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

Steelplaza · 2026-11-02T13:27:56+0000

Mr Zoat said:
What? No? Mongul I is still in charge and Mongul II wants to overthrow him.

I believe the confusion here is that Mongul I is in charge of... what? Presumably War World and a space ship fleet of undetermined size, right?

But not Debstam Four, Mongul's original homeworld. The whole reason the SI and Jordan showed up is that Mongul was replaced by alien Pol Pot with a yellow power ring.

I guess the assumption is that Mongul I doesn't really care about his homeworld that much, so he hasn't bothered coming back with his massive warfleet to reconquer it. That does seem a little weird, though. Guys like Mongul usually have massive egos. You'd think it would really burn him to have his homeworld out there, still defying him. Why not swing back around and teach them a lesson? It's also complicated by Mongul II having a yellow ring and ~~alien Pol-~~ (okay I went back to actually look it up) the Arkymandryte also having a yellow power ring, implying they are both part of Sinestro's master plan.

...by the way, I just accidentally typed that SInestro and that would certainly be a fun nickname for Self Insert Sinestro (SI-nestro) if anyone ever wrote him.

Mr Zoat said:
Beneath me, the slaves begin gathering up the yellow crystals, the parademons completely ignoring them.

My goodness, this is certainly all more complicated than digging the crystals out of the ground. Harvesting them from being produced as a side-effect of a magic battle simulation machine simulating a very specific battle? How did Mongul II and/or Sinestro even know to do this? They dug straight down to get to this thing. It certainly wasn't uncovered by accident.

Mr Zoat said:
Ugh… "We can try bringing him, but if he disappears when we get to the exit, you know why. I'm-."

I was nodding my head, yeah of course Raker will disappear when they get to the exit, but then I remembered. The yellow crystals don't disappear! If they continue existing after being removed from the chamber, then maybe it is generating a "real enough" version of Raker to successfully exit. So who knows. It would be interesting to get a legendary Green Lantern back, though I don't know how much difference one more skilled Green Lantern would make.

Mr Zoat · 2026-11-02T13:42:30+0000

Steelplaza said:
I believe the confusion here is that Mongul I is in charge of... what? Presumably War World and a space ship fleet of undetermined size, right?

But not Debstam Four, Mongul's original homeworld. The whole reason the SI and Jordan showed up is that Mongul was replaced by alien Pol Pot with a yellow power ring.

I guess the assumption is that Mongul I doesn't really care about his homeworld that much, so he hasn't bothered coming back with his massive warfleet to reconquer it. That does seem a little weird, though. Guys like Mongul usually have massive egos. You'd think it would really burn him to have his homeworld out there, still defying him. Why not swing back around and teach them a lesson? It's also complicated by Mongul II having a yellow ring and ~~alien Pol-~~ (okay I went back to actually look it up) the Arkymandryte also having a yellow power ring, implying they are both part of Sinestro's master plan.

The SI doesn't know this, but Mongul is perfectly happy to let them suffer under their current arrangements. Also, he's pretty practical. They no longer have anything he needs to continue his buildup.

Neruz · 2026-11-02T13:59:45+0000

Mongul with his Warworld is pretty much independent of all supply lines: He can seed Engine Cities wherever he goes and conquer whatever locals happen to be present if he needs labor, so it's not really surprising that he doesn't really care about what's happening on his homeworld, as it has literally nothing to offer him.

Gilar · 2026-11-02T15:20:38+0000

As far as i can see, during this chapter Kalibak never used God Speech. Is it one more proof that this is simulation or is he just too weak\distracted to use it?

Jankl · 2026-11-02T15:36:31+0000

Gilar said:
As far as i can see, during this chapter Kalibak never used God Speech. Is it one more proof that this is simulation or is he just too weak\distracted to use it?

Some gods don't always use their soul or Godspeech that often I think. Orion had to be told by a Controller to use his soul while forging his new red power ring. It might not be that easy to use Godspeech properly? The Forever people didn't use Godspeech when they first showed up either.

teikan · 2026-11-02T18:46:27+0000

I raise my right forehoof. "That one there. It makes a perfect pattern with the stars around it,

Lona here can move the stars, isn't that immoral? "I don't like the view, so I'm giving up the sun in a solar system a couple of light years away."

I look down at my shirt. The Anti-Life folks got alla the equipment that was stored in Belle Reve for the

At first I thought it was Ted Atom's brother, then it was Shazam, then it was that villain for whom they built a toilet on the moon. The name meant nothing to me (

November 3rd, 1999
8:00 MDT

Right on the dot.

Wait. This isn't the Men in Black universe?

Already, exposure to your machines is causing the educated in the Sanderan Empire to consider new approaches to war and artifice."

Scientists in Japan can do the same. This is certainly worth demanding.

Alright, same issue.

"Illustres to Xenon base? Har-Zod, are you there?"

Contact the Martian government.

Mr Zoat · 2026-11-02T19:18:46+0000

teikan said:
Lona here can move the stars, isn't that immoral? "I don't like the view, so I'm giving up the sun in a solar system a couple of light years away."

It's not really clear what the stars are in My Little Pony. In one story I read they're just lumps of stellar dirt that Luna compresses with her thaumokinetic might.

At first I thought it was Ted Atom's brother, then it was Shazam, then it was that villain for whom they built a toilet on the moon. The name meant nothing to me (

Without a link, your quote means nothing to me.

Wait. This isn't the Men in Black universe?

I don't think I've done one of those, but I'll make a note of it.

Scientists in Japan can do the same. This is certainly worth demanding.

Certainly, but they've got less to learn from ancient Rome than Rome has from them. At that point it's basically just the concrete recipe.

Contact the Martian government.

Why?

Mr Zoat · 2026-11-03T06:17:18+0000

16th October 2013
17:31 G.M.T.

Darn-.

I transition as the beta club swings through where my head used to be-. And come up short, because the yellow crystals are deploying. Right, tether a slab of concrete, pull it into my hands before the tether fades away-.

Purple energy erupts from the end of the club-! My kinetic barrier flares, and I feel a weak tingling in my hands as a small amount of the nerve beam bleeds through, but that's about it. Throw the concrete at his face-

"Ragh!"

-and use my armour's flight system to fly upwards before-.

Uh-?

BOOF!

"RRAH!"

Oof!

Right… Kalibak's fast and agile. Right leg armour is buckled, though my actual leg feels more or less alright. Back… Ah, yeah, kinetic barrier doing a hero's work there. Brick's a bit shredded-.

"Hshhahhkhakhk!"

Oh, I've got yellow crystal dust inside my armour. And now I've got no translation.

"Do you feel fear, Lantern?!" Kalibak shoves what's left of the wall aside with brute force, grinning at me as I pick myself up. "Do you see that you cannot stand against a New God?"

And… I can smell my environment, just about. Mould, burned petrochemicals, and… Just faintly, rotting flesh.

I trigger my armour's radio. "Gaart, head out. I'll hold Kalibak's attention."

"Hkhhkskkkhshh!"

"Is your spirit so weak?" Kalibak points the end of his club at me. "Or will you meet your end on your feet?"

Fine. Fists raised, march towards him. He grins, turning his club to the side a little, clearly indicating that he'll use it as a melee weapon rather than a ranged weapon. Set crumble field to maximum intensity and minimum range, and brac-.

Ooohf!

He bull rushed me! He's pinned me to his -ohf!- chest, charging -ohf!- through the walls! My kinetic barrier doesn't -ohf!- know when it's supposed to trigger!

I bring my fists around and smash them into his ears!

"Mnrh!"

I see the smoke emerge as the crumbler -ohf!- field starts eating through his flesh and hair! Can't reach his eyes from -ohf!- here-. Lower the right one to his neck-

"Gah!"

-and deactivate the left, deploy a x-ionised knife and stab-.

OOF!

"RRAAAAAGH!"

And pick-. Oh dear. Can't see the rear of my armour, but my power assistance appears to be acting up. Kalibak's sort of twitching from the knife I jammed into his skull, hands trying to reach-.

I'm not sure if it's the effect of having a bit of metal in that part of his brain or if he's just that muscle bound, but it looks like he's having trouble reaching it. Okay, is the armour's flight system working? Yes, sort of-. Okay.

Fzzzm!

Ah, right, the parademons. They fell behind a little in Kalibak's charge, but they're trying to get line of sight-.

Oh, he dropped-.

I lunge clumsily forward and grab Kalibak's beta rod. He manages to focus on me a little as I raise it up, but he can't coordinate his hands well enough to block it as I swing it down…

"Nuuuuugh!"

Right onto the knife. Which sinks further into his head, the handle flattened against his scalp.

Okay, good. Can't work out how to switch it to ranged mode and I can't risk crumbling it in case it explodes…

Toss it aside, turn and run!

Fzzzm! Fzzzm! Fzzzm!

Armour might not be working properly, but its mass if alright at preventing the shots from the parademons hitting anything vital.

"Gaart, I don't know where I'm going. Can you throw up a sign?"

"Hshhks?"

I crumbler-punch my way through a wall, then flick my eyes upwards. A few parademons are perched on the walls above me, but it looks like they weren't expecting me to come in this direction. Slow off the mark. Okay, is the stealth system working..? Uh, sort of. Phasing is a pipedream, but the holographic system is… Kind of working? Might give me a few extra seconds. Add in the kinetic belt's flight system… Alright, jump system, it's letting me go a little faster without drawing fire.

And then I see a shot from one of the parademon's weapons going straight up… Good work, Gaart. Okay, I'm running along… Some sort of old… Loading dock? Cover's a bit sparse, but nothing's trying to shoot me right now-. Ah! I see! There's where I came in, and there are the scattering slaves, who aren't fleeing so much as taking cover. No guards-.

Fzzzm! Fzzzm! Fzzzm! Fzzzm!

They're swarming, but they're just guessing at my location.

"Hk-kk-ksk?"

"Sorry, translation system is still out. I saw the shot-" I jump down, back onto the road I first entered by. "-and I'm heading your way."

A couple of slaves stare at the me-shaped blur as I run past their hidey-hole, and I start to see the glow from either Lantern Qarrigat or Lantern Gaart's dome shield construct. A couple of parademons are firing on it, but-. It's Gaart, and he's keeping it up well.

"Okay, go!"

Gaart glances towards me, and then alters the shield to only block shots from above. I dash past him, and-.

There we go, back in the tunnel. Step aside, and prepare crumbler gauntlets just in case the objects in there are capable of existing outside-.

Gaart darts out and then freezes, staring at his own hands. He glances back at the start of the projection area-.

"I told you. He wasn't real."

He focuses for a moment, and then nods.

"Right, now I need you to help me clean out my armour before the mine security get here."

"I'll get right on that."

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-11-03T06:48:13+0000

Mr Zoat said:
16th October 2013
17:31 G.M.T.

Darn-.

I transition as the beta club swings through where my head used to be-. And come up short, because the yellow crystals are deploying. Right, tether a slab of concrete, pull it into my hands before the tether fades away-.

Damned Fear saturation fields. That makes this fight a lot harder, since OL's powered armour is nowhere near matching even an ersatz New God. He'll have to fight dirty.

Purple energy erupts from the end of the club-! My kinetic barrier flares, and I feel a weak tingle in my hands as a small amount of the nerve beam bleeds through, but that's about it. Throw the concrete at his face-

"Ragh!"

At least the defences held out. Mostly.

-and use my armour's flight system to fly upwards before-.

Uh-?

BOOF!

Not great, since Kalibak is damn fast for someone his size.

"RRAH!"

Oof!

Right… Kalibak's fast and agile. Right leg armour is buckled, though my actual leg feels more or less alright. Back… Ah, yeah, kinetic barrier doing a hero's work there. Brick's a bit shredded-.

Yup. The second OL started to move, Kalibak was grabbing. Fast enough to snag a leg. OL's lucky he didn't lose it.

"Hshhahhkhakhk!"

Oh, I've got yellow crystal dust inside my armour. And now I've got no translation.

Because the effect is lingering, and Gaart's Ring can't penetrate the effect any better than OL's can.

"Do you feel fear, Lantern?!" Kalibak shoves what's left of the wall aside with brute force, grinning at me as I pick myself up. "Do you see that you cannot stand against a New God?"

And… I can smell my environment, just about. Mould, burned petrochemicals, and… Just faintly, rotting flesh.

A morgue or a slaughterhouse. And it's rare for OL to experience the environment without his Rings by anything other than his own volition.

I trigger my armour's radio. "Gaart, head out. I'll hold Kalibak's attention."

"Hkhhkskkkhshh!"

Hopefully he got the message from the tone. Gesturing with a frantic 'go, go, go' motion probably helps.

"Is your spirit so weak?" Kalibak points the end of his club at me. "Or will you meet your end on your feet?"

Fine. Fists raised, march towards him. He grins, turning his club to the side a little, clearly indicating that he'll use it as a melee weapon rather than a ranged weapon. Set crumble field to maximum intensity and minimum range, and brac-.

Now would be a fun time for him to consciously use Godspeech, but he's a babbling toddler by New God standards in that respect.

Ooohf!

He bull rushed me! He's pinned me to his -ohf!- chest, charging -ohf!- through the walls! My kinetic barrier doesn't -ohf!- know when it's supposed to trigger!

Drawback of facing someone strong enough and tough enough that walls aren't an impediment.

I bring my fists around and smash them into his ears!

"Mnrh!"

Even a New God can get his bell rung. Heck, even Superman is kind of vulnerable to it, though it takes a lot of force.

I see the smoke emerge as the crumbler -ohf!- field starts eating through his flesh and hair! Can't reach his eyes from -ohf!- here-. Lower the right one to his neck-

"Gah!"

That'll leave a mark. Sadly, not for long.

-and deactivate the left, deploy a x-ionised knife and stab-.

OOF!

"RRAAAAAGH!"

Right down the earhole, I hope. Easy access to the squishy bits inside.

And pick-. Oh dear. Can't see the rear of my armour, but my power assistance appears to be acting up. Kalibak's sort of twitching from the knife I jammed into his skull, hands trying to reach-.

I'm not sure if it's the effect of having a bit of metal in that part of his brain or if he's just that muscle bound, but it looks like he's having trouble reach it. Okay, is the armour's flight system working? Yes, sort of-. Okay.

A problem real-world body-builders develop, once they pass a certain amount of bulk. The muscles get in the way of their joints...

Fzzzm!

Ah, right, the parademons. They fell behind a little in Kalibak's charge, but they're trying to get line of sight-.

And they're probably assuming that he's not likely to refuse the assistance, given he has a knife in his skull.

Oh, he dropped-.

I lunge clumsily forward and grab Kalibak's beta rod. He manages to focus on me a little as I raise it up, but he can't coordinate his hands well enough to block it as I swing it down…

Ah, a finishing blow.

"Nuuuuugh!"

Right onto the knife. Which sinks further into his head, the handle flattened against his scalp.

...Well, I hope that's enough to put him down, simulated or not.

Okay, good. Can't work out how to switch it to ranged mode and I can't risk crumbling it in case it explodes…

Toss it aside, turn and run!

Sadly, no time to loot.

Fzzzm! Fzzzm! Fzzzm!

Armour might not be working properly, but its mass is alright at preventing the shots from the parademons hitting anything vital.

Doing the most basic function of armour right now.

"Gaart, I don't know where I'm going. Can you throw up a sign?"

"Hshhks?"

Please tell me he got that...

I crumbler-punch my way through a wall, then flick my eyes upwards. A few parademons are perched on the walls above me, but it looks like they weren't expecting me to come in this direction. Slow off the mark. Okay, is the stealth system working..? Uh, sort of. Phasing is a pipedream, but the holographic system is… Kind of working? Might give me a few extra seconds. Add in the kinetic belt's flight system… Alright, jump system, it's letting me go a little faster without drawing fire.

So he's looking more Predator than Invisible Man. And bouncing like he's on the moon...

And then I see a shot from one of the parademon's weapons going straight up… Good work, Gaart. Okay, I'm running along… Some sort of old… Loading dock? Cover's a bit sparse, but nothing's trying to shoot me right now-. Ah! I see! There's where I came in, and there are the scattering slaves, who aren't fleeing so much as taking cover. No guards-.

Ah, follow the fleeing bystanders. That'll find you the exit...

Fzzzm! Fzzzm! Fzzzm! Fzzzm!

They're swarming, but they're just guessing at my location.

And it's not like they care about collateral damage.

"Hk-kk-ksk?"

"Sorry, translation system is still out. I saw the shot-" I jump down, back onto the road I first entered by. "-and I'm heading your way."

Ah, good, familiar turf.

A couple of slaves stare at the me-shaped blur as I run past their hidey-hole, and I start to see the glow from either Lantern Qarrigat or Lantern Gaart's dome shield construct. A couple of parademons are firing on it, but-. It's Gaart, and he's keeping it up well.

"Okay, go!"

Since this area has been cleaned out of Fear crystals by now.

Gaart glances towards me, and then alters the shield to only block shots from above. I dash past him, and-.

There we go, back in the tunnel. Step aside, and prepare crumbler gauntlets just in case the objects in there are capable of existing outside-.

Or at least energy blasts fired by them.

Gaart darts out and then freezes, staring at his own hands. He glances back at the start of the projection area-.

"I told you. He wasn't real."

Feeling like he's waking from a weird dream, no doubt. I bet the sim was preying on his brainwaves to deepen his immersion.

He focuses for a moment, and then nods.

"Right, now I need you to help me clean out my armour before the mine security get here."

"I'll get right on that."

Manually, I expect, since the dust messes with any constructs. Vacuum, dustpan and broom time.

Well, they're out of the simulation chamber. Time to get cleaned up and get back to the fight above. Hopefully Hal's still alive up there. Admittedly, they'd probably try to capture him, assuming that they want more Lanterns to dump into the simulations and trigger more Fear crystals. But tagging him with a crystal scatterbomb still has the risk of killing him...

timeForced · 2026-11-03T06:53:31+0000

Unless it was a double blind simulation and they're still in it! Dun-dun DUUUUUUN

BR549 · 2026-11-03T06:55:57+0000

Now that I better understand Mongul's position (and thanks) - now I'm wondering about the simulation.

It was clearly using the Yellow Element deliberately as part of the simulation's parameters. But it's hard to imagine Apokalips had something capable of all but outright shutting down power rings and just didn't use it. And the effects on non-Lanterns, causing terror and fear and emotional distress? That would have Desaad drooling. Literally drooling. Like actual puddles.

So either Mongul Jr. and Sinestro have been really clever monkeys and altered the system, or Kalibak (one presumes it would likely be him, seeing as he 'starred' in the simulation) was keeping his own secret anti-Lantern ace in the hole.

Vaermina · 2026-11-03T06:57:27+0000

Mr Zoat said:
"Right, now I need you to help me clean out my armour before the mine security get here."

"I'll get right on that."

How?

He can't get you out of the armor because the dust negates power rings. He can't get the dust out of the armor because it negates power rings.

Agumentic · 2026-11-03T07:05:28+0000

BR549 said:
But it's hard to imagine Apokalips had something capable of all but outright shutting down power rings and just didn't use it.

Didn't they use exactly that when fighting GLC?

Mquz · 2026-11-03T07:28:35+0000

Vaermina said:
How?

He can't get you out of the armor because the dust negates power rings. He can't get the dust out of the armor because it negates power rings.

Using his hands? And presumably if they can manufacture or find physical objects they can use constructs to manipulate them

PeriodicPedant · 2026-11-03T07:48:53+0000

stg, sure, Paul's picked all sorts of toys (Crumbler gear, Freeze guns, X-ionization, the purple healing ray, etc.), but most of them are situational. The kinetic belts really deserve a Lifetime Achievement award just for being such a workhorse, not (just) for Paul, but everyone he's handed one out to.
They ain't always the exactly right tool, but they're never bad to have.

---

Mr Zoat said:
feel a weak tingly in my hands

tingling?

Mr Zoat said:
he's having trouble reach it.

reaching

boo600 · 2026-11-03T08:36:25+0000

Agumentic said:
Didn't they use exactly that when fighting GLC?

According to Grayven, yes. "Less yellow paint, and more fear-beam arcanotech." But we saw it in Black Reign - give me a second to see what the actual tech looks like - and it didn't work against Power Rings, but by projecting fear. Which is best against Green Lanterns.

Mr Zoat · 2026-11-03T08:38:26+0000

PeriodicPedant said:
tingling?
reaching

Thank you, corrected.

boo600 · 2026-11-03T08:40:19+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Yellow lights appear along its back and an instant later I feel the gnawing tension and uncertainty that indicate an empathic fear attack. If I were a Green Lantern that might be crippling. If I hadn't experienced enlightenment and had that encounter with the Terror Thing last week it would be damaging. As it is there's barely any drop off in construct strength.

It might take me a while longer to find Grayven talking about Apokolips vs GLC.

Edit: Found it!

Mr Zoat said:
The ring might have no data on it but Father Box was only too happy to boast of Darkseid's glorious victory. More fear-aura hypertech than yellow body armour but it was fairly conclusive just the same

BR549 · 2026-11-03T08:54:15+0000

So, similar overall concept - 'overwhelm with fear' - but a very different application. And one effective against all power rings.

So I remain wondering just what the details are of the Yellow Element here. Surely Apokalips knows what's on the planet....

teikan · 2026-11-03T08:56:06+0000

Mr Zoat said:
It's not really clear what the stars are in My Little Pony. In one story I read they're just lumps of stellar dirt that Luna compresses with her thaumokinetic might.

Without a link, your quote means nothing to me.

I don't think I've done one of those, but I'll make a note of it.

Certainly, but they've got less to learn from ancient Rome than Rome has from them. At that point it's basically just the concrete recipe.

Why?

Considering that Cybertron was shown and the Transformers came from it, the stars are probably the same as ours.
Also, I don't recall Luna in the show being able to move the stars.

That's the scene where someone walked up to a guy in a car who saw no reason to move away and started talking him out of killing himself.

I thought the story about the Green Knight took place in the Men in Black universe.

Our Rome had no magic and no xenos. There's FAR more to learn from them than from ancient Rome alone.

The Martians have a space fleet and an intact civilization, so it's only natural that they've already figured it out or made contact with the alien fleet.

NightmareWarden · 2026-11-03T09:41:13+0000

teikan said:
Considering that Cybertron was shown and the Transformers came from it, the stars are probably the same as ours.
Also, I don't recall Luna in the show being able to move the stars.

That's the scene where someone walked up to a guy in a car who saw no reason to move away and started talking him out of killing himself.

I thought the story about the Green Knight took place in the Men in Black universe.

Our Rome had no magic and no xenos. There's FAR more to learn from them than from ancient Rome alone.

The Martians have a space fleet and an intact civilization, so it's only natural that they've already figured it out or made contact with the alien fleet.

Not Men in Black. Green Knight takes place in Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths, and Legends. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_Conspiracies:_Aliens,_Myths_and_Legends

WereDragon · 2026-11-03T10:22:56+0000

Mr Zoat said:
snip

Once again a potentially interesting situation was reduced to yet another "OL cannot use his ring" fight, nigh-identical to all the other such fights we have seen.

"Right, now I need you to help me clean out my armour before the mine security get here."

It is vanishingly unlikely that he has any tool beyond his ring. Meaning he currently has no tools at all that can do anything to the crystals. Or anything is proximity to the crystals.

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

Custom Title

Dedicated ragequitter

HISSSSSS!

Getting sticky.

Know what you're doing yet?

Getting out there.

Dedicated ragequitter

Dedicated ragequitter

Veteran Lurker

Making the rounds.

This is filth! FILTH!!

Well worn.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Versed in the lewd.

Know what you're doing yet?

Welp

Dedicated ragequitter

Welp

This is filth! FILTH!!

Getting out there.

Playtest Results: *happy chirping*

Bookwyrm

Users who are viewing this thread

Playtest Results: happy chirping