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

m_d · Friday at 6:59 AM

Mr Zoat said:
assumed your ability to form normal emotional bonds was messed up _my_ your mother's upbringing

messed up _by_ your mother's

Chojin Patriarch · Friday at 7:35 AM

Mr Zoat said:
20th August 2013
11:48 GMT -7

I nod as I carry Persuader across the barren landscape. "So it can weaken us physically, but our New God powers still work. That's… Strange."

Iname stops skipping for a moment, walking normally as she glances at me. "Why is that, Master?"

Heh, still feeling a bit zonked after her massive chest wound, eh? And you're right, that is strange. Unless it doesn't have the metaphysical oomph to do so? It is working with a newly-generated thaumosphere.

"A purely hostile enemy would remove all of our advantages, or at least as many as they could. The fact that they haven't suggests either that they can't, or… Aren't able to perceive it."

"Or they're just dumb."

Who says it has to be just one thing? Given its behaviour so far, it does seem pretty specialised, maybe it isn't able to care about their higher powers... Like an 'Oblivion' guard walking up to a PC in their endgame armour set, carrying at least three different apocalyptic-scale weapons and give them the old 'Stop! You've violated the law!' routine.

"Thank you, Persuader. Are you up to walking yet?"

"Ah. No?" Iname glares at her. "I mean, I probably could…"

Probably a little jealous Persuader is riding while she's not. And annoyed too.

"This isn't difficult for me, I just know how teenagers are about their independence. Did you learn anything from the experience?"

"Getting shot when you can't take it sucks?"

Hardly a useful lesson, given that 'don't get shot at all' is generally the first lesson taught.

"I meant, personally."

"I'm glad I didn't get shot when I was a kid. Mon wasn't that kind of psycho."

If you'd got shot as a kid, you probably wouldn't be here now, so hardly useful either...

"Okay, anything else?"

"Is this about Mister Johnson?"

"It might be?"

Ah, a name that came up during her illusion. I take it we're gonna get some backstory.

"Obviously I shouldn't have killed him."

Iname shakes her head. "Who is Mister Johnson?"

Persuader… Hesitates for a moment, then decides that she doesn't care. "First person I killed. My old math teacher."

Was he at least a creepy old guy who eyed up female students? Someone who might deserve it?

I frown as Iname blinks in bewilderment. "While we're on the subject, why did you kill him?"

She looks confused. "You didn't have the g-gnomes look at my brain?"

That would totally have ruined any trust she might have gained in him, if he had done it and she found out.

"Actually, no. I assumed your ability to form normal emotional bonds was messed up my your mother's upbringing to the point where you could kill people without feeling emotion, but once I decided on your parole I didn't see any reason to revisit the situation. And I have been pleased with the way you've responded. But if it's going to be relevant…"

Especially if this place can throw her into another scenario based off that...

"I was planning on running away. Joining a gang. I figured that it would help if I'd killed someone already. So I knew I wouldn't freeze up if I killed someone on the job. And that I could plan stuff without getting caught."

"Was that your first experience of violence?"

...With her mother? I doubt it, though probably not on that scale. Unearned spankings, light beatings where bruises wouldn't show, that kind of abuse...

"No. I mean, not really. First… In-the-field violence, yeah. I used to work out regularly, do some sparring… But it's not like killing people is hard."

I nod. "All too true. Why him?"

Heck, hit someone in the head too hard, knock them down just the wrong way... Injustice Nightwing died because of a single rock. Not even getting hit by it, either. Humans are shockingly fragile yet ludicrously durable at the same time...

"I needed money and I didn't know anyone else anyone wanted dead. He didn't, like, do anything or anything."

Huh. "Wouldn't the school stoners have had connections to drug distribution networks? Could have had an employment opportunity there."

"Ah, actually? My school was pretty clean. If anyone was on anything, it was the teachers, and that was all prescription stuff."

I mean, dealign with teenagers all day, wouldn't you want something to keep your mood up?

I nod. "That's where the real money is."

"You..?" Iname looks up at her, wide-eyed. "You murdered your teacher just because you could?"

Yes, some people are just that... Well, evil. But she's working to atone, hopefully.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"That's why Knockout oversaw her training."

Probably felt nostalgic, reminded her of her mother.
EDIT: Oooh, Mr Zoat's response bodes ill...

"But that's horrible, Master!"

Persuader looks down at her. "So… You didn't do anything like that?"

"I liked all of my teachers! Even Teacher Itō who smelled weird all the time!"

She's such a nice girl...

"I always figured Grayven pick you up 'cause you killed someone, to."

"I did, but that wasn't why! The man I killed was a murderer!"

Don't forget to mention who he killed, mind.

"So, did..? You have super speed before Grayven hired you, or did he give that to you?"

"He gave it to me. He gave me the power to avenge the murder of my parents!"

There you go. See, now we're sharing!

"Oh, see, I had totally the wrong idea."

"I know!"

What, did she think Iname was a side-piece or something?

"So… Did the police drop the ball? I'm kinda-" Iname cringes out of her righteous indignation. Why did she do that? "-used to Grayven dealing with the police and stuff."

"Um." Iname looks away. "That…"

I mean, Japanese Police forces don't always have the best of reputations.

"Or did Grayven think it was better for you to do it yourself. Boss?"

I frown. "I thought you said that your lawyer wasn't sure they'd get a conviction."

Ah, damn. Did Misa misunderstand her lawyer or did she flat-out lie?

"I… Did not entirely understand what he was saying. He meant that… He was not sure that the case would be completed quickly, and that I might find it difficult because I would have to give testimony in court."

"So..?"

Oh. To be fair, she was barely an adult and grieving. It's not surprising that she wasn't paying due attention.

"They would probably have convicted him and executed him anyway."

"Oh. Oh well."

She looks up at me. "You aren't angry with me?"

The drawback of her subservient nature towards him: His opinion means much to her.

"Angry? No. If I cared about exactly how a thief and murderer died I'd have looked into it myself at the time. As far as I'm concerned I just saved the Japanese people the cost of a rope. Though, Iname? Do remember to listen more carefully in future."

She smiles, clearly cheered up by my statement. "Yes, Master!"

I'm sure she'll be duly attentive to all conversations to come.

"So…" Persuader still sounds puzzled. "What, you just happened to bump into each other..?"

"No, I was out shopping with Lynne in the shop where she was working. She took the initiative and asked me, and here we are."

Amazing how things can pivot on such a simple happenstance.

"She asked you for super powers?"

Iname stops smiling and starts glancing at me nervously instead.

"No, she asked me to kill him. I thought that giving her the ability would be better, and give me a useful employee who could benefit from having a mentor."

Indeed. Remember, he was still in his building-up phase at the time.

"But she's useful because she's fast. Iname, what exactly was the plan there? Just hope-" Iname's blushing. "-that he'd kill someone 'cause you asked him to?"

I snort with laughter. "Um. No."

Certainly, if she'd put her case forwards with enough conviction, he might consider it.

Iname looks away for a moment, and then turns back. "That isn't what we're talking about! You murdered your teacher!"

Huh. I suppose I could… "Did he see you?"

Persuader looks at me for a moment. "Why does that matter?"

Ah, he's going to pull a karma houdini for her, eh?

"Did you read the reports on the supervillian group 'The Light'?"

"I did after I found out Klarion was a member."

Oh? Personal thing for her?

"You remember how I turned Ra's al Ghul into a construct?" She nods. "That gives me his memories. I know how to make Lazarus Pits. They're not a hundred percent reliable, but they have a good chance of resurrecting a corpse. And since I know where Mister Johnson's body is, and if it doesn't work we could just stick it back in the grave with no one being any the wiser, we could give it a shot. As long as he didn't see you."

Although it's going to be tricky to explain how he came back after so long, why the Renegade did this for him and so forth...

"No, I came up behind him and my face was covered. I burned all the clothes I was wearing and chucked the knife in an incinerator. No evidence. Are you..? Serious about that?"

"May as well. There are only so many sites of geomantic energy in the world that will support a Pit, but I can burn one to make your life a little easier."

"Huh. Uh. Thanks. So… What did Iname do that she doesn't want to talk about?"

I'm guessing it's something to do with the 'tentacle ogre cult' thing from back in the day...

An amusing little breather from OL's firefight. And some nice sharing between co-workers. Hopefully the Renegade's little plan doesn't go awry somehow. They'd better get ready, though, I get the feeling when they reach the center of the crater, things will come to a head...

Mr Zoat · Friday at 8:36 AM

m_d said:
messed up _by_ your mother's

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Probably felt nostalgic, reminded her of her mother.

I winced when I read this, and in a week or so you will too.

What, did she think Iname was a side-piece or something?

No, she assumed that Iname was the upbeat sort of psycho, recruited for penance as she was.

boo600 · Friday at 9:06 AM

CrazyNoVa said:
OH GOD, HE'S SAVVY ENOUGH ABOUT MATH TO FIGURE OUT THE ANTI-LIFE EQUATION!

I believe that YK is arrogant enough to decry the ALE as 'boring scribbles.' He's powerful enough to defeat Darkseid and the rest of Apokolips with a wave of his hand, though he's also self-disposing; I haven't ever heard of a Yuga Khan story that doesn't end with him charging right back at the Source Wall and getting stuck again like the world's dumbest fly.

Sordid Snake · Friday at 10:36 AM

Mr Zoat said:
"May as well. There are only so many sites of geomantic energy in the world that will support a Pit, but I can burn one to make your life a little easier."

Wonder if this will blow up in the same way as it did for Original OL when he tried to do the same thing for Jade?

Mr Zoat · Friday at 10:41 AM

Sordid Snake said:
Wonder if this will blow up in the same way as it did for Original OL when he tried to do the same thing for Jade?

Hell remembers what Grayven did to the First. They're not going to try pulling that sort of thing with him.

Ngamer11 · Friday at 10:46 AM

Mr Zoat said:
Hell remembers what Grayven did to the First. They're not going to try pulling that sort of thing with him.

Now the question is how can the Renegade take advantage of the fact that he basically has free rein to resurrect anyone who's gone to Hell.

Darko · Friday at 10:56 AM

Sordid Snake said:
Wonder if this will blow up in the same way as it did for Original OL when he tried to do the same thing for Jade?

Mr Zoat said:
Hell remembers what Grayven did to the First. They're not going to try pulling that sort of thing with him.

Ngamer11 said:
Now the question is how can the Renegade take advantage of the fact that he basically has free rein to resurrect anyone who's gone to Hell.

The teacher may not have ended up in Hell.

And it wouldn't be the first time Renegade has used Lazarus waters to bring someone back to life.

He used them to bring back Kanto 50s wife. Though he also used a coffin-like machine.

WereDragon · Friday at 11:12 AM

Mr Zoat said:
20th August 2013
11:48 GMT -7

Grayven very much in dad mode today.

Odd he would care about Random Teacher. Persuader certainly doesn't.

Duke Long · Friday at 11:17 AM

Mr Zoat said:
"I always figured Grayven picked you up 'cause you killed someone, to."

'too'

I wonder what the excuse for resurrecting this guy will be. Could be as simple as saying 'Persuader was your student and she was sad that you died.'

Mr Zoat · Friday at 12:05 PM

WereDragon said:
Odd he would care about Random Teacher. Persuader certainly doesn't.

Oh, he doesn't. But it makes things easier if his employee isn't a net murderer.

Duke Long said:
'too'

Thank you, corrected.

I wonder what the excuse for resurrecting this guy will be. Could be as simple as saying 'Persuader was your student and she was sad that you died.'

Nah, just dump him in a crop circle somewhere.

WereDragon · Friday at 2:18 PM

Mr Zoat said:
Oh, he doesn't. But it makes things easier if his employee isn't a net murderer.

Doesn't sound like anyone, lease of all the law, knows she did that specific murder. Not seeing how it makes a difference either way.

Mr Zoat · Friday at 4:28 PM

WereDragon said:
Doesn't sound like anyone, lease of all the law, knows she did that specific murder. Not seeing how it makes a difference either way.

It makes a difference to his family. And it probably makes at least some difference to Persuader. And it's not impossible that someone might work it out later, especially with magic for policing purposes becoming available if uncommon.

Steelplaza · Friday at 4:28 PM

WereDragon said:
Doesn't sound like anyone, lease of all the law, knows she did that specific murder. Not seeing how it makes a difference either way.

It goes back to being genre savvy. Grayven knows that a secret that "no one knows" can have a way of coming out at the worst possible time in a universe full of mind-readers, soul readers, living incarnations of karmic justice, and the like. (Hey, remember the Crimson Avenger?) It's a minor gap in the mail of moral superiority (or at least moral I-did-nothing-wrong) he generally tries to wear when interacting with the superhero world. Being able to say, "Sure my subordinate murdered a guy for no reason but I fixed it," is putting in a patch against a future problem.

Mr Zoat said:
What did Iname do that she doesn't want to talk about

Iname embarrassed that in a moment of desperation and despair she tried to trade sexual favors for her revenge. I guess it doesn't fit with her self-image. Persuader probably could have easily guessed if she was more clever than she is.

It's interesting that despite having co-existed in Grayven's employment (and done some fighting tournaments together), Persuader and Iname didn't know much about each other. I'd say that they might be better friends from now on, but actually they probably come out of this liking each other less. (Iname because she judges Persuader and Persuader because she doesn't like being judged.)

Valint · Friday at 4:42 PM

WereDragon said:
Grayven very much in dad mode today.

Odd he would care about Random Teacher. Persuader certainly doesn't.

I mean, if he's in dad mode and wants to help her develop empathy, showing that the teacher's life has enough value for Grayven to put in the time to resurrect him is probably useful.

The converse, of just kind of shrugging and moving on, feels like it wouldn't be helpful.

Mr Zoat · 2026-03-07T07:12:57+0000

10th December 2022
09:45 GMT

Endymion lowers his sword, the latest mob of imps slain. And not all by us. "I don't understand why they keep fighting one another."

Corporal Taggart shrugs nonchalantly as he crouches to pick up… What looks like a barbute helmet with glowing green eyes. He then presses it against a damaged section of his armour and… The lights go out and a small amount of the armour regrows? "I guess demons suck, even if you're a demon."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

He frowns at me. "Demons suck?"

"No, with the… Helmet thing."

"What, this?" He hold up the now dull helmet. "Smart metal canister. It's only really designed for armor maintenance, not rebuilding the whole thing, but I figure it's better than nothing. You think it looks like a helmet?"

I look down at my power armour, which has definitely seen better days. "Yes?"

"Huh." He looks at it closely. "Yeah, I guess it kinda does." He rotates it so I can see the bottom. Ah, it's… More of a dispenser nozzle than a hole for your head.

Endymion looks even more confused. "But why are they scattered all around?"

"I dunno." Taggart picks up another and applies it to himself. "Could be they were all crated up and the demons smashed 'em open, could be the garrison put 'em around the place 'cause their armour kept getting beat up?"

"By what?"

Taggart frowns thoughtfully. "Demons, maybe? Some of the garrison coulda survived for a while. Or maybe the radiation or the teleporters did something?" He picks up a blue bottle. "Anyone need this?"

Mazikeen raises an eyebrow. "Drinking on a mission?"

"Yeah, that was my first guess too. Figured I found some guy's still. Turns out there's actually some sort of health… Drink… Thing." He shrugs. "I dunno what's actually in 'em. Probably toxic as Hell in the long term."

Seeing no takers he downs it, one of the burns on his left forearm fading noticeably.

"Can I take one of those home with me?"

Mazikeen give me a puzzled look. "You already have health potions."

"Yes, but that's something that they developed with no access to magic lore at all. It's probably a different approach to what Mister West came up with."

Taggart looks around the room, where dozens are laid out in neat rows. "Sure, I guess."

Endymion walks over to one, picks it up and sniffs it. "The demons don't appear to have been using them. Or the armor."

"I don't think that the demon zombies have a sense of self-preservation."

"The one you interrogated was intelligent. The Barons are intelligent. They must have a sense of their own mortality."

Taggart scoffs. "What makes you think demons are mortal?"

Endymion pointedly kicks an imp corpse. "Youma can die mortal deaths just as surely as any human. Not so easily, I will grant you, but they are no more immortal than you or I."

Behind us, there's a disconcerting squelching noise. Taggart, Endymion and I-. Wait, where's Mazikeen-.

The three of us stare as she takes another bite out of what appears to be the heart of one of the red flying ball demons.

"Um."

"Eating the still-warm heart of your enemies." Taggart grins. "That's kinda hot, actually."

"That's my daughter."

"We're in Hell and if I get back, I'm getting court-martialed. How worried do you think I am?"

Mazikeen swallows, giving me a mild glare. "Don't introduce yourself like that. Your bond with my father doesn't make you the same person, except when you are the same person."

Tarrant frowns at me. "So are you dating her Dad..?"

"Why are you eating that?"

"Whatever these creatures are, they can clearly still use magic, if only in instinctive ways." She tears another chunk off the heart with her teeth, chomps it to a pulp and then swallows again. "While we cannot. I want to see if whatever it is about these things that lets them use magic is something that I can take."

Endymion looks slightly ill. "I think that I will make do."

"How do you know it's the heart? Can you feel it?"

"An educated guess. It's usually the heart."

"Mazikeen, that could be poisonous. Depending on how our abilities are getting nullified, you might not be anything like as resilient as you're used to."

She gives me a confused frown as she gulps down the rest of it.

"What?"

She swallows, but something gets stuck. I pull a water bottle off my armour and offer it to her, but she waves me away and settles for swallowing harder.

"I'm not used to people being that concerned for me. Other than Lucifer, no one ever was."

Corporal Taggart straightens up. "Lucifer? You know the boss of this place?"

"No, this place isn't the same as the Hell I come from. And Lucifer left that place decades ago."

"Why?"

"Would you want to stay in Hell, if you could leave?"

"Hehahah!" Taggart looks around, grinning. "We're fucking here, aren't we? Only reason I was even on the mission is 'cause it was an emergency deployment an' they couldn't unchain me fast enough. I coulda stayed on the ship. And you came here for your friend."

"Actually." Mazikeen shakes her head. "I don't particularly like Angelica."

He looks at me. "Your friend?"

"Colleague, really. Friend of a friend."

He turns to Endymion, who shakes his head. "I hadn't even heard the name until today."

Taggart's grin grows broader. "Guess we're all just fuckin' nuts, then!"

"No. I have decided that the universe should be a certain way, and committed myself to making it so. Angelica was a part of that, so I'm going to help her. These creatures are not part of that, so they have to go."

Endymion nods. "I pledged to serve the people of Earth. These creatures will not be content with one moon."

Mazikeen holds out her right hand, a glowing ball of plasma slowly condensing over her palm. "I just want her opinion on Zor's trap. But I won't deny finding this satisfying. Where next?"

"Some kinda demon-looking tower." Taggart looks at his data pad. "Map says there's nothing there, so fucked if I know what it's for."

"Right then." I trudge towards the exit corridor. "I'm on point."

Cool10007 · 2026-03-07T07:21:14+0000

This whole crossover arc has been a wonderful trove of interesting character interactions. I wonder if any of them will stick with Paul back to DC - or otherwise migrate to somewhere other than their homes.

Neruz · 2026-03-07T07:27:50+0000

I am very curious if Sandro will return once the magic suppression is removed, or if it just killed him outright.

On the one hand Sandro is notoriously difficult to kill, on the other hand all his unkillability comes from magic which appears to have stopped working. So it could go either way.

m_d · 2026-03-07T07:29:04+0000

Mr Zoat said:
We're in Hell and if I get back, I'm getting _court marshalled_.

'court-martialed' I think. Both the hyphen and the military part for the verb form. The noun form is without the hyphen in British and Canadian usage. Not sure about American.

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-03-07T07:46:25+0000

Mr Zoat said:
10th December 2022
09:45 GMT

Endymion lower his sword, the latest mob of imps slain. And not all by us. "I don't understand why they keep fighting one another."

Corporal Taggart shrugs nonchalantly as he crouches to pick up… What looks like a barbute helmet with glowing green eyes. He then presses it against a damaged section of his armour and… The lights go out and a small amount of the armour regrows? "I guess demons suck, even if you're a demon."

Ah, good, they did eventually start infighting. Surprised it didn't happen sooner, given how indiscriminate ranged enemies are with their shooting. Though those with 'hitscan' weapons are marginally more accurate, if nothing else.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

He frowns at me. "Demons suck?"

"No, with the… Helmet thing."

Always did seem weird that picking up a helmet somehow added to your armour after the first one. Unless you picture a marine wearing a tower of helmets like a demented 'Team Fortress 2' player.

"What, this?" He hold up the now dull helmet. "Smart metal canister. It's only really designed for armor maintenance, not rebuilding the whole thing, but I figure it's better than nothing. You think it looks like a helmet?"

I look down at my power armour, which has definitely seen better days. "Yes?"

Trying to decide if it's worth snagging a few for yourself, OL? I don't know, the nanotech might have a certain specification programmed in. Don't want to lose your powered assists...

"Huh." He looks at it closely. "Yeah, I guess it kinda does." He rotates it so I can see the bottom. Ah, it's… More of a dispenser nozzle than a hole for your head.

Endymion looks even more confused. "But why are they scattered all around?"

Loot pickups, of course. Easier than searching a treasure chest or something.

"I dunno." Taggart picks up another and applies it to himself. "Could be they were all crated up and the demons smashed 'em open, could be the garrison put 'em around the place 'cause their armour kept getting beat up?"

"By what?"

Or some higher power is lending a hand by distributing useful things about the place like some kind of... Video game map designer...

Taggart frowns thoughtfully. "Demons, maybe? Some of the garrison coulda survived for a while. Or maybe the radiation or the teleporters did something?" He picks up a blue bottle. "Anyone need this?"

Mazikeen raises an eyebrow. "Drinking on a mission?"

Ah, the classic health bonus pickup. Always odd that they were little round bottles...

"Yeah, that was my first guess too. Figured I found some guy's still. Turns out there's actually some sort of health… Drink… Thing." He shrugs. "I dunno what's actually in 'em. Probably toxic as Hell in the long term."

Seeing no takers he downs it, one of the burns on his left forearm fading noticeably.

I wonder what being overhealed looks like in this. 200% health is the maximum, after all.

"Can I take one of those home with me?"

Mazikeen give me a puzzled look. "You already have health potions."

I mean, they're different kinds of health potions.

"Yes, but that's something that they developed with no access to magic lore at all. It's probably a different approach to what Mister West came up with."

Taggart looks around the room, where dozens are laid out in neat rows. "Sure, I guess."

It could well be some kind of nanotech designed for human biology instead of composite armour plates.

Endymion walks over to one, picks it up and sniffs it. "The demons don't appear to have been using them. Or the armor."

"I don't think that the demon zombies have a sense of self-preservation."

Or a compatible biology? Lends further credence to the 'nanotech' idea.

"The one you interrogated was intelligent. The Barons are intelligent. They must have a sense of their own mortality."

Taggart scoffs. "What makes you think demons are mortal?"

They certainly seem biological enough. Other than the flying skull things...

Endymion pointedly kicks an imp corpse. "Youma can die mortal deaths just as surely as any human. Not so easily, I will grant you, but they are no more immortal than you or I."

Behind us, there's a disconcerting squelching noise. Taggart, Endymion and I-. Wait, where's Mazikeen-.

And their various successors (Cardians, 'Droids', Daimons, Lemures and Phages, respectively) were even tougher in turn, generally resistant to everything except Sailor Moon's power.

The three of us stare as she takes another bite out of what appears to be the heart of one of the red flying ball demons.

"Um."

Hey, when did this turn into 'Delicious in Dungeon'?

"Eating the still-warm heart of your enemies." Taggart grins. "That's kinda hot, actually."

"That's my daughter."

Closer to a step-daughter, really. It's all a matter of perspective.

"We're in Hell and if I get back, I'm getting court marshalled. How worried do you think I am?"

Mazikeen swallows, giving me a mild glare. "Don't introduce yourself like that. Your bond with my father doesn't make you the same person, except when you are the same person."

Good luck explaining that one to the rest of them. Admittedly, Endymion might understand the easiest, given he's familiar with possession.

Tarrant frowns at me. "So are you dating her Dad..?"

"Why are you eating that?"

Eh, let's just say he bears her heart.

"Whatever these creatures are, they can clearly still use magic, if only in instinctive ways." She tears another chunk off the heart with her teeth, chomps it to a pulp and then swallows again. "While we cannot. I want to see if whatever it is about these things that lets them use magic is something that I can take."

And she's doing that by eating them.

Okay.

Endymion looks slightly ill. "I think that I will make do."

"How do you know it's the heart? Can you feel it?"

I mean, for all she knows, the Cacodemon's power resides in its spleen or something...

"An educated guess. It's usually the heart."

"Mazikeen, that could be poisonous. Depending on how our abilities are getting nullified, you might not be anything like as resilient as you're used to."

She's been careful so far, but no telling what might happen, yes.

She gives me a confused frown as she gulps down the rest of it.

"What?"

She swallows, but something gets stuck. I pull a water bottle off my armour and offer it to her, but she waves me away and settles for swallowing harder.

Ah, silly lass. Too proud to accept help freely offered. Or too suspicious of it.

"I'm not used to people being that concerned for me. Other than Lucifer, no one ever was."

Corporal Taggart straightens up. "Lucifer? You know the boss of this place?"

Eh, I doubt that one has anything to do with this realm.

"No, this place isn't the same as the Hell I come from. And Lucifer left that place decades ago."

"Why?"

"Would you want to stay in Hell, if you could leave?"

Yes, very good point. Though his leaving did cause issues until the Silver City worked out a solution.

"Hehahah!" Taggart looks around, grinning. "We're fucking here, aren't we? Only reason I was even on the mission is 'cause it was an emergency deployment an' they couldn't unchain me fast enough. I coulda stayed on the ship. And you came here for your friend."

"Actually." Mazikeen shakes her head. "I don't particularly like Angelica."

Certainly, they might well have known each other in the latter's time as a demon. No doubt it was hate at first sight.

He looks at me. "Your friend?"

"Colleague, really. Friend of a friend."

Hey, you did empower her with the Wings of Gabriel. There is that much.

He turns to Endymion, who shakes his head. "I hadn't even heard the name until today."

Taggart's grin grows broader. "Guess we're all just fuckin' nuts, then!"

To be honest, to survive this, you'd have to be a little cracked...

"No. I have decided that the universe should be a certain way, and committed myself to making it so. Angelica was a part of that, so I'm going to help her. These creatures are not part of that, so they have to go."

Endymion nods. "I pledged to serve the people of Earth. These creatures will not be content with one moon."

Both correct reasons. Even if this isn't their respective universe, some things cannot stand.

Mazikeen holds out her right hand, a glowing ball of plasma slowly condensing over her palm. "I just want her opinion on Zor's trap. But I won't deny finding this satisfying. Where next?"

"Some kinda demon-looking tower." Taggart looks at his data pad. "Map says there's nothing there, so fucked if I know what it's for."

"Right then." I trudge towards the exit corridor. "I'm on point."

That'll be E2M8, then. The finale of the episode, and where the Cyberdemon has his ritual space...

Just one big foe left to defeat and perhaps they can undo the spell preventing them from using their advantages. I don't expect them to hang around after that, heading straight for Angelica's probable captor. So this will probably be over soon one way or another. Just a matter of how many more locals they have to go through rather than evade...

Timetech · 2026-03-07T08:07:45+0000

"Endymion lower his sword, the latest mob of imps slain. And not all by us. "I don't understand why they keep fighting one another."

I think it should be "lower" -> "lowers", probably?

NightmareWarden · 2026-03-07T08:43:20+0000

Neruz said:
I am very curious if Sandro will return once the magic suppression is removed, or if it just killed him outright.

On the one hand Sandro is notoriously difficult to kill, on the other hand all his unkillability comes from magic which appears to have stopped working. So it could go either way.

Imagine if thirty Contingency spells tied to him activated immediately when the magic is turned back on. Getting blown up by your own post-mortem offensive spells, what a riot. "I dealt more damage to myself than the rest of the adventure combined."

Sure, sure, HoMM/M&M doesn't have Contingency or whatever, fine.

Duke Long · 2026-03-07T09:16:06+0000

Mr Zoat said:
"Eating the still-warm heart of your enemies." Taggart grins. "That's kinda hot, actually."

"That's my daughter."

Mr Zoat said:
She swallows, but something gets stuck. I pull a water bottle off my armour and offer it to her, but she waves me away and settles for swallowing harder.

"I'm not used to people being that concerned for me. Other than Lucifer, no one ever was."

Awww, so cute! Haha, she literally has a lump in her throat.

Neruz said:
I am very curious if Sandro will return once the magic suppression is removed, or if it just killed him outright.

On the one hand Sandro is notoriously difficult to kill, on the other hand all his unkillability comes from magic which appears to have stopped working. So it could go either way.

Oh El seemed to assume he was merely unconscious when it happened, and I guess he might have an idea of how the magic ought to work from when he read all those books with Sandro.

Mr Zoat · 2026-03-07T09:26:18+0000

m_d said:
'court-martialed' I think. Both the hyphen and the military part for the verb form. The noun form is without the hyphen in British and Canadian usage. Not sure about American.

Timetech said:
"Endymion lower his sword, the latest mob of imps slain. And not all by us. "I don't understand why they keep fighting one another."

I think it should be "lower" -> "lowers", probably?

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · 2026-03-08T07:42:58+0000

20th August 2013
12:39 GMT -7

Iname is still blushing as we finally reach the outskirts of the crater. Persuader hasn't quite worked out what Iname offered, and I don't think that she's even got an approximate idea. Probably because it's so contrary to our current relationship.

Huh. Occurs to me that Persuader never met Jade-.

"Persuader, have you worked in the same theatre of operation as Cheshire?"

"Ah. yeah, couple of times. Why?"

"Just occurs to me that you've got a lot in common. Stopped bleeding yet?"

"I dunno. It's sort of achy. I don't really wanna poke it."

I put her down and look at her thoughtfully. "Have you tried using your powers to heal yourself?"

"Can I..? Do that?"

I touch my own injury-. Yes, still hurts, but I'm still augmented by the venom buster I first took… Oh, so long ago now. And probably a little by what I absorbed in the Land of Summer's End. But let's see. Master of My Domain

I wait for a moment and… Ah, there we go. My injury knits itself back together as it should, and I… Feel myself regain my full strength. Good. That-.

Aaaand it's gone.

"Looks like we can heal using our God Names, but trying to maintain full power is a non-starter."

I gently lower Persuader to the ground, where she looks askance at Iname. "So how come she's still fast?"

"When I want to go fast, I constantly use my God Name. I am not using it now because we are going slowly."

"Okay… But mine's not really very heally."

I sigh quietly. "Persuader, Granny Goodness might have conditioned Knockout to be a resilient and ruthless warrior, but she also deliberately made her… Uncreative and disinclined to question."

"Meaning..?"

"Meaning that it literally wouldn't occur to her that you do more damage punching someone with a hand that isn't broken."

Persuader thinks about that for a moment.

"Shouldn't..? You..? Tell her that?"

"Uuuuh, no. Knockout is working for me because Granny Goodness told her to. She's still loyal to my father, she just doesn't bother considering the idea that I might not be. If I teach how to be even a little creative, she'd probably notice that."

"Yeah…" She shifts awkwardly. "But…"

I raise my eyebrows. "You like her."

"She's.. my teacher."

Iname glances her way for a moment. "Will you stab her, too?"

"Maybe if I want an A. I'd… Like to help her?"

"Huh. Okay. Are we talking 'respected elder'-like, 'Amazon eromena'-like, or 'I'm trying to hook her up with my Dad'-like?"

"What's that middle one mean?"

"Given Apokoliptian attitudes towards carnality, it wouldn't be that unusual for two people in your position to be…"

"Ah, no, no."

"'Relieving tension'. And honestly, I don't think her and your Dad-."

Persuader nods. "She's out of Dad's league."

I nod back. "It would snap right off. Maybe if I augmented him?"

"Alright." Persuader turns away. "So I need a pouch for a water bottle, and a pouch for something to make me forget you said that."

"But getting back to the point, you should be able to heal yourself. Or at least turn your ability to heal back on."

"How?"

"Spiritual self-awareness. What are you? And how is it more appropriate to that thing that you be healthy than you be bleeding?"

"Isn't there something you can do..? 'cause we're your employees?"

"Yes, but that wouldn't have helped while you were miles away being shot dead by phantasmal policemen. I may have a vested interest in you not dying, but you have a bigger one."

"Uh… Okay. Um…"

"Though given that your opponent appears to be trying to kill us and appears to be limited in influence to this planet… And given that we're trying to kill them, it probably wouldn't hurt to invoke a dialectic… Did I ever explain how that worked?"

"Is that the thing where we play up how different we are to boost ourselves?"

"Just so. Well remembered."

"Right-. Ah, I got it." You Missed

"Interesting choice. Did it work?"

She hesitates for a moment, and then bends a little to the left. And then to the right. "I think so."

"Of course, that does risk your wounds reopening if our opponent hits you again."

"I don't think whoever it is is gunna use rifles or handguns again."

"Fair enough. Iname, this was where your house appeared?"

"Yes, Master."

I cup my hands around my mouth. "Alright, arsehole! Last chance to surrender!" Grant Due Process

"Master, is warning them a good idea?"

"It's not like they don't know that we're here, and it's possible that they've misunderstood our intent."

But I'm still wondering. What sort of being can alter reality like this but can't stop us… Using that part of us that is at one with the Source.

No.

But why would they-?

The mountainside around us shimmers-. No, not shimmers. Something is covering the surface-. Perspective. People. People just appeared. Thousands… Perhaps hundreds of thousands. At this distance I can't make out individuals, but… Yes, they're all around us.

About a kilometre away they halt, up the slope and down it.

I take a step forwards. "What?"

One figure steps forwards-. Ah.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Commodore Amalak. Looking well for a dead man."

"I've been given a chance at justice."

"I doubt it. I think that you're just another phantasm, like all the rest." Dismiss the Monkey

A large quadruped trots up next to him. "And do you think that I-?"

"Yes, Chrysalis, you're fake too. What's the point of this?"

"We're all people you killed unjustly."

"Oh?" I clench my fists. "I suppose I'll have to be more thorough this time." Magistrate's Authority

Death to the Dead

I Cut Things

Darko · 2026-03-08T07:58:33+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Meaning that it literally wouldn't occur to her that you do more damage punching someone with a hand that isn't broken."

Heck, Darkseid probably likes it when his slaves will do his will even when their injured.

Mr Zoat said:
Shouldn't..? You..? Tell her that?"

No, because she's still working for his dad, and her becoming more effective would not be good.

Mr Zoat said:
"She's.. my teacher."

Iname glances her way for a moment. "Will you stab her, too?"

"Maybe if I want an A.

She honestly might give you one if you do that.

Mr Zoat said:
Huh. Okay. Are we talking 'respected elder'-like, 'Amazon eromena'-like, or 'I'm trying to hook her up with my Dad'-like?"

"What's that middle one mean?"

"Given Apokoliptian attitudes towards carnality, it wouldn't be that unusual for two people in your position to be…"

I can see Apokaliptians abusing a teacher-student relationship like that.

Mr Zoat said:
"'Relieving tension'. And honestly, I don't think her and your Dad-."

Persuader nods. "She's out of Dad's league

Plus I doubt he'd be interested in hooking up with a violent sociopath.

Mr Zoat said:
A large quadruped trots up next to him. "And do you think that I-?"

"Yes, Chrysalis, you're fake too

If this thing is interested in justice then it's picking up some weird forms that it thinks deserve justice.

I mean, Amalak makes sense, but Chrysalis does not.

Mr Zoat said:
But I'm still wondering. What sort of being can alter reality like this but can't stop us… Using that part of us that is at one with the Source.

No.

But why would they

Guess he thinks it's the Spectre.

Ngamer11 · 2026-03-08T08:02:47+0000

Mr Zoat said:
"Oh?" I clench my fists. "I suppose I'll have to be more thorough this time." Magistrate's Authority

Death to the Dead

I Cut Things

I find it amusing that Persuader is so unused to using Godspeech that her attempts come out as mundane phrases compared to what New Gods are generally capable of.

BR549 · 2026-03-08T08:19:50+0000

Mr Zoat said:
If I teach how to be even a little creative,

'teach her how', I believe

Ngamer11 said:
I find it amusing that Persuader is so unused to using Godspeech that her attempts come out as mundane phrases compared to what New Gods are generally capable of.

Hey, it generally works for her, and sometimes you want a blunt instrument.

After all, the Atomic Axe does share a trait with Doomguy's chainsaw: it's really great at communication...

thebishop8 · 2026-03-08T08:21:51+0000

Darko said:
Guess he thinks it's the Spectre.

I have been wondering if this is Zoat's take on the Spectre. The main reason why I haven't been sure is that Zoat has said he doesn't like him as a character and doesn't want to use him.

But fake Luna and fake Grayven both had glowing white eyes, arguably a trait the Spectre shares. DC wiki also has this to say about his powers:

Telepathy: The Spectre could usually only sense the intentions of people in the place where they plan to carry those intentions out. However, by entering the mind of his target, he can obtain more information after a mental battle in which the terrain is composed of the person's thoughts and dreams. Entering a person's mind-space allows Spectre to look inside their heart and soul.

Illusion Casting: The Spectre can create elaborate illusions to attack people, which harm them in real life.

Fear Projection: Spectre can bring out a person's deepest fears and cause it to attack them.

Mind Control: When unbonded from his host, Spectre's unbound presence on Earth caused people all around the world, including the entire Justice League, to fall under a powerful mind control that caused them to fight each other and unveil their deepest buried grievances. He was also able to forcibly cause two criminals to fight each other to death.

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-03-08T08:39:24+0000

Mr Zoat said:
20th August 2013
12:39 GMT -7

Iname is still blushing as we finally reach the outskirts of the crater. Persuader hasn't quite worked out what Iname offered, and I don't think that she's even got an approximate idea. Probably because it's so contrary to our current relationship.

Huh. Occurs to me that Persuader never met Jade-.

What, you think they might become friends? At any rate, it's nice that Persuader is so innocent to just not recognise the lewder possibilities. Or she's smart enough to stay well away from thinking of her boss that way.

"Persuader, have you worked in the same theatre of operation as Cheshire?"

"Ah. yeah, couple of times. Why?"

Ah, so they've probably met. Wonder what Jade thought of her? 'Talented amateur', perhaps...

"Just occurs to me that you've got a lot in common. Stopped bleeding yet?"

"I dunno. It's sort of achy. I don't really wanna poke it."

Sometimes you have to poke the wound, if only to make sure it isn't festering.

I put her down and look at her thoughtfully. "Have you tried using your powers to heal yourself?"

"Can I..? Do that?"

Maybe, though depending on how you envision it, it might hurt worse. Imagine if she visualises it as cutting away the concept of having been injured?

I touch my own injury-. Yes, still hurts, but I'm still augmented by the venom buster I first took… Oh, so long ago now. And probably a little by what I absorbed in the Land of Summer's End. But let's see. Master of My Domain

I wait for a moment and… Ah, there we go. My injury knits itself back together as it should, and I… Feel myself regain my full strength. Good. That-.

Too good to be true, surely. But hopefully the healing sticks.

Aaaand it's gone.

"Looks like we can heal using our God Names, but trying to maintain full power is a non-starter."

Akin to doing something plodding but sustainable compared to exerting a large amount at once, maybe. Like a marathon runner occasionally breaking into a sprint for whatever reason...

I gently lower Persuader to the ground, where she looks askance at Iname. "So how come she's still fast?"

"When I want to go fast, I constantly use my God Name. I am not using it now because we are going slowly."

Hopefully not 'vocalising' it the way they have been. Imagine hearing a constant stream of New God speech chattering away when she's going fast...

"Okay… But mine's not really very heally."

I sigh quietly. "Persuader, Granny Goodness might have conditioned Knockout to be a resilient and ruthless warrior, but she also deliberately made her… Uncreative and disinclined to question."

A blunt instrument, you might say, in every meaning of the word.

"Meaning..?"

"Meaning that it literally wouldn't occur to her that you do more damage punching someone with a hand that isn't broken."

She'd probably call you weak for letting a little thing like a broken hand slow you down any... And then target the injury as a weak point.

Persuader thinks about that for a moment.

"Shouldn't..? You..? Tell her that?"

Pfft, no. It's funny when she acts stupid.

"Uuuuh, no. Knockout is working for me because Granny Goodness told her to. She's still loyal to my father, she just doesn't bother considering the idea that I might not be. If I teach how to be even a little creative, she'd probably notice that."

"Yeah…" She shifts awkwardly. "But…"

Yeah, her loyalties are not exactly subtle nor wavering.

I raise my eyebrows. "You like her."

"She's.. my teacher."

...That doesn't rule out any sort of affection towards her.

Iname glances her way for a moment. "Will you stab her, too?"

"Maybe if I want an A. I'd… Like to help her?"

Ooh, catty. maybe you should add a cat-ear headband to your working outfit, Misa.

"Huh. Okay. Are we talking 'respected elder'-like, 'Amazon eromena'-like, or 'I'm trying to hook her up with my Dad'-like?"

"What's that middle one mean?"

Ah, the rather uncomfortable-to-modern-eyes mentor-student relationship of ancient Hellenes. Though given a feminine conjugation, because Amazons.

"Given Apokoliptian attitudes towards carnality, it wouldn't be that unusual for two people in your position to be…"

"Ah, no, no."

Aw, she's so shy. Though a relationship with Knockout would be, ehhh...

"'Relieving tension'. And honestly, I don't think her and your Dad-."

Persuader nods. "She's out of Dad's league."

I'm not entirely sure Knockout can really participate in a romantic relationship. A purely physical one, maybe, but being Apokaliptian, such a positive emotion would be hard for her to understand.

I nod back. "It would snap right off. Maybe if I augmented him?"

"Alright." Persuader turns away. "So I need a pouch for a water bottle, and a pouch for something to make me forget you said that."

Eh, he's not wrong. Unless those muscles are somehow less developed, which I doubt, well... Picture a hot-dog in a constricting cylindrical crusher...

"But getting back to the point, you should be able to heal yourself. Or at least turn your ability to heal back on."

"How?"

Try being angry at the injury. Shame your body into doing its thing. Treat the damage with spite until it goes away...

"Spiritual self-awareness. What are you? And how is it more appropriate to that thing that you be healthy than you be bleeding?"

"Isn't there something you can do..? 'cause we're your employees?"

There are probably limits to that sort of thing even without being under these conditions.

"Yes, but that wouldn't have helped while you were miles away being shot dead by phantasmal policemen. I may have a vested interest in you not dying, but you have a bigger one."

"Uh… Okay. Um…"

Goes without saying, really. And if she'd had suicidal inclinations, he wouldn't have recruited her.

"Though given that your opponent appears to be trying to kill us and appears to be limited in influence to this planet… And given that we're trying to kill them, it probably wouldn't hurt to invoke a dialectic… Did I ever explain how that worked?"

"Is that the thing where we play up how different we are to boost ourselves?"

Something like that. In this case, it'd be more like telling the universe 'Nuh-uh!' until you feel better.

"Just so. Well remembered."

"Right-. Ah, I got it." You Missed

Hey, don't laugh at the simplicity of her attempt, this is kind of her first try.

"Interesting choice. Did it work?"

She hesitates for a moment, and then bends a little to the left. And then to the right. "I think so."

Just don't push it too far, I suppose. The universe would probably be happy to refute your point and make you bleed out...

"Of course, that does risk your wounds reopening if our opponent hits you again."

"I don't think whoever it is is gunna use rifles or handguns again."

Not now that they're in a group, I suppose. Hard to tailor an illusion to them if they all have different triggers.

"Fair enough. Iname, this was where your house appeared?"

"Yes, Master."

I cup my hands around my mouth. "Alright, arsehole! Last chance to surrender!" Grant Due Process

Subtle. Basically just throwing down a gauntlet and yelling 'come have a go, then!'

"Master, is warning them a good idea?"

"It's not like they don't know that we're here, and it's possible that they've misunderstood our intent."

It might not care about your intent, though. If it's as simple as it seems, it could just go 'suffer for your sins!' at you...

But I'm still wondering. What sort of being can alter reality like this but can't stop us… Using that part of us that is at one with the Source.

No.

Picture it as trying to hold a blanket over you, but when you poke hard enough, you get a hand out...

But why would they-?

The mountainside around us shimmers-. No, not shimmers. Something is covering the surface-. Perspective. People. People just appeared. Thousands… Perhaps hundreds of thousands. At this distance I can't make out individuals, but… Yes, they're all around us.

Ah, looks like it's going for the 'throw shit until it sticks' approach.

About a kilometre away they halt, up the slope and down it.

I take a step forwards. "What?"

Because there's got to be the traditional pre-battle parley. Exchange of conditions, throwing of insults...

One figure steps forwards-. Ah.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Commodore Amalak. Looking well for a dead man."

...Right, safe bet all the rest are people the three of them have killed, then. Not doubt the majority are the Renegade's.

"I've been given a chance at justice."

"I doubt it. I think that you're just another phantasm, like all the rest." Dismiss the Monkey

You want to speak to the organ grinder, eh?

A large quadruped trots up next to him. "And do you think that I-?"

"Yes, Chrysalis, you're fake too. What's the point of this?"

Hey, he did say 'dismiss the monkey' So why not continue the taunts with something that has no primate ancestry?

"We're all people you killed unjustly."

"Oh?" I clench my fists. "I suppose I'll have to be more thorough this time." Magistrate's Authority

Perhaps you can even reminisce about this one or that as you get to kill them a second time. And probably a third or fourth, since I doubt this lot will play fair.

Death to the Dead

I Cut Things

Ah, the contrast of goth girl and earnest amateur. If the illusion plays fair enough, the former's speed should let her clear a lot of the chaff...

All-righty then. Time for an epic battle sequence... That something like an animated show would cut away from because it doesn't have the budget to show a fight like this. And all this while OL and company will be facing a single big boss fight... I couldn't tell you which I'm looking forwards to more, really. Bring on the battle music!

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

Fascinated by storytelling

Veteran Lurker

Dedicated ragequitter

Welp

(Verified Viper)

Dedicated ragequitter

Experienced.

Connoisseur.

Bookwyrm

Glomerulus

Dedicated ragequitter

Bookwyrm

Dedicated ragequitter

Custom Title

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Dedicated ragequitter

I can't see in this damn thing

HISSSSSS!

Fascinated by storytelling

Veteran Lurker

Getting out there.

Playtest Results: *happy chirping*

Glomerulus

Dedicated ragequitter

Dedicated ragequitter

Connoisseur.

Experienced.

This is filth! FILTH!!

Umm, ackchyually...

Veteran Lurker

Users who are viewing this thread

Playtest Results: happy chirping