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

Oglymogly · 2025-11-12T06:20:49+0000

Oof, cliff hanger. It'll be a gut punch if Non manages to get Zod out and away safely. Should have put him off until Zod was transferred.

Signaller · 2025-11-12T06:28:33+0000

Is there a reason Non doesn't have a hyphenated name (in any continuity, AFAIK)?

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-12T06:33:24+0000

Signaller said:
Is there a reason Non doesn't have a hyphenated name (in any continuity, AFAIK)?

Many writers not checking each other's work.

thebishop8 · 2025-11-12T06:34:31+0000

Mr Zoat said:
"About five hundred. But if you think about it… Since they were kryptonian… They'd all be dead now anyway."

I try smiling, but he doesn't look amused. "That's not funny."

Yeah, that's pretty fucked up Paul.

Mr Zoat said:
Delvos Ungol

'Delvos' to 'Devlos'

Chojin Patriarch · 2025-11-12T06:56:32+0000

Mr Zoat said:
5th August 2013
19:43 GMT

Kal-El looks at the Phantom Zone projector for a moment. "Is there anyone else that you're going to want me to hand over?"

"Not as far as I know. The worst offender left is Jax-Ur, and he only murdered other kryptonians."

Also the longest-serving resident of the zone in some continuities, according to the Wiki. And considering they put him in there for blowing up a moon, I'd say his sentence was well-deserved...

"Do I want to know how many?"

"About five hundred. But if you think about it… Since they were kryptonian… They'd all be dead now anyway."

Not really the sort of black humour we need right now, OL...

I try smiling, but he doesn't look amused. "That's not funny."

"I apologise. Are you ready?"

Yeah, Clark isn't the sort of person to enjoy that kind of joke. Much too empathetic. There's a reason Blackest Night gave him a Blue Ring, after all.

He moves over to the control system, hands running through final checks. "Do you know of anywhere that would take the other prisoners? The ones who could reintegrate with society?"

"Any of the recovered worlds in the Periphery. Tamaran would probably take them. Ungara would probably be willing to. But..."

Though they'd have to ensure the planets chosen had red suns or close to, and an existing population that could deal with Kryptonians even if they somehow managed to gain some measure of empowerment.

"One of those is a war zone, another is rebuilding after decades of oppression and the last one is still recovering from an ecological disaster."

"They're mostly fine, as long as nothing happens to the space lens that's keeping their planet warm. The main problem was moving their population away from the newly uninhabitable areas."

Huh, another case for Mother of Mercy, perhaps? She'd be able to realign the planet on its axis. Though not without further disruption...

"Still, I don't think it would be right to hand kryptonian criminals to them."

"Parolees." Hm. "Timaron? Their planet is going to need a lot of work, and given the wavelengths their sun operates on they wouldn't be anything like as strong as you."

True, most of those still in the Zone would have more than served their sentence by now. Only the real hard cases would be left there. And Clark is likely to pardon them as long as they don't reoffend.

"I don't think that any of them have the knowledge required to do something like that. And I don't feel right about sentencing them to penal labor when they've already completed their sentence."

"Think of it more as earning their place. Or… Tartarath? No one's colonised it more due to its history than any practical difficulty."

Look at it more like... Transportation, like the English did, sending criminals to Australia and other colony states.

"What happened there?"

"A super-tartarathian warrior named Devlos Ungol conquered it, killing most of the population and cowing the rest into obedience. He then rampaged around the Sector before being defeated by Abin Sur."

A brutal and fortunately short-ish career.

His face stills. "He.. killed his own species?"

"A lot of them. The rest were killed by the defenders of the places he attacked. There might be a small number left somewhere but they're basically marked for death if most civilisation in that region find them."

Which means they are most definitely not going to object if someone else moves in on their homeworld.

"What sort of sunlight would they have?"

"Ah… Orange. They might get a small boost, but nothing worth getting excited about. Farmlands and shelter… Would be easy to put right with a little manual labour. And kryptonian xenophobia isn't a problem because there's no one else there and no one else wants to go there."

I'd want to double-check that result, just to be safe. Never know how kryptonian organelles will react to uncommon wavelengths like that, especially if the person is also an expert in their crazy martial arts.

"That sounds promising. I'll… Take a look. But first, let's see if we can find Non."

A few button presses, a dial turn and… A shadowy figure-

Good thing the system has a viewer function. Imagine how awkward it would be if the only way to interact was to open a full portal?

"Let me out, you bastards! Let me OUT!"

-appears for a moment, causing Kal-El to flinch slightly before turning the dial again and causing whoever that was to return fully to the Zone.

...Yeah, he goes to the back of the queue, methinks.

He sighs quietly before pressing another button and turning the dial.

"Who is it? Where am I?"

It is interesting that they can perceive the viewing aperture.

Another button.

"Uh. Uhff."

That… Sounds like a noise someone incapable of speech might make, but the silhouette is wrong. I look at Kal-El-.

True, Non was a big, beefy fellow. He'd be fairly distinct.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

"Huh? Wuh-? What?"

Sounds like the guy was trying to get some sleep, or just in a daze before you got his attention.

"I'm trying to find Non?"

"Wait, you've got a projector? Let me out, please! I've been here… Ah… I've been.. here.. so long, I… I-I…"

Shows just how draining the Zone is to its inmates. Those without the ludicrous mental fortitude of people like Zod.

"We.. don't really have anywhere to put you right now, but we're working on it. We should be able to get you out in…" He looks towards me.

Ah. Tartarath is ready for habitation, if we assume that people shoved into the Phantom Zone won't need psychological counselling… Heh.

If it wasn't traumatic, it wouldn't have been a punishment. Still an excessive one, but...

Probably shouldn't laugh.

Standard marooning package, with a few extras to account for the fact that they've served their sentence… Taking into account my own likely workload…

I like that he's actually got specs for 'minimum needs for survival' for marooning people. I take it that includes basic shelters, rations for them to survive on before they get a harvest in, and the tools and seeds to produce that harvest.

"Two weeks at most?"

"In less then twenty days."

I take it Clark's allowing for unexpected distractions.

"I… I-I-I-I don't know… It's-. It's so nothing!"

He turns back to me. "Can you do it sooner?"

Definitely want to make sure you provide some aftercare, though... Visiting psychological therapists, for instance.

"Ah… Alright, but the vetting process… We don't have records on what all of them did."

"Krypton's serious crime rate wasn't that high. I'll just release all the ones we don't know about."

While keeping the extreme ones like Jax-Ur in to prevent unexpectedly sudden behavioural backsliding, eh?

"And… I'll add a long-ranged zeta tube so that you can check up on the place."

He nods and turns back to whoever-that-is. "We'll get you out in a little while. Try to stay calm in the meanwhile."

Hopefully in a place out of reach to the inmates. An orbital station or something, with exosuits for people to use on-site.

"Help me!"

And he's gone.

Kal-El sighs, resting his right hand on the console for a moment.

There's that compassion and hopefulness showing itself.

"Chin up, sir. Now that you know it's happening, you can fix it."

"Yeah, but I could have done something about this years ago."

Could have, but didn't have anything pushing you to do so. Like a certain colleague with plans.

"But you can't do something about it years ago now."

He nods, entering new coordinates into the computer. And…

OL has a point. Clark didn't really leave Earth until after OL started running around in space. He couldn't really let the prisoners out on Earth, that'd just empower them and make them likely to go mad with power...

A large outline, a little taller than either him or me. Male, tense posture… And no sound.

"Are you Non, of the Kryptonian Self-Defense Force?"

Definitely a better fit than the last guy. Surprising that they found him this quick. ..>Then again, how many people are actually in the Zone right now? Less than a hundred?

No reaction for a moment, and then a cautious nod.

Double check the radiation shields and kryptonite… Superman glances my way and I give him the thumbs up.

Just need to be quick to avoid anyone else making a rush for any portal they open.

"I've ruled that your conviction is unsafe and I'm going to release you. Please cooperate with us, and we'll sort out your… Medical issue, as best we can."

That provokes a sort of grunt-snort, but no other reaction. Kal-El hesitates for a moment, and then turns the dial the rest of the way.

Probably bemused curiosity. It's probable that Kyptonian science couldn't have helped him, unlikely as that may sound. I assume the problem is something more than simply inborn muteness or a throat injury.

Hopefully Non was alone when they contacted him, or Zod might be standing right next to him when they open the portal. Fortunately, OL and Supes are prepared for that, as we saw. Better to get practice in now for when they need to get Zod and Ursa out for the trial, with someone less likely to fight back upon exit...

Z000 · 2025-11-12T07:20:18+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Many writers not checking each other's work.

also not like all Kryptonian share the same naming style

different region could have it own naming style

Vaermina · 2025-11-12T07:53:53+0000

I wonder if Superman will change his mind about the trial and execution when he finds out Ursa's pregnant.

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-12T08:40:55+0000

thebishop8 said:
'Delvos' to 'Devlos'

Thank you, corrected.

Do this too said:
"Still, I don't think it would be right to hand kryptonian criminals over to them."

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

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Oglymogly

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Signaller

Not too sore, are you?

Mr Zoat

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thebishop8

Umm, ackchyually...

Chojin Patriarch

Veteran Lurker

Z000

If this is trash, then find me in the dumpster

Vaermina

Well worn.

Mr Zoat

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