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

[Thundersmight94]

Aside from… A handful of germ lines which produced reliable and powerful abilities, most mutants ended up either having the gene edited out so they could benefit from the same things as everyone else, or they self-segregated on their own off-world colony." I shrug. "So if you really want to hurry that future along, I suggest focusing on human augmentation technology."

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Watch Trask will now go in the opposite direction and ends up making Generator Rex or Sari, as the future of humanity instead of mutants. Now we have nanites and Techno organic human hybrids instead.

Which ironically is one of the potential evolutionary directions for humanity, at which point they will merge with the Phallanx.

On another note, considering one of the most common powers developed for mutants is varying strengths of psychic/psionic powers, I'm suprised we haven't seen a future where humans are all telepathic.

 

[Dur'id the Druid]

I wanna say let's hope this ends Trask's moronic plans but we all know that this is still a comic universe, meaning we can not have nice things.

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I do hate how much Marvel plots rely on one person or group being utter donkeys. It's practically the red-shirt meme.

 

[WereDragon]

"So if you really want to hurry that future along, I suggest focusing on human augmentation technology."

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Would be very surprised if OL hasn't already started throwing the Captain America Serum about, much as Paul did the Danner Formula.

X-51

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Kinda implies X-23 was at least tried. Wonder if OL came across her yet.

 

[Lord Ernest]

That's just asking for Trask to get involved with the Reavers in whatever form they are and start working ahead of time on the Prime Sentinels as well.

Not to mention, aggresively looking into ways to supress or edit out the x-gene, forcefully rather than voluntarely. Which I won't deny some mutants with really disadvantegous mutations may need, but I've never seen guys like Trask or Stryker take the sensitive option.

 

[mastermenthe]

I do hate how much Marvel plots rely on one person or group being utter donkeys.

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It's so enraging because it brings Real Life into a fantastical setting.

 

[david15]

Kinda implies X-23 was at least tried

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defrent projects, X-51 is robot number 51 in a batch of robots

 

[Steelplaza]

If OL were to disable Aaron's implanted destructive device, not even remove it but just disable it, it's almost certain no one would notice. They might check the implant is still there, but chemically sampling the explosive material to make sure it hasn't been rendered inert... well that's just not in the budget. All he needs is some excuse to surround Aaron with an orange aura for a moment, like if say he was picking up Aaron to fly him somewhere.

 

[Mr Zoat]

"hear"
"three of us"

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'Trask'
'AIs'
'150 degrees'?

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Thank you, corrected.

Would be very surprised if OL hasn't already started throwing the Captain America Serum about, much as Paul did the Danner Formula.

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While he's seen Steven's body, he has no idea what the serum looked like or what 'vita rays' are.

Kinda implies X-23 was at least tried. Wonder if OL came across her yet.

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That's the problem with secret organisations all wanted to use the cool letters; you end up getting things with the same name and confusing everyone.

 

[The Unaligned Player]

While he's seen Steven's body, he has no idea what the serum looked like or what 'vita rays' are.

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Is he not also concerned with the whole 'Good = Great, Bad = Worse' effects?

 

[Someguy Somewhere]

U-men, Reavers, Children of Tomorrow....'The World'....um...what was the name for the nutters that wanted symbiotes as future cops in their nuclear bunker civilization?

I'm gonna say that poking this arse in a different direction might get you some rather horrible things all the same, fruit from a rotten tree.

As for 'hand out the Super Solider Formula' ideas....given that most attempts to recreate it by others lead to stuff like the Weapon X program, a few dozen knock off versions and a Lot of horrible ideas, just Having it as an option would not undercut others wanting it, and you'd get a similar arms race that OG Flash mentioned over in the Earth 16 timeline and the cold war. And that's not even taking into account the film version of 'makes good better, makes bad worse' side effect.

Don't THINK that this earth's version of Nick Fury has the Infinity Formula in him, so can't use that one.....the Heart Shaped Herb from Wakanda would have similar issues of copying Cap's stuff, with the added side effect of pissing off Black Panther.

Cost Benefit wise, genetic options are likely the easiest way to get reproducible super powers while just saying 'oh they're just mutants'....clones of existing characters, X-23 and Scarlett Spider are examples that worked out to....degrees of success, but have the lag time of growing up and all the usual clone problems.

Then you have the 'Iron Man from Temu' options of the Guardsmen, and other armor users which can handle Street Level thugs and in enough numbers could mob some of the low end villains. Works well enough for Hydra and AIM after all....At that point you start edging towards the world going 2099 early...with the Public Eye armed for bear with a Shield logo on it. And have to both budget accordingly and control access to the tech enough that you don't get it out there to common crooks.

I'm reminded of a comic after M-day in the early part of the Initiative, where Henry Gyrich was talking to War Machine, that since the mutants were gone most super people were Science based, and due to the economics of cutting edge stuff America had a huge lead in those.

That leads into the Magic side of the coin, but anything that works comes with a Cost. Vampires can get mass produced but have the very bad downsides, Marvel Werewolves are a little harder to spread iirc but fall under similar problems.....less said about Weindgo the better. Training mages takes too long and you'd need staff that would do it.

Comic Book Shield had enough Telepaths, mutant and otherwise, to have a PSI division, but I don't think this 'verse has quite that many running around, nor methods of producing them short of 'Stepford Cuckoos' option, so see cloning as above.

Honestly Marvel Earth Does already have a large active population of 'superhuman' people that is reproducable. They're the Atlantians...aside from the fish out of water problem they're actively better then most baseline humans physically, have higher tech and magical understanding.

Paul should be hounding Namor about as much as he did Orin in DC

 

[Vaermina]

Once he's out of earshot, Dr. Stack turns to me. "Was that..? True?"

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Surprisingly yes, it was true.

Marvel did a whole storyline about it with Mutants time traveling to try and counter it by destroying everything human that could lead to that future occurring.

 

[megamiaouh]

Or Deus Ex.

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It depends, one of the ultimate endings of Deus Ex, the final Helios ending is something between an A.I. driven hivemind and a direct democracy, where everybody is augmented with the kind of nano-machines that makes you basically ageless, along with all the other crazy shit you can find in game and they developed teleportation tech that means they can conquer the stars... Paul could like that future honestly.

In many ways it's the best ending, since no matter what someone will control humanity it's better that it be the 'holy spirit' Helios, along with the 'father' J.C. and the 'son/daughter' Alex. Since they're the only players who truly give a shit about people and give the common man a voice in decision making. Also if after 125 years there's still free will then either Helios can't or more likely won't take that away forcefully anyways, so the full hivemind experience is opt-in only.


View: https://youtu.be/7fr4aAu_Ryc?t=7

An argument could be made that the traditional Illuminati ending is better but I don't think being managed wage slaves, who work for Illuminati corporations, to buy Illuminati products who then pray on the weekend at the Illuminati church is better, especially since people then don't get free access to augments so as to be better controlled in that future. It's basically a softer Cyberpunk dystopia (but Paul would see it as a Boss Smiley future) but realistically it can only go downhill from there.

Sooner or later there will be another split in the Illuminati and the problems that started the whole story of Deus Ex will occur again or worse the older Illuminati die out and the newer generations don't have the trauma of the wars post Gray Death so they get shittier exploit people more and things degenerate to something similar to one of the worst ending anyways, either the Survivalist (extreme augmented hivemind turns the Earth into a wasteland to be the sole survivors) or Crusade (anti-augment radical church brings humanity back to the Medieval Ages) one.

Of course in a Marvel world Captain America or another big Super Hero would somehow foil the Illuminati and all its splinter organizations at the last minute and the technology to augment and control people would be conveniently lost and somehow never developed again in the same way, along the way Paul Denton and J.C. would become superheroes themselves. The nice Status Quo ending, which let's be real would piss OL Paul off more than all the others outside of the truly bad endings, the Crusade one and the Survivalist one.

 

[Darko]

That's the problem with secret organisations all wanted to use the cool letters; you end up getting things with the same name and confusing everyone

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So it's like that scene in Reservoir Dogs where the mob boss tells the characters that he doesn't let his men choose their codename because everyone will want to call themselves Mr. Black.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Is he not also concerned with the whole 'Good = Great, Bad = Worse' effects?

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He has no idea if that's a thing or not, so no.

Was that made up for the films, or was in comics canon as well?

So it's like that scene in Reservoir Dogs where the mob boss tells the characters that he doesn't let his men choose their codename because everyone will want to call themselves Mr. Black.

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No, it's more like:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a0SfjH7ngw

 

[Tzeentch]

U-men, Reavers, Children of Tomorrow.

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Post-Humans (Homo Novissima), though that never really got explored during the Krakoa era, being a possible future for humanity, so they don't really count I guess.

 

[boo600]

"Once I destroy the Citadel there will be no significant interstellar power in this region of space. It will be far safer here than on the Reach's doorstep."

"And what does Yuga Khan think of this?"

"Grandfather's been missing in action for nearly as long as you have, and as far as I know father's never been here. And I don't care to serve either of them. Part of why I'm doing this is to gather enough power to ensure my ongoing independence."

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it helps, I'm not exactly thrilled at the prospect either."

"Hmpf." She pulls herself into a sitting position, then looks around the chamber. "You've been busy."

"No, that all belonged to the last guy. The one the Guardians let keep the Orange Central Power Battery. I killed him. My name is Grayven and I'm from-."

"Apokolips. And you're wearing my ring." She frowns. "I distinctly remember throwing that into the Bleed, you know. However did you come by it?"

"I'm glad to see that you didn't lose any of your mental faculties during your three billion year nap." I hold out the middle three fingers of my right hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

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Went back to review what Hinon did and didn't know about Apokolips (yes, she knew about Yuga Khan). It may have been that she was rapidly reacting to an existent server with data, or secret communications from the other controllers while she negotiated, or something of the sort. But she appeared to already know YK existed.

 

[Stsword]

He has no idea if that's a thing or not, so no.

Was that made up for the films, or was in comics canon as well?

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Just MCU.

While there are certainly supersoldier horror stories in the comics, those were caused by such things as incomplete formulas or lacking vita ray stabilization, not the serum having a psychogenic effect on people.

 

[Zig]

Post-Humans (Homo Novissima), though that never really got explored during the Krakoa era, being a possible future for humanity, so they don't really count I guess.

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Not to be confused with Homo sapien superior, a totally different future of humanity.

 

[Cuchulin]

And in the Savage Dragon show there was an episode where the various Freaks(that's what they're called there) gave their blood, but not for others but for themselves because they can only use their own blood.

Heck, in the comics Dragon was severely injured but thanks to his regeneration he managed to heal himself.

Problem is that his bones weren't set right, so he was severely deformed and had to have someone with super strength break them again so they can be set.

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Reminds of an old tabletop RPG Superhero character whose main power was a healing factor that didn't do anything about scars or the like so the guy got worse and worse looking over time.

For some reason I don't think you've stopped the whole Sentinel thing.
You just made cyborgs instead of giant robots.

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Not good, Prime Sentinels are far worse than the Giant Genocidal Robots.

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st September 2013
07:01 GMT -5

Bruno Mannheim grins awkwardly at me as I pull myself up into the cab besides me, then slumps slightly before turning his attention back to the steering wheel.

"Ah, hey."

"Good morning, Mister Mannheim. How's life?"

He doesn't move for a moment, then looks up at… The crucifix hanging from the driver side sun visor.

"Okay? I'm taking it a day at a time, with a little help from Jesus. Ah, heck." He relaxes slightly, leaning back in his seat. "With a lotta help from Jesus. Guess I didn't realise how… Bad a guy I was until I tried changing."

He glances at me for an instant, then looks out through the windscreen at the depot.

"Didn't realise that you owned this place."

I shrug. "I took over a chocolate company to prevent a hostile takeover, used the first dolmen gates to make their logistics a little easier, then… Other companies wanted to use it, and it wasn't like we were using it twenty four/seven. It really started expanding after the sheeda harvest fleet was destroyed and we needed to move lots of stuff around, and now… I think I'm the majority owner of the largest logistics company on the planet."

"You don't sound all that happy about it."

"I don't know enough to run the company which the world depend on. Superheroism's deliverables are simpler."

"Yeah, bein' the boss… Some parts 're easier, an' some parts you just make up as you go. An' make sure the people under you don't know that's what you're doin'."

"Yeah, but now this has happened."

"Well, yeah, yous gonna get drugs movin' through every port." He shrugs. "Speakin' from personal experience."

"Oh? I didn't think that your part of Intergang was all that involved in drug trafficking."

"No, not directly, but the people who were hired us as extra muscle, for-" He gestures to the lorry with his right hand. "-transport, or just for the privilege of operat'n in a city we ran. Runn'n the whole thing… What'd'a call it? 'Vertical integration', that's hard. Easier t' break it up, spread the risk. Especially if the guys at one end got terrorism charges wait'n fer 'em." He thinks for a moment. "Not that that's a problem no more, what with the supertribe runn'n South America. So, ah… What'd'ya want me looking for?"

"These." I take a couple of example patches out of subspace and put them on the dashboard in front of him. "Stick one on your skin, and you'll feel a pre-set emotion for several hours. Which isn't much of a problem by itself, unless they've dosed themselves with anger, but at least some people have adverse reactions that are much worse."

"They cutt'n it? Wouldn't that mess up the magic stuff?"

"I don't think that the supplier is adulterating it. Our alchemist went through the samples we got and it looks like it's all above board. I think the problem is the magic that makes it work."

"Eh." He shrugs. "I don't know nu'h'n about that. So, what'd need me for?"

"We've got a rough idea of the routes whoever's doing this is taking, where they're getting their raw materials, things like that. We want you to join Cadbury Shipping as a driver and work those routes. If you see or hear anything, report back to me."

"Sure, I c'n do that. What're they lookin' at?"

"People using my shipping company without properly declaring what they're shipping are looking at retraining, getting fired or being denied service, depending on level of culpability. In criminal terms, it would be poisoning, selling substances without regulatory approval… If we find out that someone's died that would be involuntary manslaughter, but so far that hasn't happened. Really, I don't mind someone making these so long as they're safe to use… Or at least as safe as alcohol."

"An'… Be nice if we could get 'em straigh'ned out before anyone dies. If it's jus' some kids who ain't as smart as they think they are. You know."

"That's my best-case scenario."

"What do I tell them about me?"

"This isn't an area of the job I specialise in. The best I can do I suggest keeping descriptions of your background down to a minimum."

"Nah, nah, I c'n handle that. I mean, do I use my name..?"

"'Bruno Mannheim', or the one you've been using lately?"

"Either? I mean, they're prob'bly not anyone I had deal'ns with back in the day, but they might be."

"I'd say, don't mention 'Bruno Mannheim' at all. If they recognise you, don't bother denying it, but I'm more worried about what everyone else will do to you if they realise who you are than what opportunities you might miss by not using it. Whether you use the fake name you've been using or make up a new one, that's up to you."

"I think I'd best stick wid it. Just about got so I respond to it right away. An' I'll need the references. Someone might check."

I nod. "Very wise. Ah…" I sigh faintly. "I was just asking as a social reflex, but are you doing alright? You've been through-."

"Ain't about what I bin through. I don't-. See… Darkseid-me as be'n me. Kinda was, an' I remember it, but… Not really. It's-." He bows his head. "What gets me is alla the rest. My whole life, act'n like… Like he thinks we all act, an' the only difference is he's stronger an' better at it. I did'n make a deal and then I was evil. You don't give your soul away in one go. I grew up in Intergang. Dad had me out in the field soon as I could swing a bat, which is messed up but I never really had a problem with it. I saw plenty a' good people around an' all I thought about 'em was that they wuz chumps. Weren't even like I was loyal t' my bosses or my people. I've jus' always been a shitty person."

"And seeing Darkseid up close made you have a-"

"No no no, it-"

"-realisation?"

"-weren't that. It wuz the other thing, the white light. Suddenly I knew what it wuz like if you weren't an asshole your whole life. Darkseid… That mighta made me cool it a bit, for a while… But y' can't see the face of God and then pretend you didn't." He shrugs. "Least… I can't."

Technically incorrect, of course, but that misapprehension seems harmless. And-.

"Oh, ah, just so that you're aware? The criminal cult Kobra is undergoing an internal reform process under the oversight of Doctor Mist. I don't know how much you had to do with them, but if you encounter them, don't assume that they're up to no good unless they actually are."

"Didn't have anythin' to do with them, but, sure, I guess? Hey, ah… What do I do if they want me t' use one o' them things?"

"Use your judgement. They appear to mostly do what it says on the tin, but if you've found a supplier then that's worth someone on its own. The only reason why I'm not bringing in mind readers is because it doesn't look like the situation's that desperate. If that changes, and I have someone who knows something, that's what'll happen."

"Got it."

"Okay!" I pass him the joiner's pack. "Read this, and report for work at eight on the dot. Cadbury Logistics is glad to have you onboard."

 

[BR549]

Bruno Mannheim grins awkwardly at me as I pull myself up into the cab besides me,

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'beside him', unless Paul is beside himself (and if 'besides' is another case of two countries, one language-)

"I don't know enough to run the company which the world depend on.

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'depends'

 

[Duke Long]

"Eh." He shrugs. "I don't know nu'h'n about that. So, what'd need me for?"

Click to shrink...

'what'd'y'?

"This isn't an area of the job I specialise in. The best I can do I suggest keeping descriptions of your background down to a minimum."

Click to shrink...

'is'

Nice to see a really awful guy getting better.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

1st September 2013
07:01 GMT -5

Bruno Mannheim grins awkwardly at me as I pull myself up into the cab besides him, then slumps slightly before turning his attention back to the steering wheel.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, this would work a lot better than sending Donna undercover. She's a lot more memorable, for one thing. Not only for being 'that chick who was Wonder Woman's sidekick', but as an extremely attractive young lady in her own right... And undercover operations don't want memorable.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Ah, hey."

"Good morning, Mister Mannheim. How's life?"

Click to shrink...

I wonder how many times Bruno's had one superhero or another looking in on him like this? He has to know they'd be keeping an eye on him for obvious reasons.

He doesn't move for a moment, then looks up at… The crucifix hanging from the driver side sun visor.

"Okay? I'm taking it a day at a time, with a little help from Jesus. Ah, heck." He relaxes slightly, leaning back in his seat. "With a lotta help from Jesus. Guess I didn't realise how… Bad a guy I was until I tried changing."

Click to shrink...

I suppose finding religion is a lot easier after having something as bad as Him riding in your soul for a while.

He glances at me for an instant, then looks out through the windscreen at the depot.

"Didn't realise that you owned this place."

Click to shrink...

At least they're having this chat while he's... Waiting for a crew to load his truck, I assume. Much safer than doing it out on the road.

I shrug. "I took over a chocolate company to prevent a hostile takeover, used the first dolmen gates to make their logistics a little easier, then… Other companies wanted to use it, and it wasn't like we were using it twenty four/seven. It really started expanding after the sheeda harvest fleet was destroyed and we needed to move lots of stuff around, and now… I think I'm the majority owner of the largest logistics company on the planet."

Click to shrink...

Funny how things can escalate without you even noticing, isn't it? Set one pebble rolling... And before you know it you're running away from an avalanche.

"You don't sound all that happy about it."

"I don't know enough to run the company which the world depend on. Superheroism's deliverables are simpler."

Click to shrink...

Mostly just a case of putting the right people in the right face to righteously punch bad people in the face, sometimes.

"Yeah, bein' the boss… Some parts 're easier, an' some parts you just make up as you go. An' make sure the people under you don't know that's what you're doin'."

"Yeah, but now this has happened."

Click to shrink...

Like a swan swimming. Looks beautiful and graceful above the water... But underneath, its legs are paddling madly to make it move.

"Well, yeah, yous gonna get drugs movin' through every port." He shrugs. "Speakin' from personal experience."

"Oh? I didn't think that your part of Intergang was all that involved in drug trafficking."

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Some groups are smart enough not to open that can of worms. Especially if you have to deal with some of the real psychos.

"No, not directly, but the people who were hired us as extra muscle, for-" He gestures to the lorry with his right hand. "-transport, or just for the privilege of operat'n in a city we ran. Runn'n the whole thing… What'd'a call it? 'Vertical integration', that's hard. Easier t' break it up, spread the risk. Especially if the guys at one end got terrorism charges wait'n fer 'em." He thinks for a moment. "Not that that's a problem no more, what with the supertribe runn'n South America. So, ah… What'd'ya want me looking for?"

Click to shrink...

True, the Accalan territory has no truck with narcotics. And their neighbours are well aware that they might not enjoy it if the tribes find some reasons to look their way...

"These." I take a couple of example patches out of subspace and put them on the dashboard in front of him. "Stick one on your skin, and you'll feel a pre-set emotion for several hours. Which isn't much of a problem by itself, unless they've dosed themselves with anger, but at least some people have adverse reactions that are much worse."

Click to shrink...

And OL should know, he spent a while trying to clean out a teenager's nervous system of it not that long ago.

"They cutt'n it? Wouldn't that mess up the magic stuff?"

"I don't think that the supplier is adulterating it. Our alchemist went through the samples we got and it looks like it's all above board. I think the problem is the magic that makes it work."

"Eh." He shrugs. "I don't know nu'h'n about that. So, what'd need me for?"

Click to shrink...

I'm sure you can guess, Bruno, you have all the clues by now.

"We've got a rough idea of the routes whoever's doing this is taking, where they're getting their raw materials, things like that. We want you to join Cadbury Shipping as a driver and work those routes. If you see or hear anything, report back to me."

"Sure, I c'n do that. What're they lookin' at?"

Click to shrink...

Ah, nice to have someone just go 'Sure, you got it' without having to jump through hoops to get their help.

"People using my shipping company without properly declaring what they're shipping are looking at retraining, getting fired or being denied service, depending on level of culpability. In criminal terms, it would be poisoning, selling substances without regulatory approval… If we find out that someone's died that would be involuntary manslaughter, but so far that hasn't happened. Really, I don't mind someone making these so long as they're safe to use… Or at least as safe as alcohol."

Click to shrink...

Well, even that's iffy, especially if you operate a vehicle of any kind while impaired...

"An'… Be nice if we could get 'em straigh'ned out before anyone dies. If it's jus' some kids who ain't as smart as they think they are. You know."

"That's my best-case scenario."

Click to shrink...

The worry is if it's something bigger, something more malevolent and the patches are just a means to an end. Which would fall under 'worst-case scenario', of course.

"What do I tell them about me?"

"This isn't an area of the job I specialise in. The best I can do I suggest keeping descriptions of your background down to a minimum."

Click to shrink...

And hope they don't recognise you from anywhere?

"Nah, nah, I c'n handle that. I mean, do I use my name..?"

"'Bruno Mannheim', or the one you've been using lately?"

"Either? I mean, they're prob'bly not anyone I had deal'ns with back in the day, but they might be."

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In which case, I would hope whatever communication method OL provides will include emergency protection.

"I'd say, don't mention 'Bruno Mannheim' at all. If they recognise you, don't bother denying it, but I'm more worried about what everyone else will do to you if they realise who you are than what opportunities you might miss by not using it. Whether you use the fake name you've been using or make up a new one, that's up to you."

Click to shrink...

The peril of working undercover...

"I think I'd best stick wid it. Just about got so I respond to it right away. An' I'll need the references. Someone might check."

I nod. "Very wise. Ah…" I sigh faintly. "I was just asking as a social reflex, but are you doing alright? You've been through-."

Click to shrink...

Definitely worth checking, sure. Given he had one of the most evil New Gods in the universe using him as a finger puppet for at least a full month or more.

"Ain't about what I bin through. I don't-. See… Darkseid-me as be'n me. Kinda was, an' I remember it, but… Not really. It's-." He bows his head. "What gets me is alla the rest. My whole life, act'n like… Like he thinks we all act, an' the only difference is he's stronger an' better at it. I did'n make a deal and then I was evil. You don't give your soul away in one go. I grew up in Intergang. Dad had me out in the field soon as I could swing a bat, which is messed up but I never really had a problem with it. I saw plenty a' good people around an' all I thought about 'em was that they wuz chumps. Weren't even like I was loyal t' my bosses or my people. I've jus' always been a shitty person."

Click to shrink...

Got into the family business young as he could, eh? At his father's behest, sure, but I would bet he was damn good at what he did...

"And seeing Darkseid up close made you have a-"

"No no no, it-"

"-realisation?"

Click to shrink...

Wait, seriously? Staring into the abyss didn't make you blink and wonder 'Am I the bad guy?'

"-weren't that. It wuz the other thing, the white light. Suddenly I knew what it wuz like if you weren't an asshole your whole life. Darkseid… That mighta made me cool it a bit, for a while… But y' can't see the face of God and then pretend you didn't." He shrugs. "Least… I can't."

Technically incorrect, of course, but that misapprehension seems harmless. And-.

Click to shrink...

I mean, if the White Light, the Source and the Presence are different aspects of the same thing, then sure, that works.

"Oh, ah, just so that you're aware? The criminal cult Kobra is undergoing an internal reform process under the oversight of Doctor Mist. I don't know how much you had to do with them, but if you encounter them, don't assume that they're up to no good unless they actually are."

Click to shrink...

Just to head off any potential misunderstanding, of course. Narcotics probably were one of their avenues of corruption...

"Didn't have anythin' to do with them, but, sure, I guess? Hey, ah… What do I do if they want me t' use one o' them things?"

"Use your judgement. They appear to mostly do what it says on the tin, but if you've found a supplier then that's worth someone on its own. The only reason why I'm not bringing in mind readers is because it doesn't look like the situation's that desperate. If that changes, and I have someone who knows something, that's what'll happen."

Click to shrink...

As long as Bruno doesn't get overconfident knowing he has OL in his back pocket, one distress call away...

"Got it."

"Okay!" I pass him the joiner's pack. "Read this, and report for work at eight on the dot. Cadbury Logistics is glad to have you onboard."

Click to shrink...

Lucky! He gets to sidestep the whole interview process. ...And jump straight to orientation.

And so OL's undercover agent is hitting the road, ready to find a little redemption by helping stop what could be anything from a get-rich-quick scheme to some mad plot to manipulate humanity via emotional control. ...I'm sure the latter is unlikely, though. Definitely a better fit for this job than Donna would have been for sure.

 

[batrax]

'beside him', unless Paul is beside himself (and if 'besides' is another case of two countries, one language-)

Click to shrink...

I think that's meant as "as I pull myself up into the cab [that is] besides me"