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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
- Start date
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- Tags
- self insert young justice
CTrees
Chasing the ring
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But is this the real plan, or is he going to have the convenient, shape-shifting Martian telepath in the area pretend to be Walker's magically healed parents, in order to talk Mountain Dewmsday down?
Mr Zoat
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He's assuming the actual Physician will do it, but he wouldn't exactly []i]mind[/i] if J'onn did it. The problem is that while Physician can fix things with magic, J'onn can only use the purple healing ray on certain types of injury, and J'onn himself hasn't been trained in its limitations.
BartlettMagic
peekaboo, you fucks you!
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forget Apokolips, how about just Boom tubing him onto Jupiter? he might escape in a hundred years but at least that buys you.... a hundred years to plan for it
rdfox
Know what you're doing yet?
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Better solution. Boom tube him to as deep as possible inside the event horizon of a black hole. If light can't get out, I'll bet that even someone with Kryptonian strength can't get out. Particularly with nothing solid to push off of.
Plus there's a very good chance that even Kryptonian durability won't hold up against the gravity gradient spaghettification effects...
Shotiegun11
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I like to imagine Mother Box is live recording, editing a bit out, and streaming this.
Along with the explanation of who this is, who deployed him, and what they did to him. Just proving everything that was released is real and the government actually is that evil.
Grayven is gonna end up with the best PR on this Earth by the end of this.
Along with the explanation of who this is, who deployed him, and what they did to him. Just proving everything that was released is real and the government actually is that evil.
Grayven is gonna end up with the best PR on this Earth by the end of this.
cereal_lurker
Getting sticky.
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This appears to be missing the closing ] bracket.
Side question -
The next segment we see him next to Bastet during a time when new underlords would normally be introduced, but the phrasing suggested that he wasn't introduced that way. Did Stargate Paul ever actually swear himself to Bastet? Or did he move up via trust/achievement without actually swearing himself (similar to a field promotion)?
Justice Segue (part 21)
New
Mr Zoat
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17th November 2017
09:40 GMT -5
Walker takes a step sideways as I come in, trying to keep us both in sight.
Pi-
Then he leaps at me while Diana gets a face full of asphalt. I dodge right, because this time he was ready for me to dodge forwards. I-.
-ng.
Brannon's dead? Good. Message Batman, ask him to check the corpse, then retask the drones for Thundermind because I have lost patience.
Ping.
Make sure that they're just helping with the evacuation, then ignore them.
Walker stops leaping and starts walking, his motions faster than his size implies that he can manage, arms lashing out to grapple rather than punch. Misses involve him throwing things at either me or Diana, releasing bricks or lumps of concrete to distract or obscure our vision. I've learned not to flinch and let my environmental shield handle the dust but at this point Diana's eyes must sting something fierce even from the hits she blocks. Two slam into her bracers as I dodge towards them to make a second swing awkward, Walker aiming directly at her head each time. She blocks the third brick only for a fourth to hit her bare left thigh hard enough to make her stumble.
Walker turns from me and lunges while she's off-balance, and I send the Sword of the Fallen darting in to slice through at least some of his Achilles tendon before pulling it back.
Ping.
Then one over their heads. The rest go into them if they don't get a clue. And deploy more death ray drones here.
Ping.
That's the least of my concerns.
Diana has her sword en garde to block any attempt Walker makes to grapple, but he manages a solid punch on her left shoulder. I hear her bones crack as she goes spinning backwards from the force of it.
"Ah!"
BOOM!
Good. Those drones won't need me to maintain concentration, and they're at least somewhat hard for him to detect. But the slice I made is already almost healed and it didn't stop him knocking Diana-.
No, she's back and doing low level flying while holding her sword in one hand. I could ask J'onn to heal her but that's probably not a good idea on a compound fracture-.
**Manhunter, troops are approaching the city. Please use your civilian identity to keep them away.**
**I will.**
Okay, how do we actually get Walker to stay still? How do we land a meaningful hit? Particularly with Diana completely unable to wrestle with him one-armed.
I consider the ground we're standing on. Walker can't fly, and the road is increasingly being churned up by the force that he's using to leap at us. Based on the strength he used to rip my arm off I don't actually think that he's leaping at full force. But the more smashed up it gets, the slower he'll be able to move. Leaping or walking.
Can't really communicate that to Diana. Just have to hope that she noticed.
Okay, targets are his eyes and ears.
**And have you seen Thundermind?**
**[An image of the wounded Thunderminds merging together and Physician doing something which turns him back into his school teacher mode.**
I move in, trying to tempt him into attacking me without getting close enough to initiate an attack myself. Walker's switching his attention between us, presumably trying to come up with a plan of attack. Or trying to work out what I'm planning.
**Good. Try and get him out of the combat zone, time allowing.**
**[An image of Subjekt-17 tearing his now-helpless body apart.]**
…
I suppose he had it coming.
Walker decides to advance on me, and I give him more room while maintaining eye contact.
"Diana, how bad's your shoulder?"
"I will live."
I don't speak, I just glare at her over Walker's shoulder. That sort of combat banter isn't appropriate for a disaster like this, and if she had more experience then she'd know that by now.
Walker swings at me with his left, flinging rubble at my face with his right. A construct catches the rubble and throws it back while I use my aero discs to move slightly aside then slash with the Sword, not at the arm but at his newly rubble-covered eyes. Got him! Clean cut through-.
He lunges-. And the rubble beneath his feet gives way, making him fall on his face and slide forwards instead. And then my death rays light him up, preventing his eyes healing while I send the Sword of the Fallen into both Achilles tendons. Success! A bit of a fiddle with the spurs, but he's now hobbled.
He tries to stand, and-
"Uuuuh!"
-he can't, clamping his hands around his ankles to… Try and hold them together? Shield them from the death rays?
Diana's closing the distance, sword extended-.
"Wait!" She halts her advance, frowning at me. "We've got a chance to talk him down! Physician is healing his parents as we speak. There's enough of his mind left to recognise them."
"He will heal-."
"What did you think the purple beams are for?" She looks up at them, nodding. "Is your shoulder fractured or just broken?"
"I am not sure."
Keeping a good distance from Walker, who appears to be listening intently but isn't trying to drag himself around with his still-functioning arms, I approach her, left hand glowing orange.
"Let me check. Depending on how your powers work I should be able to heal you." She nods, gingerly tilting her head aside while still watching Walker. "Adam!"
I take a closer look at her shoulder, scanning… I'm getting better feedback from her than Diana 16 ever gave me.
"Good news. Multiple breaks, but they're all relatively clean. I've no idea what any anaesthetic I could use would do to you and we don't know each other well enough for me to use magic, so this will hurt."
"I am prepared."
Orange light flows through her, pulling bones back into place. That's actually an advanced technique I learned from a parallel universe version of the man I was before becoming Grayven: using the subject's own desires to bypass some of their defences. Then I take out a purple healing ray and play it over the injury site.
Adam floats down, metal skin regrowing to cover his holes. "Yeah?"
"Help with recovering civilian casualties. I'm not expecting further attacks, but stay on guard just in case."
"Sir." He starts to turn away and then hesitates, frowning as he realises what he just called me. Then he brushes it off and gets back to work.
Ping.
Good. Bring the Walkers through.
09:40 GMT -5
Walker takes a step sideways as I come in, trying to keep us both in sight.
Pi-
Then he leaps at me while Diana gets a face full of asphalt. I dodge right, because this time he was ready for me to dodge forwards. I-.
-ng.
Brannon's dead? Good. Message Batman, ask him to check the corpse, then retask the drones for Thundermind because I have lost patience.
Ping.
Make sure that they're just helping with the evacuation, then ignore them.
Walker stops leaping and starts walking, his motions faster than his size implies that he can manage, arms lashing out to grapple rather than punch. Misses involve him throwing things at either me or Diana, releasing bricks or lumps of concrete to distract or obscure our vision. I've learned not to flinch and let my environmental shield handle the dust but at this point Diana's eyes must sting something fierce even from the hits she blocks. Two slam into her bracers as I dodge towards them to make a second swing awkward, Walker aiming directly at her head each time. She blocks the third brick only for a fourth to hit her bare left thigh hard enough to make her stumble.
Walker turns from me and lunges while she's off-balance, and I send the Sword of the Fallen darting in to slice through at least some of his Achilles tendon before pulling it back.
Ping.
Then one over their heads. The rest go into them if they don't get a clue. And deploy more death ray drones here.
Ping.
That's the least of my concerns.
Diana has her sword en garde to block any attempt Walker makes to grapple, but he manages a solid punch on her left shoulder. I hear her bones crack as she goes spinning backwards from the force of it.
"Ah!"
BOOM!
Good. Those drones won't need me to maintain concentration, and they're at least somewhat hard for him to detect. But the slice I made is already almost healed and it didn't stop him knocking Diana-.
No, she's back and doing low level flying while holding her sword in one hand. I could ask J'onn to heal her but that's probably not a good idea on a compound fracture-.
**Manhunter, troops are approaching the city. Please use your civilian identity to keep them away.**
**I will.**
Okay, how do we actually get Walker to stay still? How do we land a meaningful hit? Particularly with Diana completely unable to wrestle with him one-armed.
I consider the ground we're standing on. Walker can't fly, and the road is increasingly being churned up by the force that he's using to leap at us. Based on the strength he used to rip my arm off I don't actually think that he's leaping at full force. But the more smashed up it gets, the slower he'll be able to move. Leaping or walking.
Can't really communicate that to Diana. Just have to hope that she noticed.
Okay, targets are his eyes and ears.
**And have you seen Thundermind?**
**[An image of the wounded Thunderminds merging together and Physician doing something which turns him back into his school teacher mode.**
I move in, trying to tempt him into attacking me without getting close enough to initiate an attack myself. Walker's switching his attention between us, presumably trying to come up with a plan of attack. Or trying to work out what I'm planning.
**Good. Try and get him out of the combat zone, time allowing.**
**[An image of Subjekt-17 tearing his now-helpless body apart.]**
…
I suppose he had it coming.
Walker decides to advance on me, and I give him more room while maintaining eye contact.
"Diana, how bad's your shoulder?"
"I will live."
I don't speak, I just glare at her over Walker's shoulder. That sort of combat banter isn't appropriate for a disaster like this, and if she had more experience then she'd know that by now.
Walker swings at me with his left, flinging rubble at my face with his right. A construct catches the rubble and throws it back while I use my aero discs to move slightly aside then slash with the Sword, not at the arm but at his newly rubble-covered eyes. Got him! Clean cut through-.
He lunges-. And the rubble beneath his feet gives way, making him fall on his face and slide forwards instead. And then my death rays light him up, preventing his eyes healing while I send the Sword of the Fallen into both Achilles tendons. Success! A bit of a fiddle with the spurs, but he's now hobbled.
He tries to stand, and-
"Uuuuh!"
-he can't, clamping his hands around his ankles to… Try and hold them together? Shield them from the death rays?
Diana's closing the distance, sword extended-.
"Wait!" She halts her advance, frowning at me. "We've got a chance to talk him down! Physician is healing his parents as we speak. There's enough of his mind left to recognise them."
"He will heal-."
"What did you think the purple beams are for?" She looks up at them, nodding. "Is your shoulder fractured or just broken?"
"I am not sure."
Keeping a good distance from Walker, who appears to be listening intently but isn't trying to drag himself around with his still-functioning arms, I approach her, left hand glowing orange.
"Let me check. Depending on how your powers work I should be able to heal you." She nods, gingerly tilting her head aside while still watching Walker. "Adam!"
I take a closer look at her shoulder, scanning… I'm getting better feedback from her than Diana 16 ever gave me.
"Good news. Multiple breaks, but they're all relatively clean. I've no idea what any anaesthetic I could use would do to you and we don't know each other well enough for me to use magic, so this will hurt."
"I am prepared."
Orange light flows through her, pulling bones back into place. That's actually an advanced technique I learned from a parallel universe version of the man I was before becoming Grayven: using the subject's own desires to bypass some of their defences. Then I take out a purple healing ray and play it over the injury site.
Adam floats down, metal skin regrowing to cover his holes. "Yeah?"
"Help with recovering civilian casualties. I'm not expecting further attacks, but stay on guard just in case."
"Sir." He starts to turn away and then hesitates, frowning as he realises what he just called me. Then he brushes it off and gets back to work.
Ping.
Good. Bring the Walkers through.
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Ngamer11
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That should say 'fourth'.
Sucks to be him, but the Renegade is right. I hope the pot that gave Thundermind his powers is still intact so that someone more worthy can find it.
Just to confirm, the Renegade's talking about Paul, or rather Future Paul?
Mr Zoat
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Ngamer11
Experienced.
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Awesome. I wish we could've seen their first meeting.
Senevri
Not too sore, are you?
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When did THAT happen? Grayven wasn't involved in the tuning fork kerfuffle. Sadly.
Darko
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This is a version of renegade from the future, so it probably happened somewhere before this and after the current timeline.
And renegades did contribute to the big battle of the tuning fork, what with depowering Krona.
Chojin Patriarch
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"Good news on another matter. The fellow with the eyes is dealt with." At least he's not focusing on just one of you. If he did, he'd probably crush that one in short order, even with the others piling on attacks...
"Also, the police are out on the streets. They are wisely avoiding the combat area." I wonder if bats did it with a missile, or one of the drones got him? Because Brannon wasn't super-durable, was he? Either thing would have been enough to kill him...
No doubt Diana has training in fighting blind. But her lower durability will let hits add up.
"Actually, some of the police are approaching the battlefield. SWAT Teams, by the looks of it." Somehow, I doubt that'll slow the Boy down...
"You do realise they'll shoot at the drone, and it will fight back?" Man, having to keep the squishy folks out of the way is getting annoying.
Oof. That's gonna make it a lot harder for her to pull her weight...
I wouldn't be surprised if the Boy didn't even feel pain, beyond frustration as his body failing to do what he wants it to...
Hopefully they won't question what such a senior officer is doing out here.
Can her lasso hold him? Or are you worried about the risk of him breaking it? And she'd probably struggle to get it in place one-handed anyway...
Well, hopefully she's got enough combat experience to recognise that.
Ah, well, then. He's no longer an issue, then.
With any luck, the human mind will hold back the feral beast long enough to work something out...
Definitely not an issue any longer. Pity they couldn't have thrown him against Walker, but honestly, he'd have been a speedbump at best.
To be fair, the Renegade's shown he can hurt the Boy worse. Of course he's the higher threat.
Sadly, her experience in superhuman combat consists of maybe two fights: Ares and Doomsday. Neither were exactly subtle, or tactical.
So, blinded again, and now he's kind of pinned down. Best time to do some combat healing, if nothing else.
Well, evidently he does feel pain, then. Wanting to cradle a wounded body part is a pretty common instinct.
Going in for the kill, I see. Only problem is...Diana's closing the distance, sword extended-.
...He's more valuable alive, but under control.
Props for grace in the face of such pain, at least.
I suspect the mention of his parents has him unsure whether to keep attacking or not...
Presumably this Diana has less godhood in her, so to speak. Less active metaphysique than Sixteen's.
Well, that's an annoyingly vague suggestion of an interesting adventure.
Just watch the leakage, shiny. Don't want to set off too many more metahumans, yeah?
"The police are holding back, and Manhunter has the army under control." Bringing in the big guns as a little leverage to help convince the Boy to stand down, then?
Seems like there's a solid lull in the fight, then. From the looks of it, the Boy is choosing to stay down for a bit in hopes of seeing his folks. While most of his former allies are now former in the permanent sense. And I am more interested in the hint of a crossover with another Orange Lantern alternate who gave him a little training in Avarice use.
...to slice through at least some of his Achilles tendon before pulling it back.
...as she goes spinning backwards from the force of it.
Vaermina
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You've had them focusing on him for multiple minutes at this point.
The real Doomsday would have adapted by now.
And given you directly stated he had the same power as the real Doomsday, either this is an error, or by "the real doomsday" you were talking about your custom version of the character.
crazygrox
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Huh, this sidestory might be set in the future, I don't remember Grayven ever interacting with parallel versions of the main character. He stabbed Krona rather than get grabbed and that seems to be the extent of his interaction with parallel versions of paul.
Thinking about it, I wonder what happened to the Paul in the justice lords universe he's interacted with a little bit. Or are there only alternates transported to some of the parallel universes and not all of them.
chxenocide
Getting sticky.
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It seems to my recollection that most, if not all, of Renegade's decisions have been Paragon the last couple times.
AmericanNumbers
Not too sore, are you?
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Remember that Renegade mainlined the Elements of Harmony at one point. He's effectively a benevolent king/conquerer now.
Hmm. Zoat, Renegade might actually be able to wield Excalibur in universe now. Or in some of them.
Hmm. Zoat, Renegade might actually be able to wield Excalibur in universe now. Or in some of them.
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
Doccer
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Which be odd considering she was stated to be a straight up goddess at the end of the first movie.
Vaermina
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Which was further confirmed at the end of Shazam 2 when she did the thing only an actual God could do.
Mr Zoat
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Based on observed feats, I'd guess that the Snyderverse gods are kinda weak.
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Doccer
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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She did seem a little powered down in the second.
Lord Ernest
At the End...
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What second? I only remember one Wonder Woman movie.
Prince Charon
Just zis guy, you know?
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Also, possibly the long-term effects of Artemis shooting him with all those god-arrows to help him become himself, when the Grayvens merged (blanking on which episode that was).
Ngamer11
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That happened in Episode 114: Veganism.
Mighty Morphin' Lantern Rangers (part 17)
New
Mr Zoat
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15th April 1995
16:59 GMT
Peace.
Peace through power.
Heh.
Peace through the implied threat of geostationary satellite-mounted railguns. Peace through the very real possibility of a demigod turning up and… Killing everyone you tried to violate the peace with. And then you. Peace through dealing with ecological problems and the detritus of old wars.
It was the Earth's smaller countries who realised the implication of a new top-level power first. Someone who could deal with certain intractable problems they were facing without wanting military bases or cheap oil in return, and who would be happy to step in if one of the former top level powers felt like throwing their weight around. I've got honourary Chechen citizenship due to displacing the entire Russian army from their country while leaving all of their equipment in-situ, minus the unexploded bomb I left in the State Duma to make my point.
I vaguely remember reading about the Authority doing something like that..?
I've hunted drug dealers and gangsters for the Mexican government. With a heavy heart I detoxified the Vietnamese and Cambodian jungles. I've removed mine fields from Iran and Iraq, and arranged for certain officials in the latter to have unfortunate accidents because you can't hide that stuff from me. I've hunted enough child-rapists that if I wasn't still enlightened I'd probably be in therapy for the rest of my life. And for my own dear home country, as the signing date of the Good Friday Agreement draws closer I've been making sure that the Real I.R.A. and Continuity I.R.A. don't get the chance to emerge.
I know that Magnificent Kev did something like that.
And I've been living on a space station that I built because I do not trust a single one of the political, military or religious leaders down there not to kill me in my sleep. Building that was… Interesting. Some of the technologies that I'm used to flat out don't work here. Bless Vril Dox II's logical, mildly paranoid and entirely fictional heart, I do actually have a protocol for testing the laws of physics after a parallel universe shift, though the actual scientific principles involved are entirely beyond me. No bleed torsion generators, alas, but metallic hydrogen still fuses perfectly well and centripetal force can sub in for gravity acceptably well until I can either find a spaceship or visit a space dock to crib local-rules gravity plating off.
With so little… Weird stuff going on compared to the fake world of my memories, I've… Got entirely too much time to… Think about things. Making friends is… Difficult, in these circumstances. So despite my old opinions on the subject I've been seriously considering building a companion AI. Maybe not even an android or gynoid, just a station brain that can monitor the world, me, and make helpful suggestions and casual conversation. Philosophically, I'm against making new life merely for my own ends and particularly when I'm not sure that what I think I know about emergent machine intelligence is true…
I shake my head to myself.
Alright. I admit it. I need the Power Rangers. I've been in the insane superhero life for so long that it's the only environment I feel remotely at home in. The only people I can relate to and who can -hopefully- relate to me in turn.
I sigh, and… Transfer downwards.
15th April 1995
10:00 GMT -7
The Command Centre now has a helicopter outside of it, perched on a helipad that… Looks almost but not quite like the surrounding rock. Zordon's work, I assume. Can't scan through the defence screen, but I'm not seeing any sign that the Rangers are on-site.
Looking down the slopes I see the new military checkpoints that are springing up on all of the roads to the Command Centre. Those will obviously need to be replaced by something better disguised in the not too distant future, though a quick scan for physics anomalies suggests that Zordon has more subtle defences in place. Since no one immediately shoots me I assume that I haven't been uninvited, so I land and walk inside.
Alpha in is the entrance to greet me.
"Hello Orange Lantern! Zordan and Agent Rodriguez are inside."
"Thank you, Alpha. The Rangers not here?"
He hesitates, probably wondering if he should tell me. I mean, I know who they are and it probably wouldn't be hard to track them down-.
"They are receiving additional training in small unit tactics from human soldiers."
"Ah. Probably a good idea, even if not all of it is applicable. Might-." No, he doesn't make policy. "Pass on my warm regards if you see them before I do."
"Of course."
I nod politely, then walk forwards into the main room.
"Orange Lantern."
"Zordon. You're looking well."
Agent Rodriguez turns around as I walk in. but his gaze doesn't seem to be able to settle on me. Rather, it's constantly drawn to one strange piece of technology or another, and I can see how uncomfortable he is with the situation.
"I see you're a man of your word. No wars anywhere on Earth."
"I wouldn't go quite that far. Stopping wars between two more or less functional nations is simple. Stopping wars between hostile groups within a country who have no desire to come to terms or moderate their demands is far harder. And then there are the failed states."
And there I'm increasingly leaning towards 'give anarchy a chance'. If a government can't govern, what's the point in paying for rich people's hotel rooms and the fig leaf of legitimacy that comes with their rubber stamp? People went without nation-states for most of human history. If subsistence farming is possible and no complex infrastructure needs to be managed then it should be alright. Only problem is that I remember that Somalia ended up with a big problem with illegal fishing and dumping, which means that I'd be tied to policing their territorial waters for a few years. Not sure how many ships I'd have to beach before people got the message…
"You'll be pleased to know that the State Department is panicking a little less."
"A little."
"And… I know you're going to tell me to shove it-"
"Probably."
"-but they say that if you want any information, briefings or assistance, you can get in touch."
"Thank you. I'll bear that in mind."
He looks expectantly at me for a moment, but I just shrug.
"Okay. I'll tell them I told you."
If they couldn't be bothered to send someone here… Oh, I'm probably going to have to kick American government operatives out of a lot of places in the not too distant future, aren't I? Oh well.
I turn to our host. "Zordon. Have you been able to review my plan?"
"Yes. With Rita dead, I believe that I would be able to return within a few years without assistance, but using you to drain the spell will make the process quicker and easier."
"And you're as sure as you can reasonably be that it's safe? I don't want to accidentally drain you by mistake."
"I sustain this connection with my own magic. If you drain me by mistake, I can cancel the spell in an instant."
"Alright then." I take my lantern out of whatever passes for subspace around here. "Let's get you back."
16:59 GMT
Peace.
Peace through power.
Heh.
Peace through the implied threat of geostationary satellite-mounted railguns. Peace through the very real possibility of a demigod turning up and… Killing everyone you tried to violate the peace with. And then you. Peace through dealing with ecological problems and the detritus of old wars.
It was the Earth's smaller countries who realised the implication of a new top-level power first. Someone who could deal with certain intractable problems they were facing without wanting military bases or cheap oil in return, and who would be happy to step in if one of the former top level powers felt like throwing their weight around. I've got honourary Chechen citizenship due to displacing the entire Russian army from their country while leaving all of their equipment in-situ, minus the unexploded bomb I left in the State Duma to make my point.
I vaguely remember reading about the Authority doing something like that..?
I've hunted drug dealers and gangsters for the Mexican government. With a heavy heart I detoxified the Vietnamese and Cambodian jungles. I've removed mine fields from Iran and Iraq, and arranged for certain officials in the latter to have unfortunate accidents because you can't hide that stuff from me. I've hunted enough child-rapists that if I wasn't still enlightened I'd probably be in therapy for the rest of my life. And for my own dear home country, as the signing date of the Good Friday Agreement draws closer I've been making sure that the Real I.R.A. and Continuity I.R.A. don't get the chance to emerge.
I know that Magnificent Kev did something like that.
And I've been living on a space station that I built because I do not trust a single one of the political, military or religious leaders down there not to kill me in my sleep. Building that was… Interesting. Some of the technologies that I'm used to flat out don't work here. Bless Vril Dox II's logical, mildly paranoid and entirely fictional heart, I do actually have a protocol for testing the laws of physics after a parallel universe shift, though the actual scientific principles involved are entirely beyond me. No bleed torsion generators, alas, but metallic hydrogen still fuses perfectly well and centripetal force can sub in for gravity acceptably well until I can either find a spaceship or visit a space dock to crib local-rules gravity plating off.
With so little… Weird stuff going on compared to the fake world of my memories, I've… Got entirely too much time to… Think about things. Making friends is… Difficult, in these circumstances. So despite my old opinions on the subject I've been seriously considering building a companion AI. Maybe not even an android or gynoid, just a station brain that can monitor the world, me, and make helpful suggestions and casual conversation. Philosophically, I'm against making new life merely for my own ends and particularly when I'm not sure that what I think I know about emergent machine intelligence is true…
I shake my head to myself.
Alright. I admit it. I need the Power Rangers. I've been in the insane superhero life for so long that it's the only environment I feel remotely at home in. The only people I can relate to and who can -hopefully- relate to me in turn.
I sigh, and… Transfer downwards.
15th April 1995
10:00 GMT -7
The Command Centre now has a helicopter outside of it, perched on a helipad that… Looks almost but not quite like the surrounding rock. Zordon's work, I assume. Can't scan through the defence screen, but I'm not seeing any sign that the Rangers are on-site.
Looking down the slopes I see the new military checkpoints that are springing up on all of the roads to the Command Centre. Those will obviously need to be replaced by something better disguised in the not too distant future, though a quick scan for physics anomalies suggests that Zordon has more subtle defences in place. Since no one immediately shoots me I assume that I haven't been uninvited, so I land and walk inside.
Alpha in is the entrance to greet me.
"Hello Orange Lantern! Zordan and Agent Rodriguez are inside."
"Thank you, Alpha. The Rangers not here?"
He hesitates, probably wondering if he should tell me. I mean, I know who they are and it probably wouldn't be hard to track them down-.
"They are receiving additional training in small unit tactics from human soldiers."
"Ah. Probably a good idea, even if not all of it is applicable. Might-." No, he doesn't make policy. "Pass on my warm regards if you see them before I do."
"Of course."
I nod politely, then walk forwards into the main room.
"Orange Lantern."
"Zordon. You're looking well."
Agent Rodriguez turns around as I walk in. but his gaze doesn't seem to be able to settle on me. Rather, it's constantly drawn to one strange piece of technology or another, and I can see how uncomfortable he is with the situation.
"I see you're a man of your word. No wars anywhere on Earth."
"I wouldn't go quite that far. Stopping wars between two more or less functional nations is simple. Stopping wars between hostile groups within a country who have no desire to come to terms or moderate their demands is far harder. And then there are the failed states."
And there I'm increasingly leaning towards 'give anarchy a chance'. If a government can't govern, what's the point in paying for rich people's hotel rooms and the fig leaf of legitimacy that comes with their rubber stamp? People went without nation-states for most of human history. If subsistence farming is possible and no complex infrastructure needs to be managed then it should be alright. Only problem is that I remember that Somalia ended up with a big problem with illegal fishing and dumping, which means that I'd be tied to policing their territorial waters for a few years. Not sure how many ships I'd have to beach before people got the message…
"You'll be pleased to know that the State Department is panicking a little less."
"A little."
"And… I know you're going to tell me to shove it-"
"Probably."
"-but they say that if you want any information, briefings or assistance, you can get in touch."
"Thank you. I'll bear that in mind."
He looks expectantly at me for a moment, but I just shrug.
"Okay. I'll tell them I told you."
If they couldn't be bothered to send someone here… Oh, I'm probably going to have to kick American government operatives out of a lot of places in the not too distant future, aren't I? Oh well.
I turn to our host. "Zordon. Have you been able to review my plan?"
"Yes. With Rita dead, I believe that I would be able to return within a few years without assistance, but using you to drain the spell will make the process quicker and easier."
"And you're as sure as you can reasonably be that it's safe? I don't want to accidentally drain you by mistake."
"I sustain this connection with my own magic. If you drain me by mistake, I can cancel the spell in an instant."
"Alright then." I take my lantern out of whatever passes for subspace around here. "Let's get you back."