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

Mr Zoat · Apr 19, 2024

_The_Bomb said:
I strongly recommend using them to Imgur and linking to them from there. There would be substantially less link rot.

I've already changed the image host I use.

Mr Zoat · Apr 19, 2024

17th November 2017
09:25 GMT -5

"Fifty-eight, fifty-nine…"

And time. I tug on the rope, and when it doesn't immediately slacken I pull on it hard. Senator Sandoval comes flying out and I catch him as gently as I can while signalling Mother Box to close the boom tube.

Ping.

"Oh God. Oh God."

I set him down and he sort of collapses, shivering and staring into space.

"Oh God."

I kneel down next to him.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On Earth as it is in Heaven."

He appears to come out of it a little. He focuses on me, eyes still staring.

"What the Hell was that?"

"To put it simply, that was my Father's psychic aura." I offer a hand to help him up and he takes it, the shakes dying down a little. "Just being on the same planet as him makes everyone feel like that. You see why I want to keep him away from Earth?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do. God help me." He blinks, then focuses on me. "You..? You know the Lord's Prayer?"

I shrug. "My people are monotheistic… Sort of. And I've read up on popular Earth religions. So what did you think?"

"Yeah, that kinda evil-. We need to fight that."

"Excellent! I'll leave you to reorganise-" A red dot appears on my chest. "-Texas, but you should probably get off the roof now, because I think someone's about to try something 'clever'."

"It's not-. Ah, I didn't-."

"I know. Move."

He turns to his backing singers, still clearly shaken but rapidly recovering. "Alright everyone, move it!"

Subjekt-17 takes a few steps forwards, bending his neck to look at the red dot on my chest. "Finally."

"Yeah, sorry, I appreciate that it wasn't as interesting as it might have been."

Accomplished Perfect Physician shakes his head. "I found it quite educational. I had little time to study economics."

Adam nods. "Always good to know that the guy in charge has a plan."

I smile at them. "Aw, you guys…"

A canister of something hits me in the chest, green smoke rising off it for about half a second before I neutralise the… Nerve agent, and transmute the canister into a bobble head.

"Subjekt Seventeen, please remonstrate with whoever fired that."

He leaps off the roof, heading towards the edge of town.

Adam frowns. "What was that?"

"Nerve gas. Hippolyta… Not that I don't value your presence, but you're the squishiest person here and there isn't really anything else for you to learn. Perhaps it would be best if you evacuated as well?"

She looks… Up, towards the town centre. "I should brief my daughter first."

I follow her… Yes, that's Diana. Nice to know that she got her head out of her arse. She isn't coming in at full speed, but she is heading this way. "Do that-"

BOOM!

"-from another building."

She nods, and heads through the tube. Okay, scan, because-.

Two rays of green light hit Diana in the chest and knock her out of the sky!

What?

Oh no. Brannon, you miserable little third stringer, I didn't want you, it's supposed to be-.

I sidestep, daiklave appearing in my hand to parry the short sword that appears to come out of nowhere! A second sword strikes a surprised Captain Adam in the chest, mildly discolouring the metal over his heart before the user flies back into the air.

"What the-?"

Not faster than light, are you Hotshot? I raise my right arm, fusion cannon construct forming-.

The air ripples as Physician opens his mouth, a green and barely visible blur slowing and then falling from the sky, swords dangling from cables attached to his harness. He hits the edge of the roof hard, then falls towards the ground.

"Separate, and call out attackers as you see them."

Adam frowns. "Who was that?"

"Captain Jonathan Banks, United States Navy. The loyalty of the American military hangs by a thread. For the first time in living memory the government isn't sure that its orders will be obeyed. So they're sending fanatics. The people they experimented on after seizing Lex Luthor's research on kryptonian technology." I rise off the rooftop using my aero-discs. "And I've got to stop Brannon killing Wonder Woman. I don't think-."

Something hits me and a fraction of a second later I'm looking up at the sky through a small hole in the earth and asphalt. None of Brannon's team are fast enough and strong enough to do that. Looks like Thundermind got approval for cooperation.

Push.

The earth around me explodes as I shove it away, tracking the locations of all likely attackers. One of the Thunderminds has recovered the recumbent Hotshot, while the other-. Hah! Just tried that lotus mind trick thing on Adam and got most of the flesh burned off his face for his troubles.

Follow Hippolyta.

Ping.

Real-

I get my construct armour up as some sort of electrified kryptonite plasma slams into me.

-ly?

"You know I'm not kryptonian, right?"

Sergeant Adams -no relation- keeps her arm blasters pointed at me, maintaining the flow of plasma. Got to be a salvaged kryptonian power source powering that, because turning kryptonite into plasma is a very energy-intense process. It's also easy to counter if you have a power ring. I just create a plasma shield of my own and the kryptonite just flows around it.

And then I notice that the civil servants and politicians aren't out of the combat area yet and while this plasma might not do much to me it would scythe though a normal building without too much difficulty.

Right then. I stride forward, point my fusion cannon directly at her and fire, the plasma beam overpowering her discharge and striking her hard in the chest! Her armour takes the hit, her weapons shutting down as she's thrown into the shop front opposite us.

Fine, time to clean house. She's no real loss-.

Subjekt-17 slams into my side!

Chojin Patriarch · Apr 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
17th November 2017
09:25 GMT -5

"Fifty-eight, fifty-nine…"

And time. I tug on the rope, and when it doesn't immediately slacken I pull on it hard. Senator Sandoval comes flying out and I catch him as gently as I can while signalling Mother Box to close the boom tube.

Let's hope he's not too damaged by the experience he just had. He seems like a nice guy, so it'd be a shame to lose his assistance. After all, seeing one of the worst places in the universe is going to change a man.

Ping.

"Oh God. Oh God."

"Closing it now. Do check on him, he seems a little shaken." To be fair, he did have something of a religious experience. Not a fun one, though.

I set him down and he sort of collapses, shivering and staring into space.

"Oh God."

...Anyone got some strong booze? Might need a little nip of something to shake him out of the cognitive loop...

I kneel down next to him.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On Earth as it is in Heaven."

Good plan. Give him something to focus on other than the overwhelming evil.

He appears to come out of it a little. He focuses on me, eyes still staring.

"What the Hell was that/?"

Closest thing to the actual place you'll get while alive, really.

"To put it simply, that was my Father's psychic aura." I offer a hand to help him up and he takes it, the shakes dying down a little. "Just being on the same planet as him makes everyone feel like that. You see why I want to keep him away from Earth?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do. God help me." He blinks, then focuses on me. "You..? You know the Lord's Prayer?"

Grayven's research is thorough. Not like the Renegade will mention the real reason.

I shrug. "My people are monotheistic… Sort of. And I've read up on popular Earth religions. So what did you think?"

"Yeah, that kinda evil-. We need to fight that."

All the better to work with people without triggering some denominational backlash.

"Excellent! I'll leave you to reorganise-" A red dot appears on my chest. "-Texas, but you should probably get off the roof now, because I think someone's about to try something 'clever'."

"It's not-. Ah, I didn't-."

I'll say this, it's probably not Task Force X. Their snipers would never be so pathetic as to use a laser scope.

"I know. Move."

He turns to his backing singers, still clearly shaken but rapidly recovering. "Alright everyone, move it!"

Hope that elevator is still there, and running in express mode downwards.

Subjekt-17 takes a few steps forwards, bending his neck to look at the red dot on my chest. "Finally."

"Yeah, sorry, I appreciate that it wasn't as interesting as it might have been."

To be fair, they expected some kind of armed response. It's just a matter of factoring in travel times.

Accomplished Perfect Physician shakes his head. "I found it quite educational. I had little time to study economics."

Adam nods. "Always good to know that the guy in charge has a plan."

And no doubt a well-thought-out plan, knowing the Renegade.

I smile at them. "Aw, you guys…"

A canister of something hits me in the chest, green smoke rising off it for about half a second before I neutralise the… Nerve agent, and transmute the canister into a bobble head.

Well, that's an insulting letter, addressed 'to whom it may concern...'

"Subjekt Seventeen, please remonstrate with whoever fired that."

He leaps off the roof, heading towards the edge of town.

Best option for it, as he can sense their mind...

Adam frowns. "What was that?"

"Nerve gas. Hippolyta… Not that I don't value your presence, but you're the squishiest person here and there isn't really anything else for you to learn. Perhaps it would be best if you evacuated as well?"

Sounds a bit insulting, yes, but it's accurate. Physician at least has his mystic abilities. 'Lyta is just strong and tough.

She looks… Up, towards the town centre. "I should brief my daughter first."

I follow her… Yes, that's Diana. Nice to know that she got her head out of her arse. She isn't coming in at full speed, but she is heading this way. "Do that-"

So, Invisible jet? Flying Armour? Lassoing her way from cloud to cloud?

BOOM!

"-from another building."

Polite of him to provide transport.

She nods, and heads through the tube. Okay, scan, because-.

Two rays of green light hit Diana in the chest and knock her out of the sky!

...Unexpected. Probably someone assuming she's backup for the big guys.

What?

Oh no. Brannon, you miserable little third stringer, I didn't want you, it's supposed to be-.

...Honestly, what did you expect? It was something like them or a Suicide Squad team.

I sidestep, daiklave appearing in my hand to parry the short sword that appears to come out of nowhere! A second sword strikes a surprised Captain Adam in the chest, mildly discolouring the metal over his heart before the user flies back into the air.

"What the-?"

Well, good to see they're not strong enough to breach his armour. That would be bad.

Not faster than light, are you Hotshot? I raise my right arm, fusion cannon construct forming-.

The air ripples as Physician opens his mouth, a green and barely visible blur slowing and then falling from the sky, swords dangling from cables attached to his harness. He hits the edge of the roof hard, then falls towards the ground.

Possibly badly injured or dead, unless they have some decent physical augmentation.

"Separate, and call out attackers as you see them."

Adam frowns. "Who was that?"

An annoyance. I presume the Justice league are still assembling.

"Captain Jonathan Banks, United States Navy. The loyalty of the American military hangs by a thread. For the first time in living memory the government isn't sure that its orders will be obeyed. So they're sending fanatics. The people they experimented on after seizing Lex Luthor's research on kryptonian technology." I rise off the rooftop using my aero-discs. "And I've got to stop Brannon killing Wonder Woman. I don't think-."

So there's a good chance they may have a knock-off Doomsday or something The comics team did have a big guy.

Something hits me and a fraction of a second later I'm looking up at the sky through a small hole in the earth and asphalt. None of Brannon's team are fast enough and strong enough to do that. Looks like Thundermind got approval for cooperation.

Push.

I'm guessing gaining Physician pissed someone off in the Chinese camp.

The earth around me explodes as I shove it away, tracking the locations of all likely attackers. One of the Thunderminds has recovered the recumbent Hotshot, while the other-. Hah! Just tried that lotus mind trick thing on Adam and got most of the flesh burned off his face for his troubles.

Follow Hippolyta.

Yes, making mental contact with a swirling mass of quantum energy that thinks it's a man.

Very clever of him...

Ping.

Real-

"That may be for the best, if they're targetting all of us." I suspect those sent in have one order: Kill anything that isn't one of theirs.

I get my construct armour up as some sort of electrified kryptonite plasma slams into me.

-ly?

Noxious and highly annoying. Marvellous.

"You know I'm not kryptonian, right?"

Sergeant Adams -no relation- keeps her arm blasters pointed at me, maintaining the flow of plasma. Got to be a salvaged kryptonian power source powering that, because turning kryptonite into plasma is a very energy-intense process. It's also easy to counter if you have a power ring. I just create a plasma shield of my own and the kryptonite just flows around it.

Well, there probably were a few kryptonian weapons laying around Smallville or Metropolis.

And then I notice that the civil servants and politicians aren't out of the combat area yet and while this plasma might not do much to me it would scythe though a normal building without too much difficulty.

Right then. I stride forward, point my fusion cannon directly at her and fire, the plasma beam overpowering her discharge and striking her hard in the chest! Her armour takes the hit, her weapons shutting down as she's thrown into the shop front opposite us.

Right, covering the squishies. Wonder if the goons have any rules of engagement concerning them. Considering them enemy collaborators, perhaps?

Fine, time to clean house. She's no real loss-.

Subjekt-17 slams into my side!

And that'll be their big guy showing up...

And the face-punching has begun! ...Though not with the expected parties in the opposing side. I can only assume that Brucie-boy is still travelling about collecting the other candidates while Diana scouts the situation. And I'm surprised some variation of Task Force X isn't here as well. Unless they're lurking, waiting for a good moment to jump in. Probably just as the invaders are exhausted from taking down the Last Line crew.

Stsword · Apr 19, 2024

Yeah I'm not seeing Brannon being a serious threat to WW at all.

Heck, I might be misremembering their storyline, but I don't even remember them coming across as a valid threat to Superman, despite all of them being Kryptonite powered.

Or to be more specific, their biggest advantage seemed to me that Superman has the patience of a saint. Well barring poor American Boy.

If Supes had actually gone evil ala Injustice Superman that millions of dollars of taxpayers money would have ended with a rain of limbs and internal organs.

Darko · Apr 19, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
I'm guessing gaining Physician pissed someone off in the Chinese camp.

Don't forget everything else like declaring himself their new ruler and releasing their secrets.

Chojin Patriarch said:
And the face-punching has begun! ...Though not with the expected parties in the opposing side. I can only assume that Brucie-boy is still travelling about collecting the other candidates while Diana scouts the situation. And I'm surprised some variation of Task Force X isn't here as well. Unless they're lurking, waiting for a good moment to jump in. Probably just as the invaders are exhausted from taking down the Last Line crew

Honestly, with renegade releasing all that info about various government people it's possible that the ones in charge of that group were killed.

Lord Ernest · Apr 19, 2024

I was gonna say that I didn't know who the heck these Last Line guys are but then noticed that they're from Superman/Batman.

So now it makes sense why I don't remember them, because they are even more forgettable than most of that comic.

And yeah, realistically I don't think they represent a danger to Grayven's crew; they barely qualify as D-Listers and their gear is anti-Kryptonian focused. Maybe some of the other Super Functionaries are there besides Thundermind? His presence is the only thing that prolongs this battle.

Ngamer11 · Apr 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
He turns to his backing singers, still clearly shaken but rapidly recovering. "Alright everyone, move it!"

I just noticed this error. I think that should be 'signers'.

Someguy Somewhere · Apr 19, 2024

Moments like this are fun, but there's a tiny corner of my brain meats that sit there just remind me that once you have instant access to boom/hush tube tech, any goof that can't fly can immediately be Portal'ed to anywhere you want with very little in the way of options.

If it wasn't for all the fun and press he had knocking heads in the name of Conquest fights for Renegade could, with a wee bit of effort, look more like something from Dr Strange.

Just asking Motherbox to open a tube hush tube to low Venus orbit under their toes, take bets on how much of them survive to go splat on the surface.On to the Next. Done in time for dinner.

EDIT: Pardon if this ramble is a bit more disjointed then usual, Migraines do not make for great examples of grammar, prose or comprehensibility .

Mr Zoat · Apr 19, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
Lassoing her way from cloud to cloud?

[Bows head]
[Shakes head]
[Gestures to the heavens is dismayed incomprehension]

And I'm surprised some variation of Task Force X isn't here as well. Unless they're lurking, waiting for a good moment to jump in. Probably just as the invaders are exhausted from taking down the Last Line crew.

In theory, Mongal should be capable of fighting Grayven physically. But for some reason in this universe she's not much stronger than a normal human and died like a chump.

Ngamer11 said:
I just noticed this error. I think that should be 'signers'.

No. Backing singers. You know, the people who stand behind the lead singer and join in on the choruses.

Me said:
"What the Hell was that/?"

Thank me, corrected.

Stsword · Apr 19, 2024

Yeah, American Boy is the most memorable of that group.

For those who didn't read that storyline, the government got a nice patriotic young soldier to volunteer for an experiment to make him immune to biological and chemical weapons, if memory serves.

What they didn't tell the poor schmuck was that they were going to do that by injecting him with Kryptonite and Doomsday DNA.

They then unleashed him to demolish Smallville, but the heroes pulled out the ultimate trump card- They fetched his parents.

Which reminds me that's something I've always wanted to see a telepathic hero do. The hero just pulls out a cell phone. "I'm calling your mother! So let's everyone calm down before Thanksgiving gets REAL awkward!"

inglorius · Apr 19, 2024

Stsword said:
The hero just pulls out a cell phone. "I'm calling your mother! So let's everyone calm down before Thanksgiving gets REAL awkward!"

- Wait, how do you know her number if I didn't memorize it?
- It's simple: right now I might be the Brainreader, but you also may know me by another name... BallsDeep69!
- Noooooo!

Darko · Apr 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
In theory, Mongal should be capable of fighting Grayven physically. But for some reason in this universe she's not much stronger than a normal human and died like a chump

Not exactly a choice that's unique to the movies.

The comics have shown various characters that are supposed to be uber powerful basically be chumps.

Thanos being arrested by ordinary cops, Deathstroke taking out the entire Justice League by himself even though they're all more powerful than him, Punisher taking out hundreds that are more powerful than him, Batman versus practically everybody etc.

Mr Zoat · Apr 19, 2024

Stsword said:
Yeah, American Boy is the most memorable of that group.

For those who didn't read that storyline, the government got a nice patriotic young soldier to volunteer for an experiment to make him immune to biological and chemical weapons, if memory serves.

What they didn't tell the poor schmuck was that they were going to do that by injecting him with Kryptonite and Doomsday DNA.

They then unleashed him to demolish Smallville, but the heroes pulled out the ultimate trump card- They fetched his parents.

And he was never mentioned again. With everything that happened afterwards, up until the end of DC, there was a man with the powers of Doomsday sitting around and taking no part in it.

Such are the perils of a shared universe.

Darko said:
Thanos being arrested by ordinary cops

That was in their 'for small children' line.

Deathstroke taking out the entire Justice League by himself even though they're all more powerful than him

I saw him do that once against a weak lineup where he'd prepred the ground and made a surpirse attack. Another time he ended up in a similar situation and blew millions on using a super-flashbang so he could run away.

Darko · Apr 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
And he was never mentioned again

Prisons and mental institutions may be worthless in DC, but the power of parental disappointment and anger is beyond any superpower.

Ngamer11 · Apr 19, 2024

Mr Zoat, I was reading a fanfic, and it reminded me of Jason Todd. Considering all the things that have happened in the story, will Batman still adopt him? And if so, will you still have it so that he'll eventually see Paul as one of his best friends?

Mr Zoat · Apr 19, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
Mr Zoat, I was reading a fanfic, and it reminded me of Jason Todd. Considering all the things that have happened in the story, will Batman still adopt him? And if so, will you still have it so that he'll eventually see Paul as one of his best friends?

That... Was the original plan. Now? Don't know.

PrinceJonathan · Apr 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
[Bows head]
[Shakes head]
[Gestures to the heavens is dismayed incomprehension]

I think it's a One Piece reference. There was a villain in the story who could control Strings and used them to fly across the ocean by literally lassoing himself from cloud to cloud.

It's One Piece, it's not meant to make sense.

Mr Zoat · Apr 19, 2024

PrinceJonathan said:
I think it's a One Piece reference. There was a villain in the story who could control Strings and used them to fly across the ocean by literally lassoing himself from cloud to cloud.

It's One Piece, it's not meant to make sense.

No, it's a Wonder Woman 1984 reference. After the first film had a good launch and a good flight but a crash landing, the sequal was one big plane crash.

Darko · Apr 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
[Bows head]
[Shakes head]
[Gestures to the heavens is dismayed incomprehension

Mr Zoat said:
No, it's a Wonder Woman 1984 reference. After the first film had a good launch and a good flight but a crash landing, the sequal was one big plane crash.

The premise of the Wonder Woman character is a super powerful demigoddes that fights monsters and evil gods, was raised by immortal ancients, flies an invisible plane, wields a magic lasso, and can apparently be subdued using common materials like rope as long as the one that does it is a man.

Compared to all of these things, especially the last one, being able to lasso a cloud with a magic lasso made by the gods sounds tame.

It's DC, it's not meant to make sense.

Though I now have an idea about Wonder Woman somehow traveling back in time, or leaving the island early and inspiring the legend of Pecos Bill.

Mr Zoat · Apr 19, 2024

Darko said:
Compared to all of these things, especially the last one, being able to lasso a cloud with a magic lasso made by the gods sounds tame.

It's not that it sounds tame, it's that it looks lame.

Dur'id the Druid · Apr 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Subjekt-17 slams into my side!

Someone did the hit a mofo with another mofo, didn't they?

Mr Zoat said:
Such are the perils of a shared universe.

Yeah, there are reasons why I read only short run or contained stories these days. Marvel and DC are so interconnected that you have to get multiple series to understand what is going on. Then Crossgen comics failed and even got eaten by Disney.... and they seemingly used the IP JUST to bury the stories..... *sigh* Only get stuff like The Sword, Midnight Nation, Girl Genius, or Gargoyles (Weisman) now. Stuff that isn't part of the big comic universes.

Ardy · Apr 19, 2024

Dur'id the Druid said:
Someone did the hit a mofo with another mofo, didn't they?

Yeah, there are reasons why I read only short run or contained stories these days. Marvel and DC are so interconnected that you have to get multiple series to understand what is going on. Then Crossgen comics failed and even got eaten by Disney.... and they seemingly used the IP JUST to bury the stories..... *sigh* Only get stuff like The Sword, Midnight Nation, Girl Genius, or Gargoyles (Weisman) now. Stuff that isn't part of the big comic universes.

A Practical Guide to Evil is getting a webtoons comic adaption.... eventually.

Prince Charon · Apr 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
It's not that it sounds tame, it's that it looks lame.

If the rest of the movie had been better, it would have been forgivable... but that's true of a lot of films.

Mr Zoat · Apr 20, 2024

17th November 2017
09:28 GMT -5

I generate a crash mat construct as we go flying down the street, aero-discs straining to overcome our momentum! We hit it, slow, then we both slam our feet into the tarmac and try to stop before we hit-.

Darn it. That looked like a nice car, too.

I hear the heavy stamps of someone with super strength moving by bounding leaps, ready my daiklave as I turn and sidestep and slash.

The hulking suit of grey power armour with custom green radiation warning decals can't dodge fast enough to avoid getting its left arm cut, but the pilot stamps and twists, turning a swing that would have cut the arm clean off into a narrow slash that probably doesn't pierce the armour. Despite Sergeant Raymond Gibson being assigned 'Bruiser' as his codename, he is actually quite intelligent. And his armour is large enough that a normal sized man could comfortably stand inside one of his arms, if it were hollow.

Gibson himself is a dwarf, which I suppose means that there's more space inside for servos. Also means that I don't need to worry about stabbing him through the chest.

He leaps back, overbalancing and falling but tucking his limbs in and rolling with it.

"Subjekt Seventeen, switch opponents."

A wave of sound hits Gibson as he regains his feet, sending him flying backwards and embedding him in a wall. Glancing around I see Thundermind dive at Physician before something happens and he's suddenly flying downwards and slams face-first into the ground. Subjekt-17 obeys my instruction and heads towards Adams-. That's going to get confusing, think of her as Sekhmet instead. Heads towards Sekhmet, who has recovered enough to dodge past him and blast him in the side.

He barely reacts. And it's not as if I honestly need him to win. Just still be standing when the proto Justice League turns up.

"Gibson!" I march towards him as he pushes the wall away and braces for combat. "Compensating twice over?"

He approaches cautiously. I don't think that armour has a flight system, but he's strong enough to overpower mine. And unlike my comrades, he's practised fighting with that strength.

He leads with his right fist, well below his maximum possible speed. He's not sure what I can do and wants to test me. Normally I'd do the same but I do actually want to kill him. I lunge forward, meeting his fist with the edge of my blade. He pulls back before he can lose a finger and swings his left arm around to ward me off. Instead of backing off I continue my swing, tip of the blade catching him in the wrist and stabbing through the thinner joint armour. He jump-spins to try and pull it off the moment he realises what I'm doing, which mostly saves it, but means that he's facing away from me when I aim a fusion cannon at his back and fire.

That send him down on his front, outer rear armour slagged and smouldering. I get enough time for another shot at his left leg before he slams his hands into the ground to propel himself into the air.

Boom tube, Outer Hebrides.

Ping.

BOOM!

The tube opens below him as he starts to descend and it turns out that I was right and he doesn't have an integrated flight system. Hope he enjoys the scenery. Now, Hippolyta.

BOOM!

"…who created Doomsday in the first place!"

Brannon is giving Diana both eye beams, and she's blocking with her bracers while trying to talk him down. Good, I approve. That's the proper way for a superhero to act. Now I need to grab-.

Brannon turns his head towards shield!

The tower shield intercepts his eye beams just before they can turn Hippolyta into charcoal, earning me.. a.. grateful nod from Diana. Huh? And it's not even a grudging nod, she's genuinely… Happy?

"Brannon." Darn, that face mask makes him look like Black Mask of the Future. "Waller trying to avoid the noose? With all those agents she murdered and innocent civilians she fed to the giant alien starfish, there's no way she's getting out of this. First against the wall."

He glares at me. "She was."

That was.. quick. "Who did it?"

"Flag."

Good man. "I'll have to get him some flowers or something. But what about you?"

"Waller being an evil bitch doesn't change anything for me. Idiots with superpowers killed my wife. You all need to be stopped."

"Lex Luthor killed your wife when he released Doomsday on an inhabited city, and he doesn't have super powers."

"Doomsday was a mutant based on General Zod's corpse. Zod wouldn't have come here if it wasn't for Superman."

"And if Diana hadn't stopped General Ludendorff and Doctor Maru using her gas weapon at the end of the First World War then neither you nor your wife would have been born. I will give you Lex Luthor's current location if you and your team get lost now."

"And just let you conquer the world?"

"Make up your mind. Are you doing this out of patriotism, or to stop anyone being killed like your wife was? Because if it's the latter, I'm far better equipped to prevent that than any of the people who've been responsible for it so far."

He-.

I block his eye beams with a construct shield before-.

My fusion cannon shot misses as Diana lassos him and yanks him over to her, hitting-. I wince, but it looks like everyone had an attack of common sense and stayed home today. I turn to her.

"Careful doing that! I actually like this city!"

"It would have killed him."

"Better him than a bunch of innocent bystanders!" Hm. She's touching the lasso herself… "Why are you here?"

"To join with you in stopping Apokolips and purging this world of evil."

Noooooo…

Okay, just her, she can-.

The batwing zooms over my head, hitting Thundermind with an anti-tank missile and smashing him into the ground.

Well, he's a foreigner, and-.

The other Thundermind flies after the batwing, then gets shot out of the air by a beam of… 'Martian vision'.

"Ah." Focus. "Them too?"

"Cyborg is still recovering from interfacing with one of the Mother Box fragments."

I take a deep breath.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence. Brannon, is the fifth member of your team-?"

A building to our north collapses. Then another in a line between the first and us.

"I see he is. Justify that."

"I can't. I wouldn't have approved it, and if I'd known then it would have been me and not Flag who killed Waller. But he is what he is and we need to stop you."

Mother Box, boom tube to Themyscira.

Ping.

BOOM!

"Hippolyta, get going. Now."

A moment of eye contact with her daughter and she goes. Brannon is smiling while Diana is starting to get nervous.

"What is it?"

"Joshua Walker. All-American Boy. Doomsday without the kryptonite vulnerability. This is going to be-"

I see a green blur, a hole appearing in the car park opposite and then pain!

Darko · Apr 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
This going to be-"

"This is"

Ngamer11 · Apr 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Make up your mind. Are you doing this out of patriotism, or to stop anyone being killed like you wife was? Because if it's the latter, I'm far better equipped to prevent that than any of the people who've been responsible for it so far."

That should say 'your'.

Mr Zoat said:
"Better him than a bunch of innocent bystanders!" Hm. She's touching the lasso herself… "Why are you here?"

"To join with you in stopping Apokolips and purging this world of evil."

Noooooo…

Okay, just her, she can-.

The batwing zooms over my head, hitting Thundermind with an anti-tank missile and smashing him into the ground.

Well, he's a foreigner, and-.

The other Thundermind flies after the batwing, then gets shot out of the air by a beam of… 'Martian vision'.

"Ah." Focus. "Them too?"

"Cyborg is still recovering from interfacing with one of the Mother Box fragments."

That was unexpected. I guess Superman's not coming back and there will technically be no Justice League, as I don't think the Renegade would want to name his group that. Maybe he can go with the Authority? Or maybe Stormwatch?

Mr Zoat · Apr 20, 2024

Darko said:
"This is"

Ngamer11 said:
That should say 'your'.

Thank you, corrected.

Ngamer11 · Apr 20, 2024

Mr Zoat, did Wonder Woman, Batman, and Martian Manhunter decide that the Renegade is the lesser evil after Mother Box spilled the dirty secrets of all the world's governments? And did they not recruit the Flash for some reason?

Chojin Patriarch · Apr 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
17th November 2017
09:28 GMT -5

I generate a crash mat construct as we go flying down the street, aero-discs straining to overcome our momentum! We hit it, slow, then we both slam our feet into the tarmac and try to stop before we hit-.

Darn it. That looked like a nice car, too.

The drawback of being large, heavy fellows. Once physics has you at its mercy, it takes a lot to slow down or stop. On the other hand, once they have their footing back, things will get noisy. ...Well, noisier.

I hear the heavy stamps of someone with super strength moving by bounding leaps, ready my daiklave as I turn and sidestep and slash.

The hulking suit of grey power armour with custom green radiation warning decals can't dodge fast enough to avoid getting its left arm cut, but the pilot stamps and twists, turning a swing that would have cut the arm clean off into a narrow slash that probably doesn't pierce the armour. Despite Sergeant Raymond Gibson being assigned 'Bruiser' as his codename, he is actually quite intelligent. And his armour is large enough that a normal sized man could comfortably stand inside one of his arms, if it were hollow.

There's the Last Line's big guy. So, who gets first dibs on him, Renegade?

Gibson himself is a dwarf, which I suppose means that there's more space inside for servos. Also means that I don't need to worry about stabbing him through the chest.

He leaps back, overbalancing and falling but tucking his limbs in and rolling with it.

Heh. At least the guy knows how to roll with the punches. Rare to see in big guys who rely on pure strength.

"Subjekt Seventeen, switch opponents."

A wave of sound hits Gibson as he regains his feet, sending him flying backwards and embedding him in a wall. Glancing around I see Thundermind dive at Physician before something happens and he's suddenly flying downwards and slams face-first into the ground. Subjekt-17 obeys my instruction and heads towards Adams-. That's going to get confusing, think of her as Sekhmet instead. Heads towards Sekhmet, who has recovered enough to dodge past him and blast him in the side.

Ah, when the good guys and bad guys have similar names.

He barely reacts. And it's not as if I honestly need him to win. Just still be standing when the proto Justice League turns up.

"Gibson!" I march towards him as he pushes the wall away and braces for combat. "Compensating twice over?"

Yes, make the giant robot-armoured guy mad...

He approaches cautiously. I don't think that armour has a flight system, but he's strong enough to overpower mine. And unlike my comrades, he's practised fighting with that strength.

I doubt human technology is advanced enough. Even if it has reverse-engineered kyptonian stuff, there's only so much they could manage.

He leads with his right fist, well below his maximum possible speed. He's not sure what I can do and wants to test me. Normally I'd do the same but I do actually want to kill him. I lunge forward, meeting his fist with the edge of my blade. He pulls back before he can lose a finger and swings his left arm around to ward me off. Instead of backing off I continue my swing, tip of the black catching him in the wrist and stabbing through the thinner joint armour. He jump-spins to try and pull it off the moment he realises what I'm doing, which mostly saves it, but means that he's facing away from me when I aim a fusion cannon at his back and fire.

And here, we see the difference in experience when it comes to super-powered combat. Maybe a year, versus centuries.

That send him down on his front, outer rear armour slagged and smouldering. I get enough time for another shot at his left leg before he slams his hands into the ground to propel himself into the air.

Boom tube, Outer Hebrides.

Ping.

Clever. It'll takes days for him to be recovered, given the upheavals in military commands.

BOOM!

The tube opens below him as he starts to descend and it turns out that I was right and he doesn't have an integrated flight system. Hope he enjoys the scenery. Now, Hippolyta.

Nice of you to give him the benefit of the doubt concerning his durability.

BOOM!

"…who created Doomsday in the first place!"

Brannon is giving Diana both eye beams, and she's blocking with her bracers while trying to talk him down. Good, I approve. That's the proper way for a superhero to act. Now I need to grab-.

If nothing else, she's keeping him occupied. Those eyebeams don't sound particularly discriminating in their effect.

Brannon turns his head towards shield!

The tower shield intercepts his eye beams just before they can turn Hippolyta into charcoal, earning me.. a.. grateful nod from Diana. Huh? And it's not even a grudging nod, she's genuinely… Happy?

...Oh, don't tell me. There won't be a Justice League coming to fight him...

"Brannon." Darn, that face mask makes him look like Black Mask of the Future. "Waller trying to avoid the noose? With all those agents she murdered and innocent civilians she fed to the giant alien starfish, there's no way she's getting out of this. First against the wall."

He glares at me. "She was."

Well, someone wasted no time in taking care of business.

That was.. quick. "Who did it?"

"Flagg."

Because of course he would have. Him or Peacemaker. I'm guessing he ended up surviving the Corto Maltese mission, then.

Good man. "I'll have to get him some flowers or something. But what about you?"

"Waller being an evil bitch doesn't change anything for me. Idiots with superpowers killed my wife. You all need to be stopped."

...Says the idiot with superpowers. Hypocrisy for the win.

"Lex Luthor killed your wife when he released Doomsday on an inhabited city, and he doesn't have super powers."

"Doomsday was a mutant based on General Zod's corpse. Zod wouldn't have come here if it wasn't for Superman."

...No, Superman's father is the one to blame for that. Can't blame a newborn child for something that wasn't his fault.

"And if Diana hadn't stopped General Ludendorff and Doctor Maru using her gas weapon at the end of the First World War then neither you nor your wife would have been born. I will give you Lex Luthor's current location if you and your team get lost now."

"And just let you conquer the world?"

For what it's worth, he's doing it for a good reason.

"Make up your mind. Are you doing this out of patriotism, or to stop anyone being killed like your wife was? Because if it's the latter, I'm far better equipped to prevent that than any of the people who've been responsible for it so far."

He-.

I don't think he cares. Someone who gets his eyes replaced with either modified kryptonian eyes or cybernetics isn't exactly starting in the most rational place.

I block his eye beams with a construct shield before-.

My fusion cannon shot misses as Diana lassos him and yanks him over to her, hitting-. I wince, but it looks like everyone had an attack of common sense and stayed home today. I turn to her.

She's never really cottoned on to the concept of minimising collateral damage, has she?

"Careful doing that! I actually like this city!"

"It would have killed him."

...You do realise he was trying to kill you, your mother and the Renegade a second ago.

"Better him than a bunch of innocent bystanders!" Hm. She's touching the lasso herself… "Why are you here?"

"To join with you in stopping Apokolips and purging this world of evil."

...Oh, dammit. This isn't a Justice League universe... It's going to be a Justice Lords one.

Noooooo…

Okay, just her, she can-.

Isn't it always fun when they grab the wrong end of the stick than you planned on?

The batwing zooms over my head, hitting Thundermind with an anti-tank missile and smashing him into the ground.

Well, he's a foreigner, and-.

Keep in mind, this batman has like twenty years of trauma and probably isn't in much of a heroic mood, despite his earlier set-to with Superman...

The other Thundermind flies after the batwing, then gets shot out of the air by a beam of… 'Martian vision'.

"Ah." Focus. "Them too?"

And now the Manhunter from Mars. Any sign of the speedy guy or the fish guy, then?

"Cyborg is still recovering from interfacing with one of the Mother Box fragments."

I take a deep breath.

Ah. And he gave them the 'This guy is better than the alternative.' speech, huh?

"Thank you for the vote of confidence. Brannon, is the fifth member of your team-?"

A building to our north collapses. Then another in a line between the first and us.

...That'll be a yes, then.

"I see he is. Justify that."

"I can't. I wouldn't have approved it, and if I'd known then it would have been me and not Flagg who killed Waller. But he is what he is and we need to stop you."

I'll give him this, he sticks to his guns once he's made a decision...

Mother Box, boom tube to Themyscira.

Ping.

"Evacuating the squishy ones. Good idea."

BOOM!

"Hippolyta, get going. Now."

Let's hope their sudden change of demeanour is enough to convince her to do as she's asked.

A moment of eye contact with her daughter and she goes. Brannon is smiling while Diana is starting to get nervous.

"What is it?"

...Trouble

"Joashua Walker. All-American Boy. Doomsday without the kryptonite vulnerability. This is going to be-"

I see a green blur, a hole appearing in the car park opposite and then pain!

Well, let's hope they can find some way to get rid of him. A Boom Tube tango, maybe. Perhaps into a sun?

Well, there goes Dallas. Seriously, the previous Doomsday levelled a fair chunk of a city, this one is going to be much tougher. And they've got something of a shortage of people capable of fighting on his level, as close as Diana or the Renegade come. I have the feeling someone will die trying to take Walker down, before this is done.

WereDragon · Apr 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"To join with you in stopping Apokolips and purging this world of evil."

Noooooo…

Yes. Him actually wining and suddenly being faced with having to carry out his promises would be by far the most entertaining outcome.
Particularly if Luna saw it coming and calls him on it.

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

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