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

Ngamer11 · 2026-06-07T08:06:18+0100

Mr Zoat said:
"Their militarily expansionist, slave owning, and one of their leading intelligence operatives told me that the plan for Alstair was the destroy it from orbit. And yet, the local Green Lanterns appear to be happy just leaving them to it. Now, I'm not planning anything, but I was wondering how they were under the threshold for Green Lantern intervention."

I think that should say 'They're'.

Mr Zoat said:
"No, we're clear. Everyone's peaceful or primitive We're the problematic world, and we're just a problem for ourselves."

Missing a full stop after that word.

Duke Long · 2026-06-07T08:08:33+0100

Mr Zoat said:
"Their militarily expansionist, slave owning, and one of their leading intelligence operatives told me that the plan for Alstair was the destroy it from orbit. And yet, the local Green Lanterns appear to be happy just leaving them to it. Now, I'm not planning anything, but I was wondering how they were under the threshold for Green Lantern intervention."

'to'

Nice to see some disaster relief stuff. Presumably a bunch of this sort of thing goes on offscreen, though I imagine usually on Earth.

boo600 · 2026-06-07T08:09:49+0100

Hm. It would be good if Grayven could communicate that the Thanagarian Empire - driven by desperation from fighting their Grayven or not - tried to destroy Earth without them even being their enemies. Heck, they were practically allied with Earth as they tried to destroy it - and it happened to non-Justice Lords versions, according to the cartoons.

It would serve as a decent warning to watch out for these morons, if the Seven Devils cultists aren't enough.

timeForced · 2026-06-07T08:12:12+0100

I mean I give it even odds the High Mor either willingly goes the Seven Devils route or he gets couped and someone else does.

BlackCoat13 · 2026-06-07T08:15:04+0100

Mr Zoat said:
"Their militarily expansionist, slave owning, and one of their leading intelligence operatives told me that the plan for Alstair was the destroy it from orbit.

"They're

Mr Zoat said:
"No, we're clear. Everyone's peaceful or primitive We're the problematic world, and we're just a problem for ourselves."

primitive. We're

Darko · 2026-06-07T08:15:51+0100

Mr Zoat said:
We're the problematic world, and we're just a problem for ourselves."

That's true for both a comic book setting and the real world.

Mr Zoat · 2026-06-07T08:18:15+0100

Ngamer11 said:
I think that should say 'They're'.
Missing a full stop after that word.

Duke Long said:
'to'

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-06-07T08:34:57+0100

Mr Zoat said:
12th September 2013
22:32 GMT

A flood.

Not caused by building on a flood plain, or global warning, or having a country that's below sea level Netherlands. No, it looks like they… Mined into an aquifer, resulting in thousands of gallons of water gushing out of the mines and deluging down the slope onto the town.

A disaster by any other measure, but largely a quick day's work for one Lantern, much less two. There were probably some deaths in the mine as they flooded, but the village's population can still be saved.

Lantern Stewart glances up at me as we dive down. "Can you stop the water?"

"Yes, easily."

"I got the town. Get to it."

It's lucky John is here. He might well be able to quickly reconstruct the village safely, since it's probably a write-off where it is.

I transition forwards-. Ugh, the rock's somewhat porous and a large chunk of this mountain face is starting to give way. Just sticking a bung construct in the mine entrance isn't going to be enough. Instead, I create a giant water tank construct and attach it with a hose to the opening-.

Redirecting the water away from the village, since the mine's entrances no doubt face it.

Yeah, that a lot of pressure.

And then… Extend an orange aura through the rock, reinforcing it as I go… That'll… Do…

Mining it might be a little tougher, but they might not want to return to that after this disaster.

Behind me, John's hoiking people out of the water and dropping them off on dry land. Unfortunately, the town is located in a depression in the valley floor. It might keep the wind off a little, but it means that the water isn't going to flow away.

It's basically a growing lake, for now.

And then-. Ah, I see. Geothermal energy in the rock, melting built up ice from beneath, which isn't visible from the top because that's all still frozen. Nasty. But with a cold gun construct I can at least freeze the water in the tunnels… Gradually, so that the expanding water doesn't rupture the tunnels. Not much I can do about the… Still somewhat active volcano, but they're almost certainly going to have to relocate the town anyway now. They can just shift it up the valley a little, dig a drainage channel and then let the water flow away.

John can manage that part of it. And who knows, maybe the villagers can adapt, maybe they'll move on...

Need to check what's downstream first, but given how the water cycle works there's almost certainly a river not too far from here.

Or-.

The depression had to come from somewhere. Likely an old flow that dried up as the glacier formed?

My ring shimmers, and John's face appears.

"How's it look?"

"The mountain's a weakly active volcano. They dug through it and inadvertently created a channel to a glacier aquifer that had been on the boil."

Like pouring water onto a hot stove. Lots and lots of pressure with nowhere to go but out.

"I wondered why they weren't freezing. Can you make it safe?"

"Give me about thirty seconds."

And isn't that just such an OL thing to say. About to calm down an unstable geothermal vent and stabilise an aquifer, and all he says is 'Thirty seconds.'

"I'll check the town, then do a survey to see if it's safe to make a drainage channel to get rid of the sitting water."

"Right. I'll do what I can to seal the mountain."

I doubt they'll rebuild in the same place, but without the water, they'll at least be able to recover their property and reclaim some of the materials.

Because aquifers are temporary if you poke a hole in it. And removing the giant heat sink from the active volcano could do all sorts of things to the local environment, and given, A, that I don't intend to hang around and, B, the technology level of the locals doesn't look high enough to do serious monitoring, it's probably best that I leave it as close to as it was as possible.

Like any mass of water, it'll empty to the highest stable level. Good call on the geothermal angle. Don't want a pressure build-up or sudden loss of heat.

And I can't risk just collapsing the tunnel in case it causes a landslide. And while I'm perfectly capable of transmuting ice to rock… It's not exactly going to be fast going.

"What brought you here?"

Not the slightest concern for Ring charge, of course, Elemental transmutation is so easy for him now it's an inconsequential drain.

"I wanted a word with you, actually."

"So you.. didn't know this was happening?"

Sometimes you come across things in the wild, you know?

"No." Not… Picking up any sort of beacon. "Did you?"

He shakes his head. "Just doing a patrol of the Sector and picked it up." I see him go for height and scan the surrounding area. "What did you wanna talk to me about that you couldn't do over our rings?"

...It occurs to me that this may not even be on Earth, given that.

"Thanagar. And…" I look at the partially submerged town. "Other places."

"I got Lantern Guarn's report. Did you really need to kill the admiral?"

I'm guessing because OL was involved, and he's a Sector 2184 concern. John may be an Honour guard at this point, but he is still linked to Earth's Sector.

"No. I could just have left. I might have been able to drag the fleet… Maybe, but I know that the Thanagarians have at least some construct-disrupting technology and those things have a lot of attack craft. I could have punched through some other part of the hull, but he was the commanding admiral. It was his decision. Why should I take it out on other navy personnel? The only other thing to do would have been to try to get hold of the High Mor myself, and the problem there is that I don't have a fast way to do that. I could have gone back to Thanagar and forced my way into government buildings to his bunker, but that wouldn't have stopped the fighting."

A fine sentiment, but I doubt the ship's bridge crew would agree with it. Still, it worked.

"And did you really need to say 'they've got other admirals' to Hawkman?"

"Lantern Stewart, I feel that I've been acting under a mistaken impression of what the Green Lantern Corps actually does."

"Oh yeah?"

Ah, you can hear the 'oh no, what's he gonna say now?' tone of John's voice.

"So, I get the Reach. The Green Lantern Corps couldn't sustain the war without crippling itself, and the treaty at least slowed their expansion. Similar problem with the Dominion and the Spider Guild, and Apokolips flat out won last time your Corps tried to invade them. But what about Thanagar? Or the Antares war, for that matter?"

It's a matter of scale, I suspect. Sectors are very large, and even with two Lanterns to a Sector, they can't hang around a single polity for long to make sure they're playing nice...

"You planning on picking a fight with Thanagar?"

"They're militarily expansionist, slave owning, and one of their leading intelligence operatives told me that the plan for Alstair was to destroy it from orbit. And yet, the local Green Lanterns appear to be happy just leaving them to it. Now, I'm not planning anything, but I was wondering how they were under the threshold for Green Lantern intervention."

For one thing, their atrocities were mostly internal. For another, Nth Metal gives them a bit of leverage. But I'm sure it's more complicated than that.

"If they had destroyed Alstair, things might have changed. Fact is, interplanetary civilisations fight sometimes. You see how they treat their slaves?"

"No mass executions, they don't get worked to death and they get at least basic medical attention?"

Tolerable, but hardly fair.

"I don't like it, but it's a whole lot less bad than it could be."

"Same with downside?"

Surprised it isn't capitalised, but I guess most Thanagarian cities have a downside district.

"Downside of what?"

"No, that's what they call their slums. They're quite big. As far as I can tell, the only path for advancement for most thanagarians there is military service."

Now, to mention Shayera or not. Probably not, as she probably hasn't shared her origins with the League.

"Who do you think paid for my college degree?"

"No, I mean, that's literally the only legitimate career available and I think they've set it up like that deliberately. So given that their government oppresses other species, their own species and was planning genocide…"

Again, mostly internal matters, and the Greenies stay hands-off with that kind of matter, annoyingly.

"I'm not exactly sure. Being incompetent isn't enough. War usually just results in a mediation attempt, so long as they're mostly focusing on military targets. But with everything that got reported about Antares I'd be surprised if Lantern Guarn wasn't getting orders to start paying them a lot more attention."

Poor kid's going to be a lot busier around there, him and his partner.

"Is there anyone we're keeping an eye on in this Sector?"

There's a flash of green as Lantern Stewart uses construct drill to create a drainage channel.

Fortunately, outside of Earth, 2814 is fairly peaceful, from what I remember.

"No, we're clear. Everyone's peaceful or primitive. We're the problematic world, and we're just a problem for ourselves."

I dismiss my construct, and nod as the new rock takes the strain. I'll dump the water back at the summit, and then I'll be done.

Well, until someone hits a load-bearing mystical linkage and suddenly it's everyone's problem.

"Would you mind keeping me appraised? I feel rather involved, now, and I'd like to make sure that things don't get worse."

"Sure. I can do that."

Though I expect the extent of that involvement will remain at 'monitor reports' level, hoping that his 'Don't make me come back here' implied threats will be enough to keep the peace for a while...

Nice to see some classic hero work, saving lives and casually discussing other things. It really helps sell that these two are damn good at their jobs that they did all that disaster-recovery stuff without a single bit of stress. The discussion of the Green Lantern Corps' relatively light treatment of stuff like Thanagar and Antares was interesting too...

BR549 · 2026-06-07T08:42:36+0100

Mr Zoat said:
uses construct drill

'uses a construct drill'

Chojin Patriarch said:
I'm guessing because OL was involved, and he's a Sector 3184 concern.

Earth is Sector 2814.

BlueMangoAdea · 2026-06-07T08:59:45+0100

Hmmm. Is Paul going to clean up the local sector?

But as John states, the sector is more or less fine. Other than Earth, that is.

Lord Ernest · 2026-06-07T09:12:15+0100

BlueMangoAdea said:
Hmmm. Is Paul going to clean up the local sector?

But as John states, the sector is more or less fine. Other than Earth, that is.

It would still be a good idea to keep an eye on it and check for developments. That crazy guy that had armor made from the Anti-Monitor (Ungol something or other?) was from Sector 2814 and rampaged around, and the criminal syndicate that Amon Sur was a part of is in the same sector I think. So even while being generally calm, the local sector could have any number of skeletons or plots around.

Zelred · 2026-06-07T09:22:32+0100

Mr Zoat said:
"Is there anyone we're keeping an eye on in this Sector?"

I think that's supposed to be "Is there anyone you're keeping an eye on in this Sector?"

Chaoswind · 2026-06-07T09:43:01+0100

Mr Zoat said:
If they had destroyed Alstair, things might have changed. Fact is, interplanetary civilisations fight sometimes. You see how they treat their slaves?"

Probably interstellar civilizations?

Interplanetary civilizations IE multiple civs on a single star system only accounts for places like Antares and Paul was talking about both the Thanagarians and the Antares war.

NightmareWarden · 2026-06-07T09:58:43+0100

A little unfortunate that a Lizarkon never attracted an orange ring. Leaving to see the galaxy and return with resources for a lizarkon exodus and the requisite fight with Thanagar? No, maybe something else. Not the right goal for most Oranges pre-Enlightenment.

Mr Zoat · 2026-06-07T10:43:31+0100

BR549 said:
'uses a construct drill'

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch said:
...It occurs to me that this may not even be on Earth, given that.

It's not.

I'm guessing because OL was involved, and he's a Sector 2184 concern. John may be an Honour guard at this point, but he is still linked to Earth's Sector.

I suppose that since I haven't specifically said that he'd not, he may be. He isn't. Jordan and Gardner are Honour Guard Lanterns, Stewart and Savenlovich are Sector Lanterns.

Zelred said:
I think that's supposed to be "Is there anyone you're keeping an eye on in this Sector?"

He meant what he said. Justice League associated people.

Chaoswind said:
Probably interstellar civilizations?

Interplanetary civilizations IE multiple civs on a single star system only accounts for places like Antares and Paul was talking about both the Thanagarians and the Antares war.

Lantern Stewart wasn't using it that precisely.

RichardWhereat · 2026-06-07T12:07:34+0100

Mr Zoat said:
"No, I mean, that's literally the only legitimate career available and I think they've set it up like that deliberately. So given that their government oppresses other species, their own species, and was planning genocide…"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't there be an oxford comma there?

Mr Zoat · 2026-06-07T12:26:21+0100

RichardWhereat said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't there be an Oxford comma there?

Probably.

RichardWhereat · 2026-06-07T12:28:51+0100

Mr Zoat said:
Probably.

One simply must maintain the standards of the Commonwealth.

Agumentic · 2026-06-07T12:59:12+0100

Mr Zoat said:
Not caused by building on a flood plain, or global warning

Global warming.

Mr Zoat · 2026-06-07T14:00:27+0100

RichardWhereat said:
One simply must maintain the standards of the Commonwealth.

Bah. If we were maintaining proper standards, there wouldn't be a Commonwealth.

Agumentic said:
Global warming.

That's just how you know that it wasn't written by A.I..

Steelplaza · 2026-06-08T00:23:03+0100

Mr Zoat said:
Not caused by building on a flood plain, or global warming, or having a country that's below sea level Netherlands. No, it looks like they… Mined into an aquifer, resulting in thousands of gallons of water gushing out of the mines and deluging down the slope onto the town.

As I recall, Paul has a harder time mustering up the desire to help people who have caused their own problems, so this little checklist showing that it was an unforeseeable accident probably helped him respond at full power.

Mr Zoat said:
But what about Thanagar?

Another part of this might be that Thanagar's militarism is relatively recent, at least by the standards of the Guardians. The Equalization Plague and Hyanthis causing them to militarize happened in the generation of Bleez's father, so it's within living memory. It's not like the Dominion and the Reach where there is a long term generational commitment to aggressive expansionism. (Though on the other hand they apparently weren't treating aliens in the Old Colonies great even before that.)

The Guardians might reasonably hope that the whole expansionist effort will stutter out, liberalizing forces will arise in Thanagar, and they can gradually becomes... well, less evil, without the Green Lanterns having to exercise a long term offense to bring them to heel.

Signaller · 2026-06-08T01:20:27+0100

@Zoat, have you considered making an April entry for future OL in the Xiaolin Showdown series?

Vaermina · 2026-06-08T05:33:43+0100

Signaller said:
@Zoat, have you considered making an April entry for future OL in the Xiaolin Showdown series?

I mean, if he's going that direction he should go all the way and do Jackie Chan adventures.

Mr Zoat · 2026-06-08T06:24:14+0100

Signaller said:
@Zoat, have you considered making an April entry for future OL in the Xiaolin Showdown series?

No, because I know next to nothing about it.

Mr Zoat · 2026-06-08T06:27:24+0100

548 West 120th Street
Morningside Heights
New York
10027

March 3rd, 2006

Transcript 72
Green Lantern

GL: Y'know, it's funny you ask about that.

TA: Do you remember the event?

GL: Yeah, yeah, I do. It stuck in my mind because it was such a surprise. She was always a little…

TA: Primitive?

GL: I was gonna say unworldly. So when she said that she was made out of clay, we all kinda looked at each other and… You know, we thought maybe they just.. didn't tell her where babies come from.

TA: When did you learn she was being completely literal?

GL: When did I learn it for sure, or when did I believe her?

TA: Both, I suppose.

GL: Well, I started believing her right afterwards, because she clearly knew what she was talking about. But I didn't visit Themyscira until Forty Eight, and that's when I got to see what those ladies can do with… With magic.

TA: Are you allowed to talk about it?

GL: Ah, yeah? I mean, you'd do better asking at the embassy, and we… Might run out of time. I was there for a few-

TA: Yes, I-.

GL: -days, I-. Sorry.

TA: No, I-. I meant to say that I've scheduled an appointment, but you had an outsider's point of view. Getting both is usually better than one or the other.

GL: Well, I can schedule another meeting, but it won't be for a couple of week.

TA: That's fine, thank you. So… Did you talk to him?

GL: No, I was too shocked at seeing her… Hugging a guy like that, that I didn't think so say anything to him until after he'd already walked off. I think Hector and Shiera were too, because we all just sort of stood there in shock until Diana walked up to us to say 'hi'. Like I said, ah… She was fifteen, sixteen back then, and we all figured that she was… Innocent. Sheltered. And we.. tried not to think about how the War Department stuck her with a handsome junior officer as a escort instead of someone from the Women's Auxiliary or something like that.

TA: You think that assigning Lieutenant Steven Trevor to her was..? They were trying to..? Honey pot her?

GL: It… I mean, he was her first point of contact, but he was an airman, a pilot, not a diplomat or… Something.

TA: Did the War Department know about..? Themyscira's… 'Demographic oddity'?

GL: Hah! Yeah, that's… That's one way of putting it. Uh. Well, I know she told 'em, but… I don't know if they set any store by it.

TA: Do you think they thought she was lying?

GL: I think maybe they thought she was a bit simple. Ah, at the start. Or maybe a bit crazy. You understand… Back then we hadn't had the kind of.. direct evidence that pagan gods exist that we have now, so…

TA: I see. Do you remember how the conversation went?

GL: I think it started with me just… Pointing at him as he walked away and saying 'Diana, who was that guy?'. I mean, he was obviously quite a lot older than her… I know she could look after herself, but…

TA: You felt protective. A young girl away from home-.

GL: Right, right.

TA: And what did she say?"

GL: A little frown, a little shrug, and then she said 'Phaenon'.

TA: Is that his..? His actual name?

GL: No, it-. Getting out of sequence, but apparently so many societies have myths about him that he just takes whatever name they give him. I don't… I don't remember if she ever said his original name… She might not even know. Or maybe he doesn't think it matters. She actually asked me if I was going to call him 'Adam'.

TA: …

GL: I don't think he's actually Adam, like in the Bible, but, ah… I'm not exactly a biblical literalist. I could see how… Parts of his life coulda gotten mixed up in the stories that got written down later. Or maybe Cain? Anyway, anyway, so I asked if he was from Themyscira, because… Maybe they keep a few guys around..? And she said, no, but he's the only man allowed to visit whenever he wants. So I asked 'why', and by that point Hector and Shiera were coming out of it, and we all… We went to sit down at a table. And she said that when her mom was fighting Hercules, he was there and helped them all out. Held him off while they got to the boats to take them off the mainland.

TA: Did she say when that was?

GL: About three thousand years ago.

TA: And she was completely sure it was the same man?

GL: Yeah.

TA: Did she think that was strange?

GL: Ah, not really. Most of the women on Themyscira are about three thousand years old. And he's-. If it's really him, then he's a lot more than three thousand years old.

TA: Were you..? Aware of him before that?

GL: Ah… I think Hector showed me a couple of pieces with… His symbol, the circle and the lines coming off. He said my ring and lantern made him wonder if there was a connection, but that was the only time I saw him, so if there is one then he didn't care about it. Honestly, I was thinking about it in terms of some older guy buying drinks for a teenage girl in a bar, not… Nearly meeting the supposed ancestor of all humanity.

TA: What was her relationship with him?

GL: According to her, she though he was like what a father would be like. He, ah… When he visited, he told her stories about all the different civilisations he'd visited… Though she said that he sometimes just made stories up for fun, and he'd never tell her which was which. Ah… Apparently, he was in some sort of contests with Captain Philippus for who could be the best dad… I don't exactly know how Amazons handle that part of things.

TA: I suppose there's still a division of responsibilities-. Sorry, it's just that I've been… Interested in the Ancestor for.. most of my life. Finding out that there are people who actually know him-.

GL: It's fine, Hector was the same.

TA: Had he met him in his past lives?

GL: No, but according to him he'd had some near misses. Times when he'd run into something he'd build, or some group that had some story to tell about him. Not that he knew about it, because he hadn't ever gotten all his memories back before. I guess that was part of why they both froze up.

TA: It's a real shame that he died when he did. I'd love to be able to talk about this with someone who knew as much about the subject as he did.

GL: Well, Doctor Adams, if you could find his current incarnation, I'm sure he'd feel the same way.

TA: Oh, please. Theodore's fine.

McGraww · 2026-06-08T06:32:02+0100

Mr Zoat said:
GL: Well, Doctor Adams, if you could find his current incarnation, I'm sure he'd feel the same way.

TA: Oh, please. Theodore's fine.

Oh well that's not good.

Interesting, sounds like this Paul got shunted to the past. He's using the Orange Lantern symbol, and presumably Orange light is keeping him alive, but if he was flying around with a ring I think GL would've mentioned it.

Ciber · 2026-06-08T06:32:05+0100

Oh! This is the one where OL had to get the humans to dream that cats were weak! This is one of the ones set far in the future on OL's timeline when he's kinda just a bored wandering god, not one of the original parallels.

Ngamer11 · 2026-06-08T06:32:47+0100

Mr Zoat said:
GL: Well, Doctor Adams, if you could find his current incarnation, I'm sure he'd feel the same way.

TA: Oh, please. Theodore's fine.

Is this supposed to be Theodore Adam/Black Adam? Because that might be a problem depending on what he's like.

Duke Long · 2026-06-08T07:03:09+0100

Mr Zoat said:
GL: Well, I can schedule another meeting, but it won't be for a couple of week.

'weeks'

Mr Zoat said:
GL: No, I was too shocked at seeing her… Hugging a guy like that, that I didn't think so say anything to him until after he'd already walked off. I think Hector and Shiera were too, because we all just sort of stood there in shock until Diana walked up to us to say 'hi'. Like I said, ah… She was fifteen, sixteen back then, and we all figured that she was… Innocent. Sheltered. And we.. tried not to think about how the War Department stuck her with a handsome junior officer as a escort instead of someone from the Women's Auxiliary or something like that.

'to'
'an'

Mr Zoat said:
GL: I think it started with me just… Pointing at him as he walked away and saying 'Diana, who was that guy?'. I mean, he was obviously quite a lot older than her… I know she could look after herself, but…

'knew'

Mr Zoat said:
GL: According to her, she though he was like what a father would be like. He, ah… When he visited, he told her stories about all the different civilisations he'd visited… Though she said that he sometimes just made stories up for fun, and he'd never tell her which was which. Ah… Apparently, he was in some sort of contests with Captain Philippus for who could be the best dad… I don't exactly know how Amazons handle that part of things.

'thought'
'contest'?

Mr Zoat said:
GL: No, but according to him he'd had some near misses. Times when he'd run into something he'd build, or some group that had some story to tell about him. Not that he knew about it, because he hadn't ever gotten all his memories back before. I guess that was part of why they both froze up.

'built'?

Nice, another Ancestor chapter. And this is the first time we're seeing a present day-ish perspective of him. Interesting to see the changes, though with how the world still seems fairly similar I guess he maybe cleaves closer to Nommo's philosophy than he already does in the Paragon universe. Maybe they're friends.

Hector is Hawkman, right? The reincarnating one, not the thanagarian one.

Wonder how powerful Ancestor is. Is he enlightened? Has he learned magic? Would be funny if after tens of thousands of years he is still weaker than other alternates. Actually, I was thinking his technology database might be inferior, but he probably visited Maltus at some point.

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-06-08T07:08:14+0100

Mr Zoat said:
548 West 120th Street
Morningside Heights
New York
10027

March 3rd, 2006

Interesting, another Ancestor!Paul Snippet? I wonder if this will be relevant to things or not? At any rate, this promises to be interesting, as every Ancestor chapter is. I suppose we jumped to nearly-modern day since History has a lot less gaps as the years march on...

Transcript 72
Green Lantern

GL: Y'know, it's funny you ask about that.

The joy of such a format: we get no idea which Green Lantern this is at first...

TA: Do you remember the event?

GL: Yeah, yeah, I do. It stuck in my mind because it was such a surprise. She was always a little…

One guess who he's talking about, given that Diana would have been the 'strange new girl' of the day.

TA: Primitive?

GL: I was gonna say unworldly. So when she said that she was made out of clay, we all kinda looked at each other and… You know, we thought maybe they just.. didn't tell her where babies come from.

Oh, I'm sure her mothers gave her that talk at some point, probably around the time she started puberty.

TA: When did you learn she was being completely literal?

GL: When did I learn it for sure, or when did I believe her?

Because it's not guaranteed that both would occur at the same time, yes.

TA: Both, I suppose.

GL: Well, I started believing her right afterwards, because she clearly knew what she was talking about. But I didn't visit Themyscira until Forty Eight, and that's when I got to see what those ladies can do with… With magic.

Huh, Themyscira with a more active mystical side? Are we looking at a world with an advanced Themyscira, hmm?

TA: Are you allowed to talk about it?

GL: Ah, yeah? I mean, you'd do better asking at the embassy, and we… Might run out of time. I was there for a few-

Joy of interviewing with a busy superhero. Never know when they might get called away.

TA: Yes, I-.

GL: -days, I-. Sorry.

TA: No, I-. I meant to say that I've scheduled an appointment, but you had an outsider's point of view. Getting both is usually better than one or the other.

Sensible enough. Though the Themysciran angle might be hard to relate to.

GL: Well, I can schedule another meeting, but it won't be for a couple of week.

TA: That's fine, thank you. So… Did you talk to him?

Ah, GL met Ancestor!Paul? Interesting.

GL: No, I was too shocked at seeing her… Hugging a guy like that, that I didn't think so say anything to him until after he'd already walked off. I think Hector and Shiera were too, because we all just sort of stood there in shock until Diana walked up to us to say 'hi'. Like I said, ah… She was fifteen, sixteen back then, and we all figured that she was… Innocent. Sheltered. And we.. tried not to think about how the War Department stuck her with a handsome junior officer as a escort instead of someone from the Women's Auxiliary or something like that.

...That does seem a bit awkward, especially to modern eyes. Lots of potential exploitation concerns at the least.

TA: You think that assigning Lieutenant Steven Trevor to her was..? They were trying to..? Honey pot her?

GL: It… I mean, he was her first point of contact, but he was an airman, a pilot, not a diplomat or… Something.

Doesn't mean he couldn't have been coached in ways to manipulate her once they got back to the US.

TA: Did the War Department know about..? Themyscira's… 'Demographic oddity'?

GL: Hah! Yeah, that's… That's one way of putting it. Uh. Well, I know she told 'em, but… I don't know if they set any store by it.

And unless this world is a lot less chauvinistic, I doubt they took the information seriously.

TA: Do you think they thought she was lying?

GL: I think maybe they thought she was a bit simple. Ah, at the start. Or maybe a bit crazy. You understand… Back then we hadn't had the kind of.. direct evidence that pagan gods exist that we have now, so…

No doubt encounters with Ares helped with that, for a start.

TA: I see. Do you remember how the conversation went?

GL: I think it started with me just… Pointing at him as he walked away and saying 'Diana, who was that guy?'. I mean, he was obviously quite a lot older than her… I know she could look after herself, but…

Relatively speaking, I assume. Much like the Themyscirans seem to settle on mid-to-late twenties as a default, I expect the Ancestor sticks to a consistent age.

TA: You felt protective. A young girl away from home-.

GL: Right, right.

A whole team of would-be uncles and aunties for Diana. An amusing dynamic, really.

TA: And what did she say?"

GL: A little frown, a little shrug, and then she said 'Phaenon'.

TA: Is that his..? His actual name?

It's a byname of Saturn (The planet, not the Roman god,) from what a brief check reveals. Fittingly, it means 'shining' and is attached to a youth made by Prometheus noted as excelling in beauty.

GL: No, it-. Getting out of sequence, but apparently so many societies have myths about him that he just takes whatever name they give him. I don't… I don't remember if she ever said his original name… She might not even know. Or maybe he doesn't think it matters. She actually asked me if I was going to call him 'Adam'.

Eh, might not be accurate. I wouldn't be surprised to find he was there when Adam and Eve emerged from the Garden, and guided them on how to make a home and farm.

TA: …

GL: I don't think he's actually Adam, like in the Bible, but, ah… I'm not exactly a biblical literalist. I could see how… Parts of his life coulda gotten mixed up in the stories that got written down later. Or maybe Cain? Anyway, anyway, so I asked if he was from Themyscira, because… Maybe they keep a few guys around..? And she said, no, but he's the only man allowed to visit whenever he wants. So I asked 'why', and by that point Hector and Shiera were coming out of it, and we all… We went to sit down at a table. And she said that when her mom was fighting Hercules, he was there and helped them all out. Held him off while they got to the boats to take them off the mainland.

Huh, yeah, I could see him refusing to let that stand.

TA: Did she say when that was?

GL: About three thousand years ago.

Fits with the Themysciran timeline, sure.

TA: And she was completely sure it was the same man?

GL: Yeah.

TA: Did she think that was strange?

His image is probably well-respected there. Although maybe a little idealised in portrayals...

GL: Ah, not really. Most of the women on Themyscira are about three thousand years old. And he's-. If it's really him, then he's a lot more than three thousand years old.

TA: Were you..? Aware of him before that?

Huh, he never stepped in and helped anyone who wanted it with children? Guess he took a more hands-off role than OL had.

GL: Ah… I think Hector showed me a couple of pieces with… His symbol, the circle and the lines coming off. He said my ring and lantern made him wonder if there was a connection, but that was the only time I saw him, so if there is one then he didn't care about it. Honestly, I was thinking about it in terms of some older guy buying drinks for a teenage girl in a bar, not… Nearly meeting the supposed ancestor of all humanity.

The Orange Sigil? Wonder if that's a recurring symbol in human history too?

TA: What was her relationship with him?

GL: According to her, she though he was like what a father would be like. He, ah… When he visited, he told her stories about all the different civilisations he'd visited… Though she said that he sometimes just made stories up for fun, and he'd never tell her which was which. Ah… Apparently, he was in some sort of contests with Captain Philippus for who could be the best dad… I don't exactly know how Amazons handle that part of things.

Somehow, I get the feeling every story was true, even if the names were changed for obfuscation.

TA: I suppose there's still a division of responsibilities-. Sorry, it's just that I've been… Interested in the Ancestor for.. most of my life. Finding out that there are people who actually know him-.

GL: It's fine, Hector was the same.

TA: Had he met him in his past lives?

Huh, that would be amusing. given that a serial reincarnator would probably remember him eventually.

GL: No, but according to him he'd had some near misses. Times when he'd run into something he'd build, or some group that had some story to tell about him. Not that he knew about it, because he hadn't ever gotten all his memories back before. I guess that was part of why they both froze up.

Ah, so they had a 'holy shit, was that really HIM?' moment. Maybe in their next life, they'll get to talk to him.

TA: It's a real shame that he died when he did. I'd love to be able to talk about this with someone who knew as much about the subject as he did.

GL: Well, Doctor Adams, if you could find his current incarnation, I'm sure he'd feel the same way.

TA: Oh, please. Theodore's fine.

...Oh. Oh. That's a bit of a worry.

Somehow, I get the feeling this Theo Adams might have designs on acquiring the Ancestor's power if he can't get Teth-Adom's first. Or even both. Let's hope it's more innocent, though, and I doubt the Ancestor would not be wary of anyone seeking him out specifically. If he could ever be found so easily without his active participation.

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

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