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

[CrazyNoVa]

Author note: don't click on the link if you or anyone in the room with you is epileptic. You/They will die

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For a second there, I thought that was Grayven speaking and I was all like: "What the fuck? Did Pinkie teach him how to break the fourth wall?"

"Tell me everything that happened to you."

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Persuader: "Okay, so it all started the day I was born-"

Grayven: "NOT LIKE THAT!"

 

[Ardy]

We ever find out what happened with Beatriz/fire? Minor magic aura, crazy rage out of nowhere, increased fire powers, all from a company that disappeared into nowhere that she thought was controlled/giving her powers from a Norse fire giant but wasn't?

 

[PDV]

For that matter, also maybe don't watch the video if you have any other sort of photosensitivity, up to and including "prefers dark mode for reasons of eyestrain".

Unless you're in the mood to recreationally flashbang yourself and be meaningfully impaired for the next half hour or so, I suppose.

Click to shrink...

It's okay I could use the wakeup anyway

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th December 2022
09:08 GMT

I raise my shotgun at the demon with the active camouflage and fire. Taggart hesitates for a moment, then he spots the grey blur too and joins in. The stealthy ones aren't any tougher than the visible ones, they're just harder to see. Three shotgun shells are usually enough to kill them, though since the stealth effect doesn't end when they die it's a little hard to work out exactly what killed them.

Endymion didn't need to use his sword in that room, though he's impaling each corpse through the brain to make certain that they're dead. So far none of the things we're fought have shown the cunning to feign injury, but it doesn't hurt to be certain. Honestly, I'm not sure how intelligent these things are. None of them have attempted to communicate, either with us or each other. Mazikeen didn't even bother to raise her plasma gun for this encounter. It's true that we don't have unlimited power packs, but that's not a sensible approach, even if we didn't need her to contribute this time.

The walls to this room have an odd pattern painted on them. It looks like a stencil of a circuit board, with connections and chips painted in blue while the rest is left in the basic dull brown.

I point to the closest wall. "Taggart, is it supposed to look like that?"

He follows my finger, and then shrugs. "Beats me. Better than skulls and demon faces."

Fair enough. He has been clear that he's a marine, rather than someone with a more technical role.

I think that the grey pillar in the centre of the room is the facility's main server, and that the odd arrangement in the floor is part of the cooling system. That doesn't really explain why there are med-packs and boxes of ammunition here. I'd guess that the garrison could have used it as a fallback position, except that there aren't any zombie soldiers in here.

"Taggart, can your personal organiser plug into that thing?"

He shakes his head. "It's not designed to plug into computers like that. Needs a special connector."

"Why?"

"Guess they didn't want grunts messing with anything too expensive. Or filling up their server with pornos." He checks around the server column. "Ah, great, replacement armour! Watch my back while I change."

"Sure." Only one other exit, so this shouldn't be hard. I hear as he start unbuckling his armour and dumping it onto the floor. "I didn't realise you needed a replacement suit."

"This shit's light armour. Vacuum sealed clothes with a few hardened panels. If we're going into combat we're supposed to get issued with heavier stuff. Which I didn't get, 'cause I was supposed to stay on the shuttle. This shit's got better coverage and better toughness."

"Neat. Guess you're taking point in the next room, then."

He smirks at me as he switches helmets. "Go fuck yourself."

"Endymion, is your armour alright?"

He looks up at me, hesitating for a moment. Then he checks himself over with his left hand. "It endures well enough. Besides, we would be hard-pressed to find a blacksmith on Deimos."

"You could switch over to what Taggart's wearing."

"Ballistic panels? Against demon claws? I'll stick with my plate."

"And…" I tap the side of my helmet with my right hand. "'Tuxedo Mask' not back yet?"

He shakes his head. "It won't be like that. It won't even really be a.. change. I'll just slot back into his life, and after a while I'll realise that his family seems more important to me than mine, his interests seeming more significant than those I used to involve myself with… I'll be him once more."

"Once I get repowered, I could… Make you a cloned body or something. We might be able to preserve you."

"You couldn't disentangle us so easily. And… I died a long time ago. It's a comfort to know that Earth survived Metalia's onslaught, even if civilisation was reset. My only regret is that we lost, and there's nothing more I can do about that now."

"Alright. Well… You're handling it better than I would."

"Thank you-."

"Alright, lovebirds." Taggart walks out from behind the server, his new armour… Basically the same as the last, except blue and slightly bulkier. "It's kick ass and chew bubblegum. You ever get confused, check with me."

"Both of us are in relationships with women. How's your personal life, Corporal?"

"Daisy said she'd wait for me. Back the way we came?"

"My armour's sensors don't show any concealed compartments, so unless your map says otherwise..?"

"Back we go. Door number two! On me, Eddy!"

I wait for Taggart and Endymion to pass, before following them up the stairs with Mazikeen. "Not going to suggest that I wear armour, 'father'?"

"Mazikeen, you're about half our size. I don't think it would fit you without severely impeding your movement. But if you want it..?"

"Corporal! Were there any female marines stationed here?"

He glances back as we head down the corridor. "No, the Corps is one big sausagefest. Might be an armored space suit for one of the female researchers somewhere. No idea where they'd keep it, though."

Come up on… A large room now. A few boxes of ammunition and storage crates scattered around the place. Looks like this was a proper storage depot. No demons immediately in sight. The corridor section leading down to it is too narrow for two people to walk down side by side and still have room to dodge. Single file seems to be the best bet.

Taggart and Endymion reach the same conclusion. Taggart heads down hugging the left wall with Endymion just behind him. I take position on the right, gun pointed down towards the entrance in case anything tries rushing them. Mazikeen faces away in case anything tries sneaking up on us.

But nothing does. Taggart and Endymion reach the storage room without incident, advance a short distance and then hold, Endymion motioning for us to follow them. I turn, taking my left hand off the shotgun and tapping Mazikeen on the right shoulder. She turns and heads down the stairs, while I listen to her footsteps and wait for her to reach the bottom. Once she's down I turn and head down after the team.

Huh. A bit bigger than I was expecting, given the support structures they'd need in an excavation like this, but it-.

A door that I'd thought was jammed in the 'open' position slides closed behind us. And… There's no control on this side. Ah, okay, that's a little-.

"RhRAR!"

A pinkie-.

"RhRAR!" / "RhRAR!" / "RhRAR!" / "RhRAR!" / "RhRAR!"

A… Lot of pinkies charge out from behind… Just about every pile of crates-. That's more discipline and coordination than they've show-.

There's a crackly-twinkly noise, and a Baron of Hell teleports onto the top of one of the larger crate piles, green fires wreathing its hands.

And if its mouth could move that way, I think it would be smiling.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

10th December 2022
09:08 GMT

I raise my shotgun at the demon with the active camouflage and fire. Taggart hesitates for a moment, then he spots the grey blur too and joins in. The stealthy ones aren't any tougher than the visible ones, they're just harder to see. Three shotgun shells is usually to kill them, though since the stealth effect doesn't end when they die it's a little hard to work out exactly what killed them.

Click to shrink...

Though I'm pretty sure they Gib the same as anything else. But you guys don't have grenades (none in the games anyway) and Rockets are in short supply until next level. Perhaps there'll be enough launchers for all of you...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

Endymion didn't need to use his sword in that room, though he's impaling each corpse through the brain to make certain that they're dead. So far none of the things we're fought have shown the cunning to feign injury, but it doesn't hurt to be certain. Honestly, I'm not sure how intelligent these things are. None of them have attempted to communicate, either with us or each other. Mazikeen didn't even bother to raise her plasma gun for this encounter. It's true that we don't have unlimited power packs, but that's not a sensible approach, even if we didn't need her to contribute this time.

Click to shrink...

A sword in the brain might well help stop them being revived by another Archvile, but I doubt it. Magic isn't exactly slowed down by logical outcomes.

The walls to this room have an odd pattern painted on them. It looks like a stencil of a circuit board, with connections and chips painted in blue while the rest is left in the basic dull brown.

I point to the closest wall. "Taggart, is it supposed to look like that?"

Click to shrink...

Ah, the 'high-tech stuff' textures. Usually seen in technological rooms, computer centres and the occasional random door lining.

He follows my finger, and then shrugs. "Beats me. Better than skulls and demon faces."

Fair enough. He has been clear that he's a marine, rather than someone with a more technical role.

Click to shrink...

And it's far enough in the future that computer technology will have advanced beyond, say, microscopic gold printing on plastic boards. Perhaps it's some kind of optical system?

I think that the grey pillar in the centre of the room is the facility's main server, and that the odd arrangement in the floor is part of the cooling system. That doesn't really explain why there are med-packs and boxes of ammunition here. I'd guess that the garrison could have used it as a fallback position, except that there aren't any zombie soldiers in here.

Click to shrink...

Same reason they're everywhere else: Gameplay balance. Gotta have some way for a player to heal up after a tough gunfight...

"Taggart, can your personal organiser plug into that thing?"

He shakes his head. "It's not designed to plug into computers like that. Needs a special connector."

Click to shrink...

...Because Wi-Fi isn't a thing in this setting, apparently. Then again, Doom was made before easy, casual wireless networking was a thing.

"Why?"

"Guess they didn't want grunts messing with anything too expensive. Or filling up their server with pornos." He checks around the server column. "Ah, great, replacement armour! Watch my back while I change."

Click to shrink...

The real question is, can either of them run Doom? ...Or whatever videogame took its place in-universe. Duke Nukem 3D? Rise of the Triads?

"Sure." Only one other exit, so this shouldn't be hard. I hear as he start unbuckling his armour and dumping it onto the floor. "I didn't realise you needed a replacement suit."

"This shit's light armour. Vacuum sealed clothes with a few hardened panels. If we're going into combat we're supposed to get issued with heavier stuff. Which I didn't get, 'cause I was supposed to stay on the shuttle. This shit's got better coverage and better toughness."

Click to shrink...

So he's stepping up to 200 Armour instead of the 100 he was limited to before. Careful though, the good stuff runs out faster because it soaks more damage...

"Neat. Guess you're taking point in the next room, then."

He smirks at me as he switches helmets. "Go fuck yourself."

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I mean, I imagine OL's heavy armour probably gives him a maximum of 400 or similar.

"Endymion, is your armour alright?"

He looks up at me, hesitating for a moment. Then he checks himself over with his left hand. "It endures well enough. Besides, we would be hard-pressed to find a blacksmith on Deimos."

Click to shrink...

Especially one trained to work with no-doubt exotic or magical materials.

"You could switch over to what Taggart's wearing."

"Ballistic panels? Against demon claws? I'll stick with my plate."

"And…" I tap the side of my helmet with my right hand. "'Tuxedo Mask' not back yet?"

Click to shrink...

Or god forbid, 'Moonlight Knight'? ...Yeah, the 90's anime got weird because of the way the first season ended with a reset.

He shakes his head. "It won't be like that. It won't even really be a.. change. I'll just slot back into his life, and after a while I'll realise that his family seems more important to me than mine, his interests seeming more significant than those I used to involve myself with… I'll be him once more."

Click to shrink...

Hopefully the two of you have similar feelings about a certain odango'd girl? That was a bit of trauma during the 'Doom Tree' arc that started off the second season.

"Once I get repowered, I could… Make you a cloned body or something. We might be able to preserve you."

"You couldn't disentangle us so easily. And… I died a long time ago. It's a comfort to know that Earth survived Metalia's onslaught, even if civilisation was reset. My only regret is that we lost, and there's nothing more I can do about that now."

Click to shrink...

Yeah, it'd be a bit hard when they share the same soul. Right down to all the trinkets floating around inside it.

"Alright. Well… You're handling it better than I would."

"Thank you-."

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Eh, knowing that you are only the memories of a beloved past floating in a young man's head probably gives him a certain amount of comfort, knowing that he'll be remembered.

"Alright, lovebirds." Taggart walks out from behind the server, his new armour… Basically the same as the last, except blue and slightly bulkier. "It's kick ass and chew bubblegum. You ever get confused, check with me."

"Both of us are in relationships with women. How's your personal life, Corporal?"

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Plus, I think the guys outrank you, being a Prince of an ancient kingdom and top Lantern of a corps.

"Daisy said she'd wait for me. Back the way we came?"

"My armour's sensors don't show any concealed compartments, so unless your map says otherwise..?"

Click to shrink...

Heh. Must make it easy to locate hidden doors. Not necessarily how to open them, given some are triggered by switches or lines on the map...

"Back we go. Door number two! On me, Eddy!"

I wait for Taggart and Endymion to pass, before following them up the stairs with Mazikeen. "Not going to suggest that I wear armour, 'father'?"

Click to shrink...

She's probably tougher naked than most of the demons they've encountered. Or would be if she was at full strength.

"Mazikeen, you're about half our size. I don't think it would fit you without severely impeding your movement. But if you want it..?"

"Corporal! Were there any female marines stationed here?"

He glances back as we head down the corridor. "No, the Corps' is one big sausagefest. Might be an armored space suit for one of the female researchers somewhere. No idea where they'd keep it, though."

Click to shrink...

...Okay, that's a sensible question. I don't think classic Doom ever had any female sprites. The 'Quake' series, yes, but...

Come up on… A large room now. A few boxes of ammunition and storage crates scattered around the place. Looks like this was a proper storage depot. No demons immediately in sight. The corridor section leading down to it is too narrow for two people to walk down side by side and still have room to dodge. Single file seems to be the best bet.

Click to shrink...

Ah, the warehouse area of E2M7. I'll bet the ambush has been tapping their feet in annoyance...

Taggart and Endymion reach the same conclusion. Taggart heads down hugging the left wall with Endymion just behind him. I take position on the right, gun pointed down towards the entrance in case anything tried rushing them. Mazikeen faces away in case anything tries sneaking up on us.

Click to shrink...

On the upside, the demons are going to be in for a struggle against these professionals.

But nothing does. Taggart and Endymion reach the storage room without incident, advance a short distance and then hold, Endymion motioning for us to follow them. I turn, taking my left hand off the shotgun and tapping Mazikeen on the right shoulder. She turns and heads down the stairs, while I listen to her footsteps and wait for her to reach the bottom. Once she's down I turn and head down after the team.

Click to shrink...

Slow and steady. Not gonna score a par time for sure, but it's not like there's a pop-up screen between levels telling them so.

Huh. A bit bigger than I was expecting, given the support structures they'd need in an excavation like this, but it-.

A door than I'd thought was jammed in the 'open' position slides closed behind us. And… There's no control on this side. Ah, okay, that's a little-.

Click to shrink...

Yup, there's the trap. In the game, it's a 'linedef' trigger that closes the door, and it triggered when Mazikeen crossed it, presumably because they're in co-op mode.

"RhRAR!"

A pinkie-.

"RhRAR!" / "RhRAR!" / "RhRAR!" / "RhRAR!" / "RhRAR!"

Click to shrink...

A sound to make most players sweat a little bit. Unless they have a Berserk pack or BFG handy. And wouldn't you know it, there's one in this room! ...On the other side of the ambush.

A… Lot of pinkies charge out from behind… Just about every pile of crates-. That's more discipline and coordination than they've show-.

There's a crackly-twinkly noise, and a Baron of Hell teleports into the top of one of the larger crate piles, green fires wreathing its hands.

And if its mouth could move that way, I think it would be smiling.

Click to shrink...

Time to start unloading with everything you've got, people.

Hmm. With a little luck, they could trigger infighting, but I suspect the Baron is where it is to prevent Pinkies getting at it. This run is about to get messy, I think. Sadly, they lack the weapons to require cleanup being done with a mop due to Gibs. Unless Taggart or OL has a rocket launcher slung behind their back they haven't been using for safety...

 

[NightmareWarden]

Can't have a killfest unless there's loot!

 

[Duke Long]

I raise my shotgun at the demon with the active camouflage and fire. Taggart hesitates for a moment, then he spots the grey blur too and joins in. The stealthy ones aren't any tougher than the visible ones, they're just harder to see. Three shotgun shells is usually to kill them, though since the stealth effect doesn't end when they die it's a little hard to work out exactly what killed them.

Click to shrink...

'usually enough'

He glances back as we head down the corridor. "No, the Corps' is one big sausagefest. Might be an armored space suit for one of the female researchers somewhere. No idea where they'd keep it, though."

Click to shrink...

'Corps'

Taggart and Endymion reach the same conclusion. Taggart heads down hugging the left wall with Endymion just behind him. I take position on the right, gun pointed down towards the entrance in case anything tried rushing them. Mazikeen faces away in case anything tries sneaking up on us.

Click to shrink...

'tries'

A door than I'd thought was jammed in the 'open' position slides closed behind us. And… There's no control on this side. Ah, okay, that's a little-.

Click to shrink...

'that'

There's a crackly-twinkly noise, and a Baron of Hell teleports into the top of one of the larger crate piles, green fires wreathing its hands.

Click to shrink...

'onto'?

It's fun to see such a mundane scenario be a genuinely serious threat to Oh El and friends. It was definitely a good idea to depower them. Though it is a bit of a shame that Sandro had to be temporarily disintegrated, he's quite fun.

 

[Mr Zoat]

'usually enough'
'Corps'
'tries'
'that'
'onto'?

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.