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

Ngamer11 · 2026-09-16T07:05:12+0100

CrazyNoVa said:
Wasn't Argent's father a drug lord in the comics, or something? Is he one in this story?

Maybe the changes in the setting, like Gotham getting better, the Sheeda invasion, and the Anti-Life meant he either didn't become like that or he cleaned up as a result.

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-09-16T07:10:57+0100

Mr Zoat said:
6th October 2013
12:37 GMT -5

"Orange Lantern." Senator Anthony Monetti stands up to shake my hand as I approach his-. Our table, and executes the perfect politician handshake when I take it. Solid enough to demonstrate confidence, light enough to avoid turning this into a test of strength, and quick enough that he could work an entire line like this without getting excessively delayed. "It's good to meet you."

Ah, checking in with the rookie's father, eh? We'll get to see how he feels about his little girl going out and playing the costumed vigilante game. I imagine he's not entirely happy about it... No parent really would be.

"Senator Monetti. Thank you for inviting me."

Argent-. Antonia herself stays seated, just giving me a nod as I sit down. She's in a white blouse and black skirt, and she doesn't look irritated or concerned. Her father matches her pallet in terms of clothing with a white shirt and black trousers, but it's a shade… Less formal that I might have expected. There's a plain t-shirt under the shirt, and the trousers are shapeless casual trousers rather than sharply-creased suit trousers.

Dressy enough to be classy, comfortable enough to relax in. Impressive.

Reading the room, I send my own suit jacket into subspace as a waiter brings over a drinks menu.

"I'll take a water."

"Uh, coke."

Fairly simple orders, of course. He's not looking to get drunk at this time of day, she's too young for alcohol.

"Shirley Temple, please."

Senator Monetti raises his eyebrows. "Isn't it a little early?"

It's after midday. A Shirley Temple is also a alcohol-free drink, and I'm sure the senator knows that.

"Oh, I can't get-." And then I get it, and do a cough-laugh. "Sorry. Joke, right."

"It's fine." He frowns with curiosity as the waiter takes the menus. "Were you saying that you can't get drunk?"

It is a good joke to start a conversation over, though.

"Among other things. I could get drunk if I actually wanted to, but… Given my line of work, I generally fine the idea of having my mental processes altered sufficiently unpleasant that my rings ensure that doesn't happen."

"Don't wanna be drunk in charge of a power ring. Good. Or maybe given that whole Christmas cake thing, I should say 'again'."

Ah, a perfectly reasonable concern about impaired powers usage.

Antonia gives him a mild scowl, but I just smile. "Oh, I wasn't drunk when I made that. Or the giant naked statue in the Bialyan desert."

He blinks. "Excuse me?"

To be fair, i don't think many people know about the latter thing. Back end of nowhere in Bialya isn't getting many visitors.

"I one of my early missions, before I had the sort of anti-telepath defences that I have today, a telepath named Simon Jones managed to… Not 'erase' exactly, but… Suppress, a couple of months worth of my memories. Given how weird what was going on was, I spend a few hours convinced that I was dreaming the whole experience and one of the things I did while I was 'dreaming' was build a giant statue."

That was an amusing sequence of events...

"Ok-okay?"

"The giant cake happened because as a result of…" Oh. "A poorly-planned training session, I ended up bonded to an avarice elemental. Other considerations rather went out of the window until we were separated again. And then I had the cake, and I didn't feel like wasting it…"

I hope that's the official story, since I doubt most folks are gonna be comfortable knowing there's a giant snake that's tied to the universe's Avarice.

"I… See…"

Clearly, I've thrown him off, but the waiter returning with our drinks gives him a moment to recover and think it over.

Not surprising, given that OL dropped the conversational equivalent of a flashbang or two on him there.

"Thank you."

"Is that sort of thing common?"

By which he means 'Could that sort of thing happen to my baby girl?'

"It depends what you mean by 'common'. There are a handful of telepaths on Earth who could try something like that, and I can't call to mind any who are likely to be hostile. Elementals and other arcane lifeforms are common enough, but encounters with them are rare. Antonia, you're wearing-."

And a good chance to show daddy that his little girl is as safe as she can be.

"Toni."

I nod. "Sor-."

"Antonia is a perfectly nice name." Her father looks mildly put out. "It's your grandmother's."

Yes, and it makes her sounds like an Italian grandmother. She's a teenager. Being cool is important.

"Everyone calls me 'Toni', Dad."

Perhaps I should intervene. "You're wearing your spell eater, yes?"

They're simple and cheap enough that OL can hand them out to recruits like ID cards.

She pulls is out from between-. Under her blouse. "And I've got my inertia shield on my belt."

"Good show." I take a sip of my drink. "Those protect against magic and kinetic energy respectively. No defence is completely reliable, but we do our best to protect the people who work with us."

Everything else, well... You can't protect against everything without going to ludicrous effort.

"Yes, I was… Worried when Antonia-" She rolls her eyes. "-told me she wanted to be a superhero. Now, sure, when there's a catastrophe like the Anti-Life happening, it's all hands to the pumps. I'm not arguing that, and I'm proud of what she did. But I have concerns about her making it a full-time thing."

And concerns about her running into bigger threats than angry people with molotovs, eh?

I nod. "And you should."

He nods. "I had a look at the death rates for new superheroes. You ever do that?"

Ah, this is gonna be a minefield of a conversation, eh?

"Oh yes." I nod. "And while the methodology of the studies are imperfect, the vast majority of superheroes stop appearing after the first six months. But unlike the people who did the studies, I know why that was."

"And it wasn't because they got shot or stabbed to death?"

I wonder how many tried it, found out how much work it is, and quit before the six-month mark?

"Sort of. They did, but the League of Shadows used to use neophyte superheroes as training targets. Once we dealt with their organisation, the confirmed death rate dropped off a lot."

Lunch menus are delivered, and then the waiter retreats.

Ah, good, a chance to stop and think for a minute...

Uh… This place is too fancy for me to have much experience of eating things like this. Though… The menu is clearly post-Anti-Life. The selection is noticeably reduced from what I remember. Avocados are still on the menu, with the increase in costs neatly neutralised by the lack of cartels to take a cut.

A lot less exotic meals and a lot more staples, eh?

That was a satisfying week.

"How bad are the death rates now?"

Heh. I suppose OL had to look into that himself and applied some law and order to the region...

"It hasn't been long enough for there to be good data. The Alliance and the Anti-Life threw everything out. Lower, probably."

The omelette looks… Relatively harmless. But… They seem to be serving salad with everything, and I don't… Want to be seen as the sort of uncultured person who leaves his salad on the plate-. Ah, soup, with bread. Excellent. Ah. Not tomato-. Chicken! Perfect.

"So it's safe."

Probably safer than average teenage pastimes like driving fast cars, going to wild parties and trying to get drunk and/or high...

"Nothing's safe. Law enforcement jobs involving contact with law-breakers are certainly not safe. The supervision and training is intended to make it as safe as it can be, but they're hardly perfect. This issue is that Toni was going out as a superhero anyway, so comparing what she's getting from us with a fictional reality where she isn't going out is pointless."

And denying her the option of going out on patrols isn't going to help any.

"Not to me, it's not."

"She's safer than she would be as a conventional law enforcement operative or soldier."

Especially with the League-provided gear.

"Have you ever had students die before?"

"Not with the Justice League. I've had Lanterns I've trained die out in the wider galaxy, but I've taken part in the training of hundreds of Lanterns. You… Disapprove?"

Be sure to point out that his Lanterns are fighting in a interstellar war against a force out for total conquest and/or extinction.

"Yeah." He glances at his daughter. "I'd rather she was a few years older at least. I'm putting up with it mostly because I hope it's a phase."

"It's not a phase, Dad."

"Yeah, we'll see. So, if this thing's going to turn into a career, what exactly do you do every day?"

Ah, the challenging part of the discussion: paychecks.

One of the challenges of being a heroic mentor: Dealing with concerned parental figures worried about a student they still see as a child. A veritable minefield OL has little experience in navigating, certainly. Still, better Argent's father be involved in her heroing life than her going out without his knowledge or permission...

Mr Zoat · 2026-09-16T08:31:39+0100

Khettien said:
Doesn't this fail as a joke on the face of it anyway, as a Shirley Temple has no alcohol? Just sprite and grenadine, IIRC.

i-got-sick-of-the-low-res-blurry-so-i-made-a-new-one-v0-pXPyuM3J0QP76BGG4ra8U9FykuD2qgxfXbh1MznQmcw.png

Darko said:
"find the"
'In one of"
"spent a few"

Thank you, corrected.

CrazyNoVa said:
Wasn't Argent's father a drug lord in the comics, or something? Is he one in this story?

Wait and see, but probably not. Taking money from drug-trafficking front companies when he has plausible deniability, that's more likely.

Mr said:
while the methodology of the studies are imperfect

methodologies

Clell65619 · 2026-09-16T12:59:42+0100

Khettien said:
Doesn't this fail as a joke on the face of it anyway, as a Shirley Temple has no alcohol? Just sprite and grenadine, IIRC.

And a cherry. At least thats how the bar I tended at made them.

Silveraith · 2026-09-16T13:13:36+0100

Mr Zoat said:
.

It gets lost in the moment when Argent's father talks with the MC, but as far as the world is aware Orange Lantern is only 19. While he's secretly in his late 30s the world would just see him as a mature young man but I feel like a lot of older people who meet him in non-emergencies get that sense that they're talking to a child.

Mr Zoat · 2026-09-16T13:34:04+0100

Silveraith said:
It gets lost in the moment when Argent's father talks with the MC, but as far as the world is aware Orange Lantern is only 19. While he's secretly in his late 30s the world would just see him as a mature young man but I feel like a lot of older people who meet him in non-emergencies get that sense that they're talking to a child.

His 'age' isn't a secret, but it's also not public knowledge. Unless Antonia looked it up and told him, her father would be making an educated guess.

Ngamer11 · 2026-09-16T14:06:32+0100

Mr Zoat said:
His 'age' isn't a secret, but it's also not public knowledge. Unless Antonia looked it up and told him, her father would be making an educated guess.

Even if he ignores Paul's age, how disturbed is he after hearing some of the things Paul has experienced as a superhero and Lantern, and how will it affect how he feels about Argent being a superhero herself?

Mr Zoat · 2026-09-16T14:44:50+0100

Ngamer11 said:
Even if he ignores Paul's age, how disturbed is he after hearing some of the things Paul has experienced as a superhero and Lantern, and how will it affect how he feels about Argent being a superhero herself?

The sorts of fights superheroes get into are public knowledge. As is what happens when there isn't a superhero there to handle the fight. Senator Monetti probably isn't involved with the sorts of senate committees which review things like that for national security reasons, but he does pay attention to things like that.

His concern really is more 'my teenaged daughter is taking up a highly dangerous hobby', with elements of 'and isn't getting paid for it' and 'this is probably interfering with her school work'.

Ardy · 2026-09-16T16:28:36+0100

Mr Zoat said:
The sorts of fights superheroes get into are public knowledge. As is what happens when there isn't a superhero there to handle the fight. Senator Monetti probably isn't involved with the sorts of senate committees which review things like that for national security reasons, but he does pay attention to things like that.

His concern really is more 'my teenaged daughter is taking up a highly dangerous hobby', with elements of 'and isn't getting paid for it' and 'this is probably interfering with her school work'.

She's getting paid in experience! Experience in how not to die!

Ardy · 2026-09-16T17:39:01+0100

Z000 said:
there a bit of a pattern which each avatar not having something but the next one in line get

Kuruk die young, Kyoshi live a very long life
Kyoshi was dirt poor, Roku was born rich
i don't remember what Roku lack that Aang got
Aang wasn't very enthusiastic about being the Avatar ( understatement really since he ran away), Korra was very gung ho about it

if this pattern does keep up for whatever sequel that get made then the Next Earth Avatar would have a pretty free childhood vs Korra home confinement thank to the kidnapping attempt when she was younger

Goddamn called this years in advance since the next avatar appears to be a street kid

Jankl · 2026-09-16T17:41:16+0100

Ardy said:
Goddamn called this years in advance since the next avatar appears to be a street kid

2 of them even. Somehow.

Frozen20XX · 2026-09-16T20:17:25+0100

Jankl said:
2 of them even. Somehow.

Only one is the Avatar iirc, the other is just her long-lost twin sister who's just an earthbender.

Duke Long · 2026-09-16T22:21:42+0100

Some corrections and commentary.

Mr Zoat said:
"Alright, Superhumpf then." Her mouth drops open, and she gives me a look of total betrayal.

Hahaha, I'll have to remember this is her new name.

Mr Zoat said:
I motion for her to come closer, and give her hands a scan. Minor oddities in the firing of the nerves in her hands, but it looks like its settling down.

'it's'

Mr Zoat said:
"I thought they'd be recruiting… The best, you know? The ones with the most power, the smartest, the ones who do the most good-"

"Recognized, Green Arrow, zero eight."

I think this is one of the best jokes you've ever done.

Mr Zoat said:
Not a lot of desire in intergalactic space. That did make Wonderworld stand out a little more once I started looking, and a conventional scan quickly revealed the super-massive black holes plural being used as an anchor for the only star in the region.

Seems more extragalactic. I get the impression that the only thing beyond this is the Source Wall.

Mr Zoat said:
It's not actually possible to see other galaxies from here. The light hasn't gotten this far since the alpha event. Look around and you could believe that you were the only thing in the universe.

Heh. The idea's so disturbing that I've actually deployed my copy of the Crime Syndicate's universe transporter. I didn't ask, but I suspect with their Krona being different that they didn't have the whole 'neutralise 99% of the alpha event's energy' thing happen in their universe. If they've got a Mageddon then its location probably isn't the equivalent of 'here'…

I like this sort of cosmology stuff when it comes up. Very cool.

Mr Zoat said:
I return it to subspace and

step out,

returning to the Mountain as class empties out. Toyman spots me at once, peering at me through what look like x-ray specs before pulling a speak and spell out of his satchel and… My rings report that I'm being scanned with a lot of interesting things. It's not as good as some of the sensors which the Sivanas use, but he's even younger than Thaddeus and Georgia, and it's a little unreasonable to compare people to them as a matter of routine.

'return'

Mr Zoat said:
"Ah." Grant shakes his head. "We're not calling it that. Even if it was established as part of Project Safehouse, they never had any direct connection with the Control Station ENCLAVE and they never had anything to do with Curling Thirteen."

Extraneous 'the'?

Mr Zoat said:
I wiggle my right hand. "The officer's I've spoken to thought that the Enclave was… Essentially a committee responsible for contingency planning. General McMahon reacted negatively to hearing what they actually did."

'officers'

Mr Zoat said:
He raises his hands. "We'll call you if you find anything."

'we'? Or is it supposed to be a joke?

Mr Zoat said:
"Members of the Brotherhood of Steel swear to obey certain precepts. If they have broken that vow, they will be punished in accordance with the Codex. For example, if they believed that the Midwest Brotherhood had collapsed and that the 'Immortal' had legitimate authority, then they were merely acting as their oaths required in difficult circumstances. On the other hand, if they wanted to behave as raiders with power armour, then they will be spend the rest of their lives in penal servitude."

'spending'

Mr Zoat said:
"It would depend on why. If they accepted the Immortal as their Elder and them turned from him merely because they felt that he was cruel, then they will be exiled. If they turned from him because he breached the Codex, then they will be rewarded."

'then'

Mr Zoat said:
She nods more definitively. "Can the zeta warship destroy them from orbit?"

'zetan'?

Mr Zoat said:
"If the pre-War America military knew where the Chinese kept their superweapons, they'd have nuked those sites when the War went nuclear. We know even less. Satellites might be able to tell where there's suspicious activity, but we might just be detecting the Russian version of Vault Eight."

"Satellites?"

"America didn't actually have that many satellites over China, due to Chinese anti-satellite weapons. We can retask some, but the network we had isn't back in full operation yet, and… I'm sorry, but we're going to need to start making more sooner rather than later if you want to try tracking Colossus down with them."

'American'

Feels a bit weird that he says satellites won't be very useful, then she immediately asks about satellites.

Mr Zoat said:
I nod back. "Yeah. So unless anyone's got a better idea, I'm going to put a team together."

Woo! Definitely looking forward to Krono's adventures in China.
I quite like the way these different leaders come together to discuss. Given the comment about Diana and the topic, I wonder if they deliberately excluded their Metal American peers from this.

Mr Zoat said:
"Yeah! I mean, it's based on F One pitstop tools and-" Outer plates unlock and are removed by robotic armatures and slotted into storage compartments for maintenance. "-a bunch of power armor animations I watched. Rocket Red helped out a whole lot." Then more armatures deploy with wheel guns to detach the interior mechanisms. "Way easier than putting it on myself."

He's quite passionate about this. Good for him.

Mr Zoat said:
"Aldorf warren. I'm not sure how far the Swiss authorities got before the Anti-Life hit."

'Altdorf'

Mr Zoat said:
My construct barrier is already covering the valuable equipment when Risk copies the motion La'gaan used to activate it. He shoots up into the ceiling, the inertia field flaring at it absorbs the kinetic energy of his impact. But he hasn't changed his posture, so he sort of slides across the ceiling, then drops slightly, and then slams into it again. This time he gets turned around and heads towards the machine I built Artemis to make new crumbler arrows. He slams into the construct barrier, and I clamp him in place.

'as'

Mr Zoat said:
"I'm quite skilled with a khopesh." She sees my surprise. "Zamarons are a martial people, Illustres. It should not surprise you that I was trained for war. To be precise, I fought my aunts, alien warriors and beast of all kinds. But I was not set upon by robots on my first day."

'beasts'

Mr Zoat said:
"But gorilla are still pretty tough, right? I know a chimpanzee can rip someone's face right off."

'gorillas'?

Mr Zoat said:
I couple of guys in… Tracksuits? Walk down the ramp…

'A'

Mr Zoat said:
"Did you copy that from Mirror Master?"

Toyman is still talking nonsense, but the little Toyman in the reflected reflection is talking normally. Just quietly, because he's not very big.

Cool! I'm impressed by how quickly Toyman figured out the problem and a solution.

Mr Zoat said:
I shrug. The full answer would be something like 'weird old men threw magic at me until I could just feel everything' but… Do Japanese martial arts masters actually blindfold people and do stuff like that?

On Earth 16? No doubt there're a few, at least.

Mr Zoat said:
He shrugs. Perhaps he does not know, because he magic is instinctual? Or perhaps he has never had to explain it to anyone.

'the'?

Mr Zoat said:
He's got a point. I wear a mask because… That's what you do when you're a superhero, right? I literally never thought about not doing that. But Aqualad doesn't have a mask, and Orange Lantern doesn't wear a mask, and Zatanna -also fine- doesn't wear a mask… So now I'm thinking about it. Not like I designed this costume; it just appeared when I said 'Hawk' the first time.

I didn't think Zatanna looked like she works out.

Mr Zoat said:
Yeah, I can do that, if it doesn't bother anyone.

And forevermore was lost the joy of trying to figure out who the perspective character is. I think you did a fine job of making them distinct, usually it was easy enough to figure out in a few paragraphs.

Mr Zoat said:
Hiro turns around when Timothy doesn't follow, checks that he debrief isn't going to start immediately, and then walks back towards us. "They were not very clever."

'the'

Mr Zoat said:
"'cause I thought we all… Under eighteen? Hunter can't be more than fourteen and I think Toyman's, like, twelve."

'we're'?

Mr Zoat said:
"Yeeeeah, but Dad checks my search history. I don't wanna look up 'supervillains who are weird about hats' in case I get something... Y'know."

A bit mental that she thinks of this as an actual problem. Surely even if he checks, he doesn't check the actual results, just what she Googled?

Mr Zoat said:
I walk over to the line. Standard metal barriers keeping everyone in line. You can duck out under it and there's enough space for a family to walk next to each other inside it, but… He's on his own.

Come to think of it, can The Face bend his torso like a normal human? Does he have to bend at the waist to get under a barrier like that?

Mr Zoat said:
The big one picks up one of the tentacles ones and puts it down in front of me. It's got a notepad and a pen. Oh, okay. It turns the pad around and points to 'Are you here for an implant?'.

'tentacle'?
or
'tentacled?

Z000 · 2026-09-17T03:26:44+0100

Ardy said:
Goddamn called this years in advance since the next avatar appears to be a street kid

yeah, the pattern exist if you look at it

Mr Zoat · 2026-09-17T06:18:02+0100

6th October 2013
12:53 GMT -5

"…plenty of aliens in this part of the universe, they just don't come here."

Senator Monetti shrugs. "Why not? Superman came here, Manhunter got brought here… The Hawks came here."

"Uh… Well, two main reasons; economics and security. None of the species in this region of space are advanced enough for long ranged faster-than-light travel to be casual. People from Ungara have flown to Earth before, but it took several weeks and… They've got their own problems. The Hawks… Basically came here as spies."

He blinks. "What?"

"It's not quite as bad as it sounds, and it's related to the second point. But sticking to economics, we can't make… Many things that a more advanced civilisation can't make more cheaply in their own territory. And we can't do what less advanced civilisations usually do and export raw materials, because it's far easier to mine asteroids in your own system than to fly to someone else's or lift things off an inhabited planet."

"I guess that makes sense. What about security?"

I take a sip of the excellent soup. I considered doing the British bowl-tilt thing, but I don't think the Americans would have understood.

"There's a planet called 'Garnet'. Due to its unfortunate location it ended up getting settled by a dozen or so different polities, none of whom had the strength to take full control. And then when they realised that it wasn't as valuable as they'd been led to believe they withdrew support, leaving their colonists to fight over it as best they could. And then various other parties took advantage of the absence of authority to stick their oar in, and now it's had about three hundred years of constant warfare and just about everyone calls it 'Hellhole' in preference to its actual name."

"Garnet has one Green Lantern permanently assigned to it. Earth has four. In addition to two Star Sapphires, a Blue Lantern and -currently- five Orange Lanterns. Any species with any experience of interstellar travel is going to take one look at that and stay the heck away."

"We're-? We're a bad neighbourhood?!"

"Yes."

"Hahaha! Oh God, that's-!" He grins, genuinely amused, as his daughter cringes and tries to pretend she's not with him. "You mind if I share that with people?"

"Be my guest. One of my duties is to provide the public with information."

"But what was that about the Hawks?"

"They weren't here to sabotage us. They were here to provide an early warning to their own civilisation if we went berserk."

Antonia stares at me. "Is that..? True?"

"A summary loses some details, but-" I nod. "-essentially, yes."

"Whaw." Antonia starts smiling. "I guess you don't really think about it when you live here. Was it just the Anti-Life, or is it..?"

"I'll have to take you to an alien world sometime so that you can get a better idea of what things are usually like. But no, it's not just the Anti-Life."

I tear off a piece of bread and dab up some of the residual soup. Antonia has long since finished her cheese on toast, and Senator Monetti is gradually ruminating his way through his salad. He swallows the… Uh, rocket? And then indicates me with his fork.

"The other thing I wanted to pick your brains about is that stuff you were saying about the elections. What exactly have you got against my fellow elected representatives?"

"Nothing, but I also have nothing for them. As I said to Antonia-."

"Toni."

"You can be 'Toni' when you pay for lunch. Respect your grandmother."

She slumps. "Urggh."

Her father on the other hand looks mildly smug.

"As I said to her, the American Federal Government has been a non-issue during the League's effort to restore human civilisation. I don't expect the incoming bunch to add anything useful. I suppose the fact that elections happened at all might go a little way to restoring public confidence, but… That's about it."

"I guess you prefer Teth Adam's way of doing things."

"He kept the Anti-Life off his country with his own magic. Greater Kahndaq is just about the only place on the planet that didn't need the Justice League's help. And… Um. That's… Going to create a problem."

"The U.S. has dealt with international rivals before. Not from.. Africa, but I'm sure we'll manage."

"No. Um. Democratic legitimacy."

"I don't know about Kahndaq, but unless you're about to tell me otherwise, I'd back our electoral legitimacy to the hilt."

"No, we kept a close eye on those, and they were conducted in accordance with American law. It's the… Legitimacy of democracy as a way of choosing leaders that might become an issue."

A cloud passes over his face. "I thought you weren't allowed to talk about the Justice League taking over the world."

"I'm not. Adom… Originally, wanted to be a lot more democratic in the way he restructured Kahndaq. Mostly because he didn't think he knew enough about the modern era to rule properly. And then most of the representatives were killed by Apokoliptian war robots and he had to centralise things. People were… Grateful to him for finally getting rid of the previous government, but they didn't really know him… And now they all know what he's prepared to do for them, even when it costs him. Combined with the fact that Isis is the reason why Kahndaq doesn't have a desert anymore, they're not really seen as first citizens, they're seen as deific figures. Because… Elected politicians can't wave their arms and grow a forest, for example."

"So no one there gives a damn about elections. They don't see the point."

"Yes." I shrug. "You saw the voter turnout figures. A major disaster, the first election, a really big issue to decide… And you barely made sixty percent in most places. People weren't bothering to show up."

"For federal elections. People are more worried about where their next meal-"

I shake my head.

"-is-. What?"

"We already fixed that. The U.S. hasn't had food shortages, because… The League dealt with it. It's easier to send one person with a power ring than organise all the steps that a Federal emergency agency needs to do the same job. But if that's the case, and the League's big enough to ensure that someone who can do that is going to be around… Why have a Federal agency?"

I circle my right hand.

"City-level police budgets usually fall when a powerful and competent superhero shows up. Defence… Would you rather have a nuclear missile, or a Superman? Democracy… Emerged from very specific social conditions. A general spread of literacy and education, improved communications technology. And I haven't studied what it looked like on the ground, but I'm wondering… If we're seeing something similar today. Men aren't created equal. And… Most modern countries aren't really set up to channel that. I know that the American government has spent about a thousand times more money on trying to work out how to counter Superman than they have working out how to get the most out of him-."

"We funded the Justice League."

"Not by much. Not compared to some of the things you piss money away on. And now they're funding you."

"Okay…" He takes that in. "And how does the Justice League feel about all that?"

"They're trying to pretend it's not happening, and that it'll go away if they ignore it. But… The new people? Senators and Congresspeople? Get them working as fast as you can. Reorganisation of institutions, practical changes… Something to demonstrate that you're back in the harness. Because… Do you know who came third during the last presidential election?"

"Yeah." He nods slowly. "Superman, by write-in. This sounds like something we need to get on top of. Thank you, Orange Lantern. I'll make sure I bring this to the attention of the right people."

"Thank you, Senator. I think the League will be relieved."

Z000 · 2026-09-17T06:26:58+0100

Mr Zoat said:
"Garnet has one Green Lantern permanently assigned to it. Earth has four. In addition to two Star Sapphires, a Blue Lantern and -currently- five Orange Lanterns. Any species with any experience of interstellar travel is going to take one look at that and stay the heck away."

so that what

Green: 4
Pink: 2
Blue: 1
Orange: 5

so that 12 Lantern on one planet

yeah, space fairing people take one look at a place that have that much lantern and turn around instantly

Darko · 2026-09-17T06:32:30+0100

Mr Zoat said:
didn't need the Justice League help. And…

"League's help"

Mr Zoat said:
they're not really seen as first citizens, they're seen as deific figures. Because… Elected politicians can't wave their arms and grow a forest, for example."

The immortality also makes democratic elections seem unnecessary.

With mortal leaders you have to continue voting, because one day they are going to die, but with immortals you don't.

Mr Zoat said:
"Yeah." He nods slowly. "Superman, by write-in. This sounds like something we need to get on top of. Thank you, Orange Lantern. I'll make sure I bring this to the attention of the right people."

"Thank you, Senator. I think the League will be relieved

This won't be good.

I'm wondering if Know Man is now going to be the one that takes action and take away the League's powers, while giving ordinary people powers like he did in the comics.

Though the title of this episode makes me think we'll be seeing the Badlands, since the giant worms in there were representatives of political corruption.

BR549 · 2026-09-17T06:36:19+0100

Mr Zoat said:
"Thank you, Senator. I think the League will be relieved."

Smash cut to the next episode after Senator Monetti does some work

[Morgan Freeman] The League was, in fact, not relieved.

Z000 said:
so that what

Green: 4
Pink: 2
Blue: 1
Orange: 5

so that 12 Lantern on one planet

yeah, space fairing people take one look at a place that have that much lantern and turn around instantly

The punchline is that, if we take away the Orange Lanterns as specific to WTR?
This is fewer Lanterns than current canon Earth-1 has.

(Between seven and nine Green - I forget if Alan Scott is active, and it depends on if you count Teen Lantern - and Star Sapphire is on the Justice League.)

Mr Zoat · 2026-09-17T06:50:36+0100

Duke Long said:
'it's'
Extraneous 'the'?
'officers'
'we'?
'spending'
'then'
'zetan'?
'American'
'Altdorf'
'as'
'beasts'
'gorillas'?
'A'
'the'?
'the'
'we're'?
'tentacle'?
or
'tentacled?

Thank you, corrected.

'return'

I think that's alright.

Feels a bit weird that he says satellites won't be very useful, then she immediately asks about satellites.

They're generally pretty useful, so she wanted an explanation.

Come to think of it, can The Face bend his torso like a normal human? Does he have to bend at the waist to get under a barrier like that?

No, he can't bend like a normal human.

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-09-17T07:17:43+0100

Mr Zoat said:
6th October 2013
12:53 GMT -5

"…plenty of aliens in this part of the universe, they just don't come here."

Senator Monetti shrugs. "Why not? Superman came here, Manhunter got brought here… The Hawks came here."

Superman was basically a castaway. J'onn J'onnz was brought here by accident. And the Hawks... Well, OL can cover that. Why don't others come here? Earth Bullshit™ pretty much covers it, doesn't it?

"Uh… Well, two main reasons; economics and security. None of the species in this region of space are advanced enough for long ranged faster-than-light travel to be casual. People from Ungara have flown to Earth before, but it took several weeks and… They've got their own problems. The Hawks… Basically came here as spies."

What with faster-than-light travel not being as easy or convenient as Space Operas make it seem.

He blinks. "What?"

"It's not quite as bad as it sounds, and it's related to the second point. But sticking to economics, we can't make… Many things that a more advanced civilisation can't make more cheaply in their own territory. And we can't do what less advanced civilisations usually do and export raw materials, because it's far easier to mine asteroids in your own system than to fly to someone else's or lift things off an inhabited planet."

Yep, most invasions aren't really done for material reasons in sensible universes.

"I guess that makes sense. What about security?"

I take a sip of the excellent soup. I considered doing the British bowl-tilt thing, but I don't think the Americans would have understood.

Is that something like how you drink the broth of Ramen when you finish the filling?

"There's a planet called 'Garnet'. Due to its unfortunate location it ended up getting settled by a dozen or so different polities, none of whom had the strength to take full control. And then when they realised that it wasn't as valuable as they'd been led to believe they withdrew support, leaving their colonists to fight over it as best they could. And then various other parties took advantage of the absence of authority to stick their oar in, and now it's had about three hundred years of constant warfare and just about everyone calls it 'Hellhole' in preference to its actual name."

That would be Jack T. Chance's turf, wouldn't it? The only Green lantern in the Corps authorised to ~~carry~~ openly wield lethal weaponry, because Hellhole is just that bad.

"Garnet has one Green Lantern permanently assigned to it. Earth has four. In addition to two Star Sapphires, a Blue Lantern and -currently- five Orange Lanterns. Any species with any experience of interstellar travel is going to take one look at that and stay the heck away."

Heck, if they come close enough to pick that up without looking first, they deserve whatever they get coming to them, really.

"We're-? We're a bad neighbourhood?!"

"Yes."

Possibly one of the worst. But we're still better than Apokalips!

"Hahaha! Oh God, that's-!" He grins, genuinely amused, as his daughter cringes and tries to pretend she's not with him. "You mind if I share that with people?"

"Be my guest. One of my duties is to provide the public with information."

I could picture some parts of the Internet grabbing onto that and owning it.

"But what was that about the Hawks?"

"They weren't here to sabotage us. They were here to provide an early warning to their own civilisation if we went berserk."

Which says a lot about how dangerous Earth seems to other cultures.

Antonia stares at me. "Is that..? True?"

"A summary loses some details, but-" I nod. "-essentially, yes."

For instance, it's not fear of Earth power that drove Thanagar, but fear of Earth's chaos.

"Whaw." Antonia starts smiling. "I guess you don't really think about it when you live here. Was it just the Anti-Life, or is it..?"

"I'll have to take you to an alien world sometime so that you can get a better idea of what things are usually like. But no, it's not just the Anti-Life."

Though as words spreads about them fighting it off, that'll just add to their legend.

I tear off a piece of bread and dab up some of the residual soup. Antonia has long since finished her cheese on toast, and Senator Monetti is gradually ruminating his way through his salad. He swallows the… Uh, rocket? And then indicates me with his fork.

"The other thing I wanted to pick your brains about is that stuff you were saying about the elections. What exactly have you got against my fellow elected representatives?"

Ah, yes. I doubt OL feels particularly strongly about any of them, really. Ultimately, the bulk of the debating bodies is interchangeable in comics.

"Nothing, but I also have nothing for them. As I said to Antonia-."

"Toni."

"You can be 'Toni' when you pay for lunch. Respect your grandmother."

Heh. Friendly ribbing Argent constantly.

She slumps. "Urggh."

Her father on the other hand looks mildly smug.

As her father, he's entitled to enjoy teasing her.

"As I said to her, the American Federal Government has been a non-issue during the League's effort to restore human civilisation. I don't expect the incoming bunch to add anything useful. I suppose the fact that elections happened at all might go a little way to restoring public confidence, but… That's about it."

It'll still be years before they can really apply any governmental power to the country, even on a budgetary level.

"I guess you prefer Teth Adam's way of doing things."

"He kept the Anti-Life off his country with his own magic. Greater Kahndaq is just about the only place on the planet that didn't need the Justice League help. And… Um. That's… Going to create a problem."

Oh, I can imagine. Other countries in the region wondering 'why didn't he help us?', for example...

"The U.S. has dealt with international rivals before. Not from.. Africa, but I'm sure we'll manage."

"No. Um. Democratic legitimacy."

"I don't know about Kahndaq, but unless you're about to tell me otherwise, I'd back our electoral legitimacy to the hilt."

It's complicated.

"No, we kept a close eye on those, and they were conducted in accordance with American law. It's the… Legitimacy of democracy as a way of choosing leaders that might become an issue."

A cloud passes over his face. "I thought you weren't allowed to talk about the Justice League taking over the world."

Oh, this totally isn't that. Not in the way you're thinking, anyway.

"I'm not. Adom… Originally, wanted to be a lot more democratic in the way he restructured Kahndaq. Mostly because he didn't think he knew enough about the modern era to rule properly. And then most of the representatives were killed by Apokoliptian war robots and he had to centralise things. People were… Grateful to him for finally getting rid of the previous government, but they didn't really know him… And now they all know what he's prepared to do for them, even when it costs him. Combined with the fact that Isis is the reason why Kahndaq doesn't have a desert anymore, they're not really seen as first citizens, they're seen as deific figures. Because… Elected politicians can't wave their arms and grow a forest, for example."

In essence, when your ruler can kick the asses of an entire army, why do you need a government except to handle the busywork that he needn't?

"So no one there gives a damn about elections. They don't see the point."

"Yes." I shrug. "You saw the voter turnout figures. A major disaster, the first election, a really big issue to decide… And you barely made sixty percent in most places. People weren't bothering to show up."

Lingering apathy from the Anti-Life, maybe... Or just the belief of 'Well, the Justice League are doing it better than Washington is.'

"For federal elections. People are more worried about where their next meal-"

I shake my head.

"-is-. What?"

Humans have very simple needs at the most primal level. Food. Shelter. 'Companionship'. When people already have that... What does it matter what some gits on the other side of the country say?

"We already fixed that. The U.S. hasn't had food shortages, because… The League dealt with it. It's easier to send one person with a power ring than organise all the steps that a Federal emergency agency needs to do the same job. But if that's the case, and the League's big enough to ensure that someone who can do that is going to be around… Why have a Federal agency?"

...For the times when the guys with Power Rings aren't around. Admittedly, with so many on Earth right now, that's less likely.

I circle my right hand.

"City-level police budgets usually fall when a powerful and competent superhero shows up. Defence… Would you rather have a nuclear missile, or a Superman? Democracy… Emerged from very specific social conditions. A general spread of literacy and education, improved communications technology. And I haven't studied what it looked like on the ground, but I'm wondering… If we're seeing something similar today. Men aren't created equal. And… Most modern countries aren't really set up to channel that. I know that the American government has spent about a thousand times more money on trying to work out how to counter Superman than they have working out how to get the most out of him-."

I imagine a lot of that was down to fear of what he could do if he took exception to abuses of power...

"We funded the Justice League."

"Not by much. Not compared to some of the things you piss money away on. And now they're funding you."

"Okay…" He takes that in. "And how does the Justice League feel about all that?"

Ah, yes. that part's complicated.

"They're trying to pretend it's not happening, and that it'll go away if they ignore it. But… The new people? Senators and Congresspeople? Get them working as fast as you can. Reorganisation of institutions, practical changes… Something to demonstrate that you're back in the harness. Because… Do you know who came third during the last presidential election?"

It's gonna take a lot to take back the reins of power. Even if they're handed to the government, people will still probably prefer the flashy, uncomplicated heroes.

"Yeah." He nods slowly. "Superman, by write-in. This sounds like something we need to get on top of. Thank you, Orange Lantern. I'll make sure I bring this to the attention of the right people."

"Thank you, Senator. I think the League will be relieved."

Now, will those 'right people' be the people who will be in charge, or someone else...

An interesting discussion of the way people latch onto power and charisma, in this case the stunningly attractive people in skin-tight costumes with amazing superpowers. Especially when they show off that power in ways beneficial to the people, like Adom did. This US Government is going to have to work hard to regain the people's confidence over the next few years...

Istaran · 2026-09-17T07:36:20+0100

Mr Zoat said:
"Yeah." He nods slowly. "Superman, by write-in. This sounds like something we need to get on top of. Thank you, Orange Lantern. I'll make sure I bring this to the attention of the right people."

"Thank you, Senator. I think the League will be relieved."

Superman technically isn't eligible, since he was born elsewhere and didn't meet the 1789 deadline to immigrate. Though I doubt the people doing the writing in meant it as a serious possibility anyway. (and with enough support, an Amendment could be made)

Darko · 2026-09-17T07:41:23+0100

Chojin Patriarch said:
Why don't others come here? Earth Bullshit™ pretty much covers it, doesn't it?

There's also the fact that Earth is divided by geographic and national lines, lack of advanced tech in everyday life, no real impressive resources etc.

Earth may have powerful magic, but as established in this story, that can be difficult to use in space, so it is practically useless.

Chojin Patriarch said:
For the times when the guys with Power Rings aren't around

It's that single point of failure thing.

Mr Zoat · 2026-09-17T08:39:02+0100

Darko said:
"League's help"

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Is that something like how you drink the broth of Ramen when you finish the filling?

No. British sailors developed a habit of tilting their soup away from them so that they wouldn't get splashed if there was a large wave. It caught on.

That would be Jack T. Chance's turf, wouldn't it? The only Green lantern in the Corps authorised to carry lethal weaponry, because Hellhole is just that bad.

All Green Lanterns carry lethal weapons; if not their rings then their primary manipulator appendages. He just has far fewer restrictions on the use of lethal force.

Istaran said:
Superman technically isn't eligible, since he was born elsewhere and didn't meet the 1789 deadline to immigrate. Though I doubt the people doing the writing in meant it as a serious possibility anyway. (and with enough support, an Amendment could be made)

There was a version of Superman who became president due to the fact that in his reality his birthing pod didn't create him until after he reached America.

Prince Charon · 2026-09-17T09:16:00+0100

Mr Zoat said:
There was a version of Superman who became president due to the fact that in his reality his birthing pod didn't create him until after he reached America.

Also, while early-Post-Crisis Superman didn't become President, it is a plot-point in John Byrne's Man of Steel comic that Superman's birthing pod opened when the Kents found him, so he is likewise proudly an American by birth, since that was really important to Byrne.

Poimenikos · 2026-09-17T10:40:36+0100

I don't understand if he will take the right message from all of that but Ol can see feelings so....
What I always found interesting from a certain point is the shortsighted view politicians and maciavelian types like Amanda walter have in comic books. You could argue that even our real politicians are better.
"-What? All plant life in the world is ruled by a bunch of spirits? Quickly, attack their champion. I m sure food protection won t be affected.
-The universe is policed by color coded landerns working for alien immortals from the center of the universe? Quickly try to jump them in their sleep. It s not like their Swat equivalent will do something.
-A god king in Africa backed by actual God's? That we know are real and can affect the world? Nuke him now!"

Acyl · 2026-09-17T11:43:19+0100

Mr Zoat said:
Senator Monetti shrugs. "Why not? Superman came here, Manhunter got brought here… The Hawks came here."

Chojin Patriarch said:
Superman was basically a castaway. J'onn J'onnz was brought here by accident.

From an interstellar traveller's perspective, J'onn isn't an alien visitor, he's another Sol system local from the next planet over.

It's not like Mars would be seen as any safer, on the cosmic scale. Sol III, Sol IV, same difference.

PeriodicPedant · 2026-09-17T12:20:18+0100

Chojin Patriarch said:
Possibly one of the worst. But we're still better than Apokalips!

I get that that's probably a joke, but:
How many of your people would you send if there were a ~~neighborhood~~ planet whose local ~~criminal boss~~ warlord was usually content to stick to his territory, had said "~~cops~~ Lanterns walk in, they don't walk out", could make it stick, and had already handily fought off a large scale raid?
Same (well, similar) underlying concept as 'police would rather go after a vigilante than the criminals that caused them'.

mastermenthe · 2026-09-17T12:30:31+0100

This is the sort of conversation that makes Boss Smiley

look like a good co-conspirator to invite to the "Make America Functional Again" Party.

Clell65619 · 2026-09-17T13:08:23+0100

Istaran said:
Superman technically isn't eligible, since he was born elsewhere and didn't meet the 1789 deadline to immigrate. Though I doubt the people doing the writing in meant it as a serious possibility anyway. (and with enough support, an Amendment could be made)

Depends on what variation of Superman we're dealing with here, and the YJ universe hasn't been all that specific. The John Byrne Man of Steel reboot had him arrive on Earth in a gestation matrix... which used DNA from Martha Kent touching it to make him Human-ish and birthed him right there in the field. An Anchor Baby, if you will.

CrazyNoVa · 2026-09-17T13:55:52+0100

In the Justice League's defence, they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Anti-Life created a Catch 22-esque situation where no matter the outcome, they were always going to lose from a moral standpoint.

Think about it: You know how two of the Justice League's most sacred principles are that they use their power to help innocent people, and that they should not use their abilities to take over the world so that mankind can be the masters of their own destinies, right? But the problem here is that when it comes to their approach to the Anti-Life's aftermath, the League was doomed to break one of their principles no matter what.

Thus, on one hand, if the League had chosen to do nothing and let the world solve the crisis by itself, then that would violate the heroes' rule on letting innocent people die, because of the catastrophic fallout of the Anti-Life. But on the other hand, if the League does choose to intervene to protect the people of Earth and mitigate the fallout from the Anti-Life, then as Paul pointed out several times in this story, they will accidentally take over the world, which breaks their rule on not using their powers to rule the Earth.

Conclusion: No matter what they chose, the Justice League was never coming out of this on top, and they were always going to break one of their own self-established principles in some way. Either they break their own rules by standing by and letting millions starve and kill each other, or they break their own rules by accidentally taking over the world. Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Thus, in a situation like this, when all your options are shitty, the option that is least shitty is often the preferable one by default.

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

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