutal fights we've seen for a while.

    Not bad considering one of his shoulders probably resembles meatloaf right now...

    Adrenaline's a helluva drug, huh? He'll be feeling that soon enough.

    I expect there are going to be very pointed questions asked in the halls of power about how they got at them in the first place...

    "I ain't got time to bleed..." And I just picture OL reacting much as the second fellow in that clip does. :p

    Yeah, that might not be as big a meal as an entire town, but I expect there's quite a few goons running around in there.

    Won't guarantee non-lethal, but at least less will end up dead.

    I love that he takes it as given they will die. No mercy, after all.

    Fire works for most things. Heck, do it right and it even works on creatures made of fire.

    I'm sure they'll go out of their way to take the cultists alive... :rolleyes:

    Welp, so much for his holiday. Still, at least he got a couple of weeks before something went ploin-shaped. That's practically a new record! :D And preventing a messy situation popping up on Thanagar will probably go a long way to smoothing some ruffled feathers here and there. Let's just hope Bleez isn't caught up in any of this mayhem.
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2022
  24. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    As if you weren't expecting it.

    If she was just in charge of administration then it's possible she stopped working out.

    Though even a hefty person can be a dangerous fighter.
     
  25. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    Indeed, the dead tends to be quite hard to get answers from.
     
  26. jasonh23761

    jasonh23761 Not too sore, are you?

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    *Skeletor voice*
    "I don't want answers, I want to murder!"
     
  27. BartlettMagic

    BartlettMagic peekaboo, you fucks you!

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    ... ok so is this really Thanagar or what
     
  28. Doccer

    Doccer I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Interrupting your girlfriend just to show how knowledgeable you are OL? If that was important you shoulda said that before she went. Don't be surprised if she says "mansplaining" later.

    Are we gonna meet Hephaestus The Smith god on this trip? I'd like to see how he's doing after he moved to Thanagar.
     
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  29. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    He didn't know. It was reasonable to suspect, but there are six other Devils who are just as evil.
    What makes you think that he's moved?
     
  30. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    I'm not sure if that term existed in 2012.

    And I think Vulcan was the one that was going to move there.
     
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