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

Mr Zoat · 2026-11-08T10:50:42+0000

Sarlar said:
(Also, not posting in the Story-Only thread by accident this time, while still being supremely early, yes!)

Well done!

Darko said:
"weapon"
"machines"
"result"
"others"

Ngamer11 said:
I think that should be 'closest'.

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Yes, since the Guardians didn't want their lanterns to have an easy time of their operation of their Rings. No major AI assistance in construct design compared to an Orange.

No, that's not why. The Guardians considered the extra difficulty to be a worthwhile trade off over the psychological effects of using the other colours. They've made it as easy as it can be to use a green ring.

Best case, they somehow reach the Source Wall in a few billion years. Worst case, some planet out there is gonna suffer their own Chicxulub impact in a few thousand years, barring strong stellar gravity wells.

Virtually impossible. It's a virtual certainty that they'll end up going into an extremely elliptical orbit of the local star, maybe hitting something in-system after a few thousand years.

boo600 said:
See? Like peanut butter and chocolate, supposedly (I am allergic to peanuts. Not anaphylactic shock, 'just' intestinal bleeding).

Darwin, put the scythe down.

Though I wonder about why they kept crushing the Scarabs; they can make guns at will. Is there something about them that clashes with the Scarab's power source or something? You'd think that the-tech-that-makes-any-gun would do perfectly well with just the blueprint, and that it would be easier to transmit it to every drone. Unless… scarabs don't need to physically assimilate guns to use them, right? They're nanotech. They can do the blueprint thing.

Not exactly.

Scarabs are the result of merging vuldarian D.N.A. with a symbiotic creature that evolved naturally on the Reach homeworld... And is now extinct. As a result they're a lot more sophisticated than anything else the Reach has but it isn't all that easy to change them. Likewise, it's not all that easy to make more, and for a long time they haven't really needed to. They're working on that.

WereDragon said:
Meaning that all the Controllers who backed the OLC have suffered massive loss of influence and either abandoned them or are frantically trying to invent a counter.

What? No? Controllers are long term thinkers, they're not going to about-face just because their minions suffered a minor setback. The Darkstars were slowly losing for their entire existence and their founder was still respected.

Side-note: What happened to the giant FTL Freeze Ray technique that Paul used against the Reach (and accidentality Grayven)? I don't recall hi ever using it again despite it being reasonably effective.

You'll have to give me a link, but I suspect a combination of interdiction fields and plasma shields means that it's something they watch out for, rather than something which effortlessly destroys their fleets.

Neruz · 2026-11-08T11:13:46+0000

Signaller said:
Quick google says 3600 sectors, but I don't know why that many specifically. Assuming the universe is the same size as ours, it would work out to 1.17x10^29 light years cubed per sector, or a little under 5,000 trillion light years on the X, Y and Z axes; about 1.39*10^19 (13,900,000,000,000,000,000) habitable worlds per sector. That's a ridiculously high number for two people per sector to staff, even with FTL to make travel times negligible and to let us ignore that the universe is expanding. We know some planets go for centuries without seeing a Green Lantern, but even if the Reach and Apokolips have taken over, say, half that space, it still doesn't make sense. So either there's a lot more sectors, a lot fewer life-bearing planets (maybe due to something related to baseline thaumic levels, or Krona, or any number of other explanations?), or a much smaller universe. Probably all three.

IIRC it was originally 3600 sectors for the galaxy, and it was implied to be based on arc degrees of a circle (ie; each sector is 2 arc degrees and there are 20 sectors from core to edge, or something along those lines), which made more sense, but over time the scope increased and the number was never updated.

boo600 · 2026-11-08T11:15:21+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Spoiler: Scarab spoiler

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee scarab lore? Scarab lore!

Damn. It must have taken them a while to get the scarabs to adapt to the 'gun with theological implications.' So, they have a hugely adaptable arsenal, but it's not immediately adaptable even given blueprints. Power rings just keep on winning, heh.

WereDragon · 2026-11-08T11:34:54+0000

Mr Zoat said:
You'll have to give me a link, but I suspect a combination of interdiction fields and plasma shields means that it's something they watch out for, rather than something which effortlessly destroys their fleets.

He uses it during the Fleet Traction episode. First shot is in part 6.

While it doesn't kill the fleet it is somewhat effective. It is just that Paul has used his Singularity Projector many times and many of those times it has failed, yet he keeps using it. He used the FTL Cold Beam once to reasonable effect and never used it again. Seems odd. Particularly against less technologically advanced enemies like these guys who probably couldn't block or redirect it fast enough to save their fleet.

Mr Zoat · 2026-11-08T12:31:58+0000

WereDragon said:
He uses it during the Fleet Traction episode. First shot is in part 6.

While it doesn't kill the fleet it is somewhat effective. It is just that Paul has used his Singularity Projector many times and many of those times it has failed, yet he keeps using it. He used the FTL Cold Beam once to reasonable effect and never used it again. Seems odd. Particularly against less technologically advanced enemies like these guys who probably couldn't block or redirect it fast enough to save their fleet.

Thank you for the link. I imagine that the in-universe reason is that he wants his targets to understand what's happening so that they'll throw in the towel, but it's more because I forgot about it. Though in this situation, using it would risk dropping a zero degree kelvin ship into a atmosphere above people that he's trying to keep alive, which would be bad.

Zig · 2026-11-08T15:47:54+0000

Signaller said:
Assuming the universe is the same size as ours

It explicitly isn't in every version of DC I can think of. The DC universe has a physical center (Oa) and a physical border (the source wall) and while they don't always give a size this does mean every DC universe is explicitly finite, unlike ours

boo600 · 2026-11-08T17:08:07+0000

He could also not want to show off the beam; while it's unlikely that the Cold Gun blueprints will be re-engineered from seeing it once, or even multiple times (especially given it's Earth Hypertech), it could be adapted to if people see it as a regular part of his arsenal (better to keep the trump card, and Singularity Projectors are actually better known... and it's very binary whether people can deal with them already, particularly with how gravity control tech relates to spacetime and various hyperdrives). Plus, he doesn't want to make Earth seem like a treasure trove for the looting... and heck, while the Reach aren't quite as capable as the scarabs would suggest, their in-story showings all involve them doing insane tech-things in the name of psychological victories, from subliminally programming people with particular colors (described as 'we didn't know that kind of precision was possible outside of science fiction... but they managed it) to creating a bleed-based gun to trigger a holy war/schism. They made the H-dial, and might get something from repeated showings of the cold gun, even secondhand.

...can I ask about the Darwin comment? My mom used to make me peanut butter sandwhiches, and I survived. (I also learned I don't like the taste of peanut butter, even with jam, so I'm hardly missing out on some great treasure).

Someguy Somewhere · 2026-11-08T18:49:30+0000

Signaller said:
Quick google says 3600 sectors, but I don't know why that many specifically.

They sliced the galaxy by degrees from Oa at the center...360 degrees, dividing each wedge in 10 moving out from their center to the edge of our spiral galaxy, thus 3600. Two Lanterns per gets 7200 Sector Lanterns, with and unknown number of Honour Guard Lanterns as needed stand alone response forces for when they need more then what a sector and it's neighbors can handle.

With the Guardians they went for maximum coverage, with some ability to focus on issues as they develop. One would assume they'd have different math if the galaxy wasn't round....or they'd rearrange it to fit their orderly sensibilities.

I could see that in a billion years of rearranging the furniture for them would end up like that.

Mr Zoat · 2026-11-08T19:55:43+0000

boo600 said:
...can I ask about the Darwin comment?

Charles Erasmus Darwin wrote 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life'. The scythe is a primitive farming tool for cutting grasses and other stalks, also used in depictions of Death for the metaphorical value.

I was implying that Darwin is trying to kill you.

Someguy Somewhere said:
They sliced the galaxy by degrees from Oa at the center...360 degrees, dividing each wedge in 10 moving out from their center to the edge of our spiral galaxy, thus 3600. Two Lanterns per gets 7200 Sector Lanterns, with and unknown number of Honour Guard Lanterns as needed stand alone response forces for when they need more then what a sector and it's neighbors can handle.

How recently did that become a thing? Because that means that Lanterns literally have to travel half the length of the universe as part of their patrols.

Someguy Somewhere · 2026-11-08T20:21:02+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Charles Erasmus Darwin wrote 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life'. The scythe is a primitive farming tool for cutting grasses and other stalks, also used in depictions of Death for the metaphorical value.

I was implying that Darwin is trying to kill you.
How recently did that become a thing? Because that means that Lanterns literally have to travel half the length of the universe as part of their patrols.

Can't recall when they described it....I think it was Implied when ever the number system was defined as 3600, just from the geometry of it, but not exactly stated. There's some fan wiki entries describing it as such but I can't find a direct reference...well I found one but it's nu52 so I ignored it.

EDIT: Quoting ComicVine, but again no direct reference:

"The latest description amends the original one - sectors are now a one-degree by eighteen-degree section of the sphere-shaped universe, with the origin points meeting at Oa, which is located at the center of the universe. While this still results in an infinitely-sized sector, is not as spread out. Since the sectors all meet and begin on Oa, this means that Oa is in every lantern's sector, and while a lantern is on Oa, he is technically still patrolling his home sector."

boo600 · 2026-11-08T22:39:13+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Charles Erasmus Darwin wrote 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life'. The scythe is a primitive farming tool for cutting grasses and other stalks, also used in depictions of Death for the metaphorical value.

I was implying that Darwin is trying to kill you.

Yes, that much I knew and gathered. What I don't get is why. Peanut allergies aren't uncommon, and most people die from a slight exposure; I would need to eat an entire bag of the damn things (which I don't like or eat anyway) to have a real chance of dying. Heck, I can eat Thai food with peanuts in the sauce (though I don't, because it irritates my intestinal tract and makes it start trying to bleed. Which is irritating).

I am effectively incapable of dying to peanuts (by accident or my own will; I suppose a serial killer could force feed me peanuts until I died via exsanguination). I am also not suffering from their loss, as I don't like them anyways, and even if I did, the effects are sufficiently unpleasant so as to prevent me from 'risking' myself or whatnot. (And of course, tiny traces in chocolate from 'being in the same factory' are fine medically, though I don't like it if I taste peanuts. Because I also don't like them)

My mother might have been trying to kill me, but that's a completely different story from my genes lacking Fitness.

Mr Zoat · 2026-11-09T07:17:36+0000

16th October 2013
18:57 G.M.T.

"I heard!"

I-. Dropping the singularity projectors is obvious, but there isn't anything preventing the intact battleships bombarding us if I drop my jamming constructs. Other than the fact that they're distracted-.

I warp towards Gaart's last position. I can always kill Mongul later.

Space snaps back into being-.

Gaart frantically throws up a shield to block the giant fist his opponent is slamming into him. He goes flying backwards, shield splintering into fading fragments-.

I transition forwards and throw up an orange shield in its place, hand swinging in-.

Assimilate.

The hand strikes and then sticks as its owner tries to pull it away, veins of orange light burrowing into it from the point of contact.

The construct cuts out, and the veins return to the shield.

Construct armour.

"Gaart, status?"

"Ribs aren't a vital organ, right?"

"I don't know your species well enough to say."

And then I get a good look at my opponent. Monguloid, but… Thinner than the other examples I've seen. A marathon runner rather than a body builder. He's staring at me, his face still.

"Lantern Arkymandryte, I assume?"

There's a certain… Pinching in his facial features. I'd guess that it's anger or hate, but given how he's still glowing yellow I assume that's not it. Contempt? Disgust, perhaps?

"This is convenient. We were planning on killing you anyway. But I am interested in why an isolationist like you signed up with Sinestro. I doubt that he worships the same gods as you."

"Sinestro is wise, abomination. Order through fear, is the only way to manage a society. People cannot be allowed to run rampant; they must have clear limits imposed upon them."

"So you run your world in the same way that he ran Korugar."

"His error was in bestowing trust and opportunity upon them. I will not repeat it."

"Are you here to fight Mongul..?"

"I would like nothing more than to unmake that heathen-"

His environmental shield didn't even flicker. That's not control; I think there's something genuinely wrong with his brain.

"-but Sinestro has a use for him, and I care little for the wider universe."

"And what use is that? I thought that-."

"You will find out." A zombified smile appears on his lips. "Now."

GrabGaartandwarp!

Alert!

Urrgh!

"The excellent thing about these crystals, abomination…"

A snake construct is clamped around me, fangs buried in my chest!

"Is that they do not interfere with yellow conjurations. Their presence here is an act of providence, if not truly the will of the gods."

That's not great news. I have a spare body, but I never explained to Jordan what to do if I died and I.. think we're too far away for my soul to transmigrate into it.

The construct snake's tail comes around, Gaart constricted in its coils.

There's something yellow flowing into my body from the fangs-.

I trigger my crumbler gauntlets and punch the snake! The head comes apart, yellow… Stuff dripping from my wound for a moment before the armour's back up atmosphere shield kicks in and stops me dying of vacuum exposure. The snake begins to fade, Gaart pushing against it-.

And then it stops falling apart and begins restoring itself.

"I am not a dilettante, abomination. While I have not truly mastered fear yet, I can-."

The boxing glove construct strikes him in the side, shoving through his environmental shield and knocking him aside!

Jordan floats there while Arkymandryte recovers.

"I think he's an abomination, too. But that's because I know him."

I try speaking, but all that really comes out is:

"Uuuuuhhhh…"

Right. Purple healing ray off the harness, shove it into the snake bite hole and fire. Jammer construct-. Right.

Jordan conjures up a guillotine construct around the snake's tail and drops the blade, severing it and freeing Lantern Gaart.

Urgh…

Ring, message to Jordan. Make a jammer construct, or prepare for bombardment.

Message sent.

I beckon the newly-freed Gaart closer, while Jordan throws a rapid hail of boxing gloves at Arkymandryte from all directions. Arkymandryte opts to take the hits on his environmental shield, barely flinching now that he's not being taken by surprise.

"I am powered by the fear of an entire world, Harold Jordan."

"Oh really?" Jordan grins. "I don't feel fear at all."

Gaart reaches me as they assault one another in earnest. And Jordan has actually made a jammer construct. I'm… Surprised, but gratified.

"I can give you a pull?"

"Please do. Meanwhile…" I shoot him with the purple healing ray.

He flinches for a moment, and then relaxes. "Huh. Healing beam?"

"Yes. Now please get us out of here."

"Sure thing."

Signaller · 2026-11-09T07:31:44+0000

Now I'm wondering if there are other crystals around the universe that empower the other ring colours? The crystallised anti-life crystals that John Quinn had might've done well for black lanterns?

Darko · 2026-11-09T07:32:59+0000

Mr Zoat said:
But I am interested in why an isolationist like you signed up with Sinestro. I doubt that he worships the same gods as you."

Honestly, Sinestro may qualify as a divine figure in their myths.

Lanterns can be worshipped by people, so maybe some of them are worshipped by Mongul's people.

Mr Zoat said:
"I would like nothing more than to unmake that heathen-"

His environmental shield didn't even flicker. That's not control; I think there's something genuinely wrong with his brain

So either Sinestro is doing something to him, or he was always like that.

The type of person that can wield a Yellow Ring would be more than a bit crazy in the head.

Mr Zoat said:
"I think he's an abomination, too. But that's because I know him

Familiarity breeds contempt.

BR549 · 2026-11-09T07:46:53+0000

I think this is twice now the much-maligned boxing glove construct has come in clutch for the win-

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-11-09T08:05:20+0000

Mr Zoat said:
16th October 2013
18:57 G.M.T.

"I heard!"

I-. Dropping the singularity projectors is obvious, but there isn't anything preventing the intact battleships bombarding us if I drop my jamming constructs. Other than the fact that they're distracted-.

Leaving Hal unsupported again is a pain, but OL is the faster of them and whoever is attacking him isn't going to waste any time going for the kill. We don't want the junior Greenie dying here if OL can help it.

I warp towards Gaart's last position. I can always kill Mongul later.

Space snaps back into being-.

And if you're lucky, this is Mongul Junior and you can remove him from the board.

Gaart frantically throws up a shield to block the giant fist his opponent is slamming into him. He goes flying backwards, shield splintering into fading fragments-.

I transition forwards and throw up and orange shield in its place, hand swinging in-.

Not a skilled Lantern, given the show of giant hands.

Assimilate.

The hand strikes and then sticks as its owner tries to pull it away, veins of orange light burrowing into it from the point of contact.

If they're dumb, they'll hold the connection and risk their Ring becoming OL's. But If they're smart...

The construct cuts out, and the veins return to the shield.

Construct armour.

...They'll pull away. No doubt pausing to take stock of what they're facing now.

"Gaart, status?"

"Ribs aren't a vital organ, right?"

"I don't know your species well enough to say."

Best to patch them up just to be on the safe side. Deflated lung-analogues are no fun for their owner.

And then I get a good look at my opponent. Monguloid, but… Thinner than the other examples I've seen. A marathon runner rather than a body builder. He's staring at me, his face still.

"Lantern Arkymandryte, I assume?"

Ah. Well, at least they can free Debstam IV from this git's misrule. Not doubt Mongul or one of his kids will move right on in, though, unless the Lanterns move to pacify it pronto.

There's a certain… Pinching in his facial features. I'd guess that it's anger or hate, but given how he's still glowing yellow I assume that's not it. Contempt? Disgust, perhaps?

"This is convenient. We were planning on killing you anyway. But I am interested in why an isolationist like you signed up with Sinestro. I doubt that he worships the same gods as you."

'Fear of the other', perhaps. Xenophobia, Religious mania, that sort of thing.

"Sinestro is wise, abomination. Order through fear, is the only way to manage a society. People cannot be allowed to run rampant; they must have clear limits imposed upon them."

"So you run your world in the same way that he ran Korugar."

We've heard about how he's been ruling. I doubt Sinestro would have tolerated any of that.

"His error was in bestowing trust and opportunity upon them. I will not repeat it."

"Are you here to fight Mongul..?"

That's assuming he or Junior are aboard the fleet.

"I would like nothing more than to unmake that heathen-"

His environmental shield didn't even flicker. That's not control; I think there's something genuinely wrong with his brain.

Not Enlightened - no coloured Quotation marks. I suspect he's done something to himself, inducing a constant state of existential terror, maybe.

"-but Sinestro has a use for him, and I care little for the wider universe."

"And what use is that? I thought that-."

An army, perhaps? A fleet to support his Lanterns, much like NEMO? Enforcers to set in place after Lanterns leave to maintain control.

"You will find out." A zombified smile appears on his lips. "Now."

GrabGaartandwarp!

Oh, that sounds nasty. I'm picturing his lips drawing back unhealthily far from his teeth.

Alert!

Urrgh!

Not fast enough, OL.

"The excellent thing about these crystals, abomination…"

A snake construct is clamped around me, fangs buried in my chest!

"Is that they do not interfere with yellow conjurations. Their presence here is an act of providence, if not truly the will of the gods."

Good to have that theory confirmed. I expect he's going to be as strong as OL is on terms of construct integrity, and he's likely mainlining crystals to induce that constant fear state like they're TEMU Fear Gas.

That's not great news. I have a spare body, but I never explained to Jordan what to do if I died and I.. think we're too far away for my soul to transmigrate into it.

The construct snake's tail comes around, Gaart constricted in its coils.

There's something yellow flowing into my body from the fangs-.

No idea what's happening there, but it can't be good.

I trigger my crumbler gauntlets and punch the snake! The head comes apart, yellow… Stuff dripping from my wound for a moment before the armour's back up atmosphere shield kicks in and stops me dying of vacuum exposure. The snake begins to fade, Gaart pushing against it-.

Time to go, fellows.

And then it stops falling apart and begins restoring itself.

"I am not a dilettante, abomination. While I have not truly mastered fear yet, I can-."

The crystal powder reinforcing it, I see.

The boxing glove construct strikes him in the side, shoving through his environmental shield and knocking him aside!

Jordan floats there while Arkymandryte recovers.

Good thing OL's a little out of it, or he'd be wincing at the Boxing Glove coming in clutch again.

"I think he's an abomination, too. But that's because I know him."

I try speaking, but all that really comes out is:

"Uuuuuhhhh…"

OL's never living this down. Hal is gonna be ribbing him over this for years.

Right. Purple healing ray off the harness, shove it into the snake bite hole and fire. Jammer construct-. Right.

Jordan conjures up a guillotine construct around the snake's tail and drops the blade, severing it and freeing Lantern Gaart.

And Hal going for the tether filaments, not the construct. He's learned a lot sparring with OL.

Urgh…

Ring, message to Jordan. Make a jammer construct, or prepare for bombardment.

Message sent.

Especially since we have no idea if Arky here is on the fleet's side or not. Either way, it's only going to make him stronger if they start raining Fear smoke bombs at them.

I beckon the newly-freed Gaart closer, while Jordan throws a rapid hail of boxing gloves at Arkymandryte from all directions. Arkymandryte opts to take the hits on his environmental shield, barely flinching now that he's not being taken by surprise.

"I am powered by the fear of an entire world, Harold Jordan."

"Oh really?" Jordan grins. "I don't feel fear at all."

Reminds me of Green Lantern: Rebirth. "Why won't you give up?!" "I don't know how."

Gaart reaches me as they assault one another in earnest. And Jordan has actually made a jammer construct. I'm… Surprised, but gratified.

"I can give you a pull?"

Let's see if he can maintain it while running other constructs and engaging in melee with Arky.

"Please do. Meanwhile…" I shoot him with the purple healing ray.

He flinches for a moment, and then relaxes. "Huh. Healing beam?"

Earth Bullshit™. It's marvellous stuff when it's on your side.

"Yes. Now please get us out of here."

"Sure thing."

Discretion is the better part of valour here, and even the most stubborn Lantern can work out when it's time to retreat.

All right, not Mongul Junior sporting a Yellow Ring. ...Yet. But still not the kind of person you want running around with an emotion-based super-toolkit. It'll be interesting to see how he's maintaining that state of Fear even through clear emotional responses that should have disrupted him. My bet is he's been snorting the Fear crystal powder...

WereDragon · 2026-11-09T09:29:19+0000

Mr Zoat said:
snip

So why is Jordan immune to the crystals that are currently crippling Paul?

Ngamer11 · 2026-11-09T09:34:02+0000

WereDragon said:
So why is Jordan immune to the crystals that are currently crippling Paul?

I assume Jordan is keeping the guy too off balance to do the same thing to him.

LZB1285 · 2026-11-09T09:36:30+0000

Mr Zoat said:
I transition forwards and throw up and orange shield in its place,

Did you intend "a" orange shield or "an" orange shield?

Darko · 2026-11-09T09:38:53+0000

WereDragon said:
So why is Jordan immune to the crystals that are currently crippling Paul?

If the crystals are somehow connected to the Yellow Light, then Jordan may be the best one there to counter them since he's both a highly powerful and experienced Green Lantern and had experience fighting Sinestro: a master of fear.

Mr Zoat · 2026-11-09T09:52:51+0000

WereDragon said:
So why is Jordan immune to the crystals that are currently crippling Paul?

Arkymandryte had the battleship fire on his position. The resulting blast broke the SI's constructs, but Jordan arrived after it was detonated and so avoided the worst of it.

LZB1285 said:
Did you intend "a" orange shield or "an" orange shield?

Thank you, corrected,

Zett9n · 2026-11-09T10:00:21+0000

Could Paul crystalize avarice and use it as a shield for fear crystals/construct negation? Maybe the controllers would be able to make the crystals and integrate them into the rings so they have built in defenses.

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

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