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

[Steelplaza]

There's a second story playing out behind OL and Argent.

Behind us, Face tries breathing fire on concrete, and quickly learns that the melting point of concrete is a long way above what an orange fire can reach.

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Behind us, Kara drops down to give Face some encouragement. "Come on! You can do it! Burn that concrete!"

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We look around and see a melted pile of what was once concrete, and Face coughing violently.

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You may not like it, but this is what peak superhero instruction looks like. Face couldn't melt the concrete, Kara told him "No, you can burn the concrete." Then he melted the concrete.

Truly, Batman himself could not be a better trainer. Wonder Woman would have to acknowledge results. Superman... no, no Superman is a crap trainer. Clearly Kara is the super instructor in the family.

 

[Mr Zoat]

"What's"

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Darko]

Found some more.

eyeful of the skin paint that appears whenever the ring has a charge.

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The image is broken.

And then you're got the CIA's involvement in all kinds of things that frankly make me sick to my stomach."

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"you've got"

 

[hkim]

Truly, Batman himself could not be a better trainer. Wonder Woman would have to acknowledge results. Superman... no, no Superman is a crap trainer. Clearly Kara is the super instructor in the family.

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I wouldn't mind a drill sergeant if they looked like Power Girl, ngl

 

[Mr Zoat]

Found some more.

The image is broken.

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I'll try and find something when I get home.

Edit: Done.

"you've got"

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Ugh, I corrected the Story Only version. Thank you, corrected.

 

[Mr Zoat]

22nd September 2013
16:21 GMT +2

I fabricate a pint glass filled with cold water and pass it to him. He-. Lays down on his back and pours it into his mouth. Right, with how his digestive system works normal drinking probably isn't possible for him.

"Face, thumbs up or thumbs down. How are you doing?"

He unhesitatingly raises his right thumb upwards, but doesn't say anything. Scanning him reveals that his mouth is slightly hotter than usual, but the temperature appears to be fading rapidly. Most metahumans are immune to their own powers, but I suppose that Cranius might have accidentally altered something…

"Kara, what happened?"

"His regular fire wasn't hot enough, so he made a super-fire!"

"Can you provide more detail?"

"It's like regular fire, but-!"

"Super hot?"

She puts her hands on her hips. "If you already knew, why did you ask me?!"

"I'm honestly not sure. Argent, did you see what happened?"

"Sorry, I was focused on you."

"Good, you were supposed to be. Face? Have you recovered?"

"H-h-h-rrr." He pulls himself up into a sitting position. "Yeah." His voice is hoarse, like he's been shouting all day and his larynx is on the verge of giving up.

"I have a purple healing ray if you-"

"No, it's fine."

"-need it. Because you don't sound fine."

"My powers… My fire breath wasn't hot enough, so I was trying to… Make it hotter… Somehow."

"Yes, super-fire, Kara said. You succeeded?"

He… I think that's a frown? And gestures at the slag pile-. Yes, alright, clearly something happened.

"Did it hurt?"

"No, no, it was-. I'm not used to my mouth getting hot like that. And all my saliva evaporated. And my saliva isn't like normal saliva, so I got a nose full of digestive juice."

Argent pulls a face. "Ew. Actually, how do you eat? I mean, 'cause your mouth is…"

"Like a starfish, basically. I've got super saliva, and the thing the Doc replaced my stomach and intestine with is right next to my mouth."

"So how do you-? Breathe?"

"My lungs are-" He climbs to his feet. "-basically upside down, and my epiglottis… It's got a lot of things to make sure there's no upwards flow. Which is probably why I can still breathe."

"Do you want to try that again, or do you want to try something else?"

"Are you joking? That was great!" He smiles broadly, which honestly looks pretty weird on him. "Can you make another one of those concrete posts?"

I idly wave my left hand, the pile of… Extremely hot slag cooling and reforming.

"Okay, now-."

He tenses, mouth open, and the interior of his mouth starts to glow-.

Then he opens his mouth wide and a blue line flashes out, splashing against the concrete and superheating it in an instant! The beam only lasts a fraction of a second, but Face closes his mouth with a grin on his face.

"Got it. I got it!"

"Would you care to share with the class?"

"That was plasma, right?"

I nod. "Yes."

"I focus… I don't know how it works, whatever my power does, into a single point inside me rather than trying to vomit it out like I do to make fire. And then it's just a matter of keeping my teeth and my tongue out of the way. Uh. You got another glass of-?"

I fabricate another glass of water and pass it to him.

"Thanks."

He sort of… Tosses the contents into his mouth and swirls it around before swallowing.

"What sort of control of it do you have?"

"I don't think I have any."

"Hm. Well, that might be an inherent limitation, or it might be that you just need to fiddle around with your power until you work it out." I fabricate a two metre square tungsten target. "Practice on that. Try for precision, try moving it, and try and find out how long you can sustain it. Try making a narrow beam and a wide beam."

"My mouth doesn't really stretch…"

"But you weren't hurt when it hit your tongue and teeth the first time, just surprised."

He considers that for a moment. "I can.. try it?"

"If you get burned-" I fabricate a water cooler. "-then stop. If you get injured, stop. If you get a weird feeling like something inside you is giving way-."

"Stop." He nods. "I got it."

"Good show, carry on."

He takes a stance as I turn back to Argent.

"Sorry about that." I reform my railgun and she makes a new shield, still off to the side. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

Load crumbler and fire-.

"Agh!" The plasma construct evaporates, and Argent starts rubbing her hands together. "What was that?"

"One of Alexander Tuttle's finest. I call them crumbler rounds. I mostly use them for destroying the constructs of other Lanterns, but it looks like they work on yours, too. Are you hurt?"

"Like I got pins and needles in my hands."

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

"We'll have to see if you can overcome that or if it's an inherent limitation. But for now, let's see what happens when we hit your shield really hard with conventional force. Kara?!"

She makes a fist with her right hand, smiling brightly. "Always happy to help!"

 

[Ngamer11]

"One of Alexander Tuttle's finest. I call them crumbler rounds. I mostly use them for destroying the constructs of other Lanterns, but it looks like they work on yours, too Are you hurt?"

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Missing a full stop after that word.

 

[NightmareWarden]

Did Superman appear in Sandman? Or I guess, later works with the seven Endless? I'm wondering if Delight or Despair could be the origin of Kara's Silver Age zaniness.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Missing a full stop after that word.

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Thank you, corrected.

Did Superman appear in Sandman? Or I guess, later works with the seven Endless? I'm wondering if Delight or Despair could be the origin of Kara's Silver Age zaniness.

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I think he attended Dream's funeral.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

22nd September 2013
16:21 GMT +2

I fabricate a pint glass filled with cold water and pass it to him. He-. Lays down on his back and pours it into his mouth. Right, with how his digestive system works normal drinking probably isn't possible for him.

"Face, thumbs up or thumbs down. How are you doing."

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That is a good question: Where is his digestive system in all that? His brain and lungs would be high in his torso, of course. But all the meaty bits in the middle of an ordinary man have to go somewhere.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

He unhesitatingly raises his right thumb upwards, but doesn't say anything. Scanning him reveals that his mouth is slightly hotter than usual, but the temperature appears to be fading rapidly. Most metahumans are immune to their own powers, but I suppose that Cranius might have accidentally altered something…

Click to shrink...

Maybe that was just unexpectedly hot for him. Either in spiciness or temperature.

"Kara, what happened?"

"His regular fire wasn't hot enough, so he made a super-fire!"

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For someone with Super-intelligence, she can be a little dumb sometimes.

"Can you provide more detail?"

"It's like regular fire, but-!"

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Yes, we get it...

"Super hot?"

She puts her hands on her hips. "If you already knew, why did you ask me?!"

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Force of habit, maybe.Expecting the excitable teen girl to offer some manner of scientific suggestion...

"I'm honestly not sure. Argent, did you see what happened."

"Sorry, I was focused on you."

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Sensible, given the necessary focus to tank railgun shots.

"Good, you were supposed to be. Face? Have you recovered?"

"H-h-h-rrr." He pulls himself up into a sitting position. "Yeah." His voice is hoarse, like he's been shouting all day and his larynx is on the verge of giving up.

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I was kidding about the chili-pepper cough-drop treatment. But Face sure sounds like he could use a regular one.

"I have a purple healing ray if you-"

"No, it's fine."

"-need it. Because you don't sound fine."

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Maybe rapid healing is a part of his metagene? At least involving his lungs, throat and mouth...

"My powers… My fire breath wasn't hot enough, so I was trying to… Make it hotter… Somehow."

"Yes, super-fire, Kara said. You succeeded?"

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Let's hope he doesn't need to get that hot that often then, if it hits him like this.

He… I think that's a frown? And gestures at the slag pile-. Yes, alright, clearly something happened.

"Did it hurt?"

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At least twenty-five-hundred degrees of something, going by Kara's previous exposition.

"No, no, it was-. I'm not used to my mouth getting hot like that. And all my saliva evaporated. And my saliva isn't like normal saliva, so I got a nose full of digestive juice."

Argent pulls a face. "Ew. Actually, how do you eat? I mean, 'cause your mouth is…"

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Oh, that's nasty. Some of those juices would be super-acidic, especially if you remember the aftertaste of vomit...

"Like a starfish, basically. I've got super saliva, and the thing the Doc replaced my stomach and intestine with is right next to my mouth."

"So how do you-? Breathe?"

"My lungs are-" He climbs to his feet. "-basically upside down, and my epiglottis… It's got a lot of things to make sure there's no upwards flow. Which is probably why I can still breathe."

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So no oesophagus or such, just a sphincter-thing that keeps airways separate from guts? Crazy.

"Do you want to try that again, or do you want to try something else?"

"Are you joking? That was great!" He smiles broadly, which honestly looks pretty weird on him. "Can you make another one of those concrete posts?"

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Better have more water at the ready, OL.

I idly wave my left hand, the pile of… Extremely hot slag cooling and reforming.

"Okay, now-."

He tenses, mouth open, and the interior of his mouth starts to glow-.

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I imagine it resembles Godzilla charging his atomic breath, minus the glowing spines. Especially the point where his chest expands.

Then he opens his mouth wide and a blue line flashes out, splashing against the concrete and superheating it in an instant! The beam only lasts a fraction of a second, but Face closes his mouth with a grin on his face.

"Got it. I got it!"

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And no dry-mouth this time, I see.

"Would you care to share with the class?"

"That was plasma, right?"

I nod. "Yes."

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And not the 'cold plasma' Argent is throwing around, by the looks of it. Surprised no-one was feeling their eyebrows singing from it. ...Then again, environmental field, super-toughness and whatever Argent's hair may have turned into...

"I focus… I don't know how it works, whatever my power does, into a single point inside me rather than trying to vomit it out like I do to make fire. And then it's just a matter of keeping my teeth and my tongue out of the way. Uh. You got another glass of-?"

I fabricate another glass of water and pass it to him.

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So sort of compressing the superheated fuel turned it into plasma? Good to see he managed to improve already.

"Thanks."

He sort of… Tosses the contents into his mouth and swirls it around before swallowing.

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Maybe make some kind of squirt bottle for him next?

"What sort of control of it to you have?"

"I don't think I have any."

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So it's even more 'weaponised projectile vomiting' than his normal move. Yippee.

"Hm. Well, that might be an inherent limitation, or it might be that you just need to fiddle around with your power until you work it out." I fabricate a two metre square tungsten target. "Practice on that. Try for precision, try moving it, and try and find out how long you can sustain it. Try making a narrow beam and a wide beam."

Click to shrink...

Just a wee-bit tougher. Including a melting point two-and-a-half times hotter (6,200F, rounding off.)

"My mouth doesn't really stretch…"

"But you weren't hurt when it hit your tongue and teeth the first time, just surprised."

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So puckering up might actually make it more focused? Good grief.

He considers that for a moment. "I can.. try it?"

"If you get burned-" I fabricate a water cooler. "-then stop. If you get injured, stop. If you get a weird feeling like something inside you is giving way-."

"Stop." He nods. "I got it."

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Better keep that healing ray on standby, OL...

"Good show, carry on."

He takes a stance as I turn back to Argent.

"Sorry about that." I reform my railgun and she makes a new shield, still off to the side. "Ready?"

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Time to start cranking up the power?

"Yeah."

Load crumbler and fire-.

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Oh, that's gonna be interesting.

"Agh!" The plasma construct evaporates, and Argent starts rubbing her hands together. "What was that?"

"One of Alexander Tuttle's finest. I call them crumbler rounds. I mostly use them for destroying the constructs of other Lanterns, but it looks like they work on yours, too. Are you hurt?"

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Very interesting indeed. Reacted just like a shot Lantern.

"Like I got pins and needles in my hands."

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

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Probably because she doesn't have the safety buffer of a Ring, assuming her plasma works like crude Spectrum energy constructs.

"We'll have to see if you can overcome that or if it's an inherent limitation. But for now, let's see what happens when we hit your shield really hard with conventional force. Kara?!"

She makes a fist with her right hand, smiling brightly. "Always happy to help!"

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Argent is probably gonna have a headache once this session is done...

OL being very casual about health and safety, I see. I guess he trusts the rookies to have a better sense of their own limits than he could and thus know when to stop pushing them. Could easily have backfired there with the Face's little plasma spitwad. What if he'd missed the target and set the forest around them on fire, for instance?

 

[LordVishnu]

I know you said previously that the SI wouldn't rush into it, but I really would like to see 'The Face'/Ian get a replacement body someday.

Everytime I remember what he looks like, thinking of the image you posted waaaaaaay back in the day during his introduction, it just…Ugh. No bueno. Someone help this man.

 

[BR549]

I imagine it resembles Godzilla charging his atomic breath, minus the glowing spines. Especially the point where his chest expands.

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"I focus… I don't know how it works, whatever my power does, into a single point inside me

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...he really is Face Singular Point...

 

[Mr Zoat]

How are you doing

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Add a question mark.

 

[RichardWhereat]

Thank you, corrected.

I think he attended Dream's funeral.

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He did

 

[Steelplaza]

But for now, let's see what happens when we hit your shield really hard with conventional force. Kara?!"

She makes a fist with her right hand, smiling brightly. "Always happy to help!"

Click to shrink...

Theoretically Kara should be pretty good at this. She's not going around making people's heads explode when she punches them, so she must have the typical Kryptonian extremely fine-grained control of her own strength. She can treat it like she's she's fighting a guy who is super-tough but she doesn't know how super-tough he is, so she has to gradually ramp up her punching until she finds the "knocks the fight out of him but doesn't splatter him" range.

Speaking of fine-grained....

It's really unclear where the Schooled arc is going. We're spending an awful lot of word count on this early training in fine-grained detail, with everybody arriving, introducing themselves, doing the simplest possible power testing, etc. One thing that I've been a bit surprised by is that there was no meet-and-greet for all the first ten students and mentors. I guess they're saving that after the first session, when everyone will presumably be a bit tired and ready for socializing rather than keyed up and eager to begin. I wonder how the other teachers have been doing, and who got that tech guy that OL wanted. (I guess Arsenal as the battlesuit guy?)

 

[LZB1285]

A green bolt melts the deck where I was lying as one of the manages to adjust the angle of his arms.

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I think this sentence is missing a word, "one of the bodyguards manages" maybe?

 

[Mr Zoat]

I think this sentence is missing a word, "one of the bodyguards manages" maybe?

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[FuzzyZergling]

"I'm honestly not sure. Argent, did you see what happened."

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happened?"

"What sort of control of it to you have?"

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it do you

 

[Mr Zoat]

happened?"
it do you

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Ardy]

Hey @Mr Zoat, you ever seen Jojo's bizarre adventure/any potential crossovers?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Hey @Mr Zoat, you ever seen Jojo's bizarre adventure/any potential crossovers?

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I haven't seen JoJo Anything. I haven't even seen JoJo Rabbit.

 

[Mr Zoat]

22nd September 2013
15:39 GMT -5

"…for Justice League members, A is for support staff and other people who aren't League members but need access, B is for members of the original training team -hello!- who were being mentored by a Justice League member."

Argent nods while looking around the Mount Justice training area. "So we're… D. Why aren't we A?"

"Because you're only getting access while you're being trained, and it's access to and from places you need to get between for that training."

She frowns. "How come?!"

"Security. The Justice League members who oversaw the first class had known most of us for years, and were spending a lot of time around the rest. The chance of any of us being spies or plants was near zero. We haven't done that with you. We can't, it's not practical."

"I'd go to a Justice League summer camp."

"Maybe next year. So unless you want to undergo some extremely invasive and unpleasant telepathic and magical probes, it's going to be school-use only."

"Ah, pass. Can we get promoted?"

"I don't see any reason why not. But-." Ooh, that's an idea. I grin evilly. "Who wants homework?"

The Face frowns. "You mean, you want us to stop two muggings? I'm already getting paid to do that."

"No, nothing so easy. You see, the Justice League doesn't actually have a stated recruitment policy. The way you get onto the Justice League is, step one, be a superhero, step two, get a recommendation from an existing member and step three, don't get vetoed by any of the existing members."

Argent looks confused. "That's it?"

"What did you think is was?"

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

"Recognized, Green Arrow, zero eight."

"-or with the best arrest record-."

Oliver strolls out of the aperture, waving his right hand and smiling at the new kids. "Hey there! Orange Lantern not being too rough on you?"

The Face looks confused. "Ah. No-? Sir?"

"Green Arrow's fine-." He spots how Argent's looking at him and glancing at me. "Okay, my ears are burning. What were you guys talking about?"

"Justice League recruitment."

He smiles, nodding knowingly. "Oooh."

"I was just about to give out today's homework-."

"On the first day? Come on, Orange Lantern, don't be such a hard ass."

"I'll have you know, my arse is perfect in form and function."

He snorts quietly. "Was it about the League's hiring practices?"

I look at Argent, who hesitates. "Argent, Green Arrow has excellent comportment and is extremely approachable. If he hasn't taken offence to me by now he's unlikely to anything you're likely to say."

"I wouldn't say I haven't taken some offence, but… Argent, was it?" She nods. "He's got a point. How bad can it be?"

"Is the Justice League's recruitment policy you just have to know the right people?"

"Ah… It helps. But… If you're gunna be fighting for your life next to someone, I'd say it's more important that they're someone you trust than that they're someone who the spreadsheet says is ideal for the role."

I nod, shrugging. "Unless you wanna live or something…"

He gives me a little side-eye. "And that's doubly true if you're gunna trust them with private information, like your real name and home address. So what's the homework? No." He holds up his right hand. "Lemme guess. You're gunna have them look over your ideas for League expansion so you can get independent feedback."

"Yes. Ah. How did you work that out?"

"Orange, you put together a computer game company because you wanted people to check your work in Vega. And, you asked Hawkman about Thanagar."

I nod, and fabricate a copy of each of my plans for both of them.

"Read through these and be prepared to discuss them next week. Green Arrow will take you to your first group tutorial."

Oliver heads deeper into the Mountain while motioning for them to follow him. "I'll show you where the lockers are, too, so you've got somewhere to put those pamphlets…"

Alright, I need to check on the Hub City-.

"Recognized, B One Six, Arsenal, D Zero Two, Kid Devil, D Zero Three, Aztek."

I raise my right hand in greeting. "Arsenal."

He nods back, helmet attached to his power armour's waist. "Hey. How was training?"

"We're feeling out what Argent can do, and Face had a bit of a breakthrough with his metahuman ability. You?"

"Kid Devil got a lotta use out of the healing ray." Kid Devil -who had been staring wide-eyed at everything- cringes sheepishly. "Turns out that stunt fighting doesn't translate into actual fighting."

"I'll work on it, sir!"

"Aztek just needs to learn Justice League protocols and she's good to go."

Aztek stands proud. "I have dedicated my life to being ready. I look forward to surpassing your requirements."

"Good show. Um. I wanted to ask. I had contact with a lot of parallel universe versions of myself a while back, and some of them shares their databases with me. Adjusting for event timelines, I was expecting the current Aztek to me a man named Uno?" She twitches slightly, giving me her completely undivided attention. "Is that not how things worked out here?"

"Uno was my predecessor and, briefly, my teacher. He died during his attempt to kill Bruno Mannheim."

"Yes, there was a reason why the League tried to avoid Mannheim whenever possible. It's a shame that he didn't try to coordinate with us."

"My predecessor was not unaffected by the Anti-Life. He came to believe that Mannheim was Tezcatlipoca, the ultimate enemy of our lineage."

I shake my head. "That's what the… Society? Trains you for, isn't it?"

Her eyes flick to Roy before returning to me, and she gives me a stiff nod.

"No, definitely not Mannheim. He wasn't even the ultimate source of the Anti-Life. Remind me, is it literally Tezcatlipoca you're preparing to fight, or is it a being that your forebears identified with Tezcatlipoca?"

The mask does a good job of hiding the upper part of her face, and -surprise surprise- I can't scan through it. But there's a definite pause.

"The prophecies are imprecise. If they were not, Uno would not have attacked Mannheim."

"Ah. Well, when the lecture's over, come and talk to me. I think I can clear that up for you."

 

[Vaermina]

"No, definitely not Mannheim. He wasn't even the ultimate source of the Anti-Life. Remind me, is it literally Tezcatlipoca you're preparing to fight, or is it a being that your forebears identified with Tezcatlipoca?"

Click to shrink...

Tezcatlipoca is a single omniversal existence in DC comics, so you should know the answer to that already.

 

[Ngamer11]

"Good show. Um. I wanted to ask. I had contact with a lot of parallel universe versions of myself a while back, and some of them shares their databases with me. Adjusting for event timelines, I was expecting the current Aztek to me a man named Uno?" She twitches slightly, giving me her completely undivided attention. "Is that not how things worked out here?"

Click to shrink...

That should say 'shared'.

"My predecessor was not unaffected by the Anti-Life. He came to believe that Mannheim was Tezcatlipoca, the ultimate enemy of our lineage."

I shake my head. "That's what the… Society? Trains you for, isn't it?"

Her eyes flick to Roy before returning to me, and she gives me a stiff nod.

"No, definitely not Mannheim. He wasn't even the ultimate source of the Anti-Life. Remind me, is it literally Tezcatlipoca you're preparing to fight, or is it a being that your forebears identified with Tezcatlipoca?"

The mask does a good job of hiding the upper part of her face, and -surprise surprise- I can't scan through it. But there's a definite pause.

"The prophecies are imprecise. If they were not, Uno would not have attacked Mannheim."

"Ah. Well, when the lecture's over, come and talk to me. I think I can clear that up for you."

Click to shrink...

We already know from the Renegade timeline that the previous Aztek was secretly under the Light's influence and was tapped to become part of the replacement premier superhero group after they killed off the Justice League, so I can't wait to see what Paul will reveal to this Aztek.

 

[Ciber]

Oh yeah. I vaguely remember they did something in the decaying aztec afterlife at some point?

 

[Jankl]

Oh yeah. I vaguely remember they did something in the decaying aztec afterlife at some point?

Click to shrink...

I think Mannheim consumed the Aztec afterlife somehow.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

22nd September 2013
15:39 GMT -5

"…for Justice League members, A is for support staff and other people who aren't League members but need access, B is for members of the original training team -hello!- who were being mentored by a Justice League member."

Argent nods while looking around the Mount Justice training area. "So we're… D. Why aren't we A?"

Click to shrink...

They had to think of something for provisional limited access. Be glad they didn't jump to 'P'. Or worse, 'L'. At any rate, I see neither of them injured themselves during the one-on-one again.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Because you're only getting access while you're being trained, and it's access to and from places you need to get between for that training."

She frowns. "How come?!"

Click to shrink...

In other words, no access to places they shouldn't know about, like the Watchtower. And secure places like Justice Mountain probably require an active member transiting with them.

"Security. The Justice League members who oversaw the first class had known most of us for years, and were spending a lot of time around the rest. The chance of any of us being spies or plants was near zero. We haven't done that with you. We can't, it's not practical."

Click to shrink...

Not without invasive examinations that would feel too harsh to some.

"I'd go to a Justice League summer camp."

"Maybe next year. So unless you want to undergo some extremely invasive and unpleasant telepathic and magical probes, it's going to be school-use only."

Click to shrink...

Not pulling any punches with security with this program.

"Ah, pass. Can we get promoted?"

"I don't see any reason why not. But-." Ooh, that's an idea. I grin evilly. "Who wants homework?"

The Face frowns. "You mean, you want us to stop two muggings? I'm already getting paid to do that."

Click to shrink...

That's hardly homework. That's more like sports class.

"No, nothing so easy. You see, the Justice League doesn't actually have a stated recruitment policy. The way you get onto the Justice League is, step one, be a superhero, step two, get a recommendation from an existing member and step three, don't get vetoed by any of the existing members."

Click to shrink...

Which is still somewhat short-sighted at this stage. They really need to get it into their heads that this can't be a private club anymore...

Argent looks confused. "That's it?"

"What did you think is was?"

Click to shrink...

Anything more... Rational than a private club?

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

"Recognized, Green Arrow, zero eight."

Click to shrink...

...Oof, that inadvertent juxtaposition.

"-or with the best arrest record-."

Oliver strolls out of the aperture, waving his right hand and smiling at the new kids. "Hey there! Orange Lantern not being too rough on you?"

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I would hope anyone with an arrest record would be low on the priority list. Unless they were wrongfully accused or being very determined about reforming.

The Face looks confused. "Ah. No-? Sir?"

"Green Arrow's fine-." He spots how Argent's looking at him and glancing at me. "Okay, my ears are burning. What were you guys talking about?"

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Heh, seeing the newbies interact with the old guard will be fun.

"Justice League recruitment."

He smiles, nodding knowingly. "Oooh."

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Ah, yes, a hot-button topic around OL...

"I was just about to give out today's homework-."

"On the first day? Come on, Orange Lantern, don't be such a hard ass."

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Nah, he's getting interns to work outside office hours.

"I'll have you know, my arse is perfect in form and function."

He snorts quietly. "Was it about the League's hiring practices?"

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OL, please. You're not a patch on Dick Grayson, the finest ass in DC.

I look at Argent, who hesitates. "Argent, Green Arrow has excellent comportment and is extremely approachable. If he hasn't taken offence to me by now he's unlikely to anything you're likely to say."

"I wouldn't say I haven't taken some offence, but… Argent, was it?" She nods. "He's got a point. How bad can it be?"

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Good, seeing the other side of the debate. And from someone who isn't as deeply invested.

"Is the Justice League's recruitment policy you just have to know the right people?"

"Ah… It helps. But… If you're gunna be fighting for your life next to someone, I'd say it's more important that they're someone you trust than that they're someone who the spreadsheet says is ideal for the role."

I nod, shrugging. "Unless you wanna live or something…"

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As long as a field team has a Superman-equivalent and a Lantern, you're usually good.

He gives me a little side-eye. "And that's doubly true if you're gunna trust them with private information, like your real name and home address. So what's the homework? No." He holds up his right hand. "Lemme guess. You're gunna have them look over your ideas for League expansion so you can get independent feedback."

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See? Making the interns check his research.

"Yes. Ah. How did you work that out?"

"Orange, you put together a computer game company because you wanted people to check your work in Vega. And, you asked Hawkman about Thanagar."

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At least OL generally consults people about some things.

I nod, and fabricate a copy of each of my plans for both of them.

"Read through these and be prepared to discuss them next week. Green Arrow will take you to your first group tutorial."

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Be sure to make extra for the others to read too. More data points!

Oliver heads deeper into the Mountain while motioning for them to follow him. "I'll show you where the lockers are, too, so you've got somewhere to put those pamphlets…"

Alright, I need to check on the Hub City-.

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Not sticking around to meet the other prospects?

"Recognized, B One Six, Arsenal, D Zero Two, Kid Devil, D Zero Three, Aztek."

I raise my right hand in greeting. "Arsenal."

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Huh, a female Aztek? Surprising. I see why Arsenal has these two, given their equipment-based skillsets.

He nods back, helmet attached to his power armour's waist. "Hey. How was training?"

"We're feeling out what Argent can do, and Face had a bit of a breakthrough with his metahuman ability. You?"

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Which is going to put OL ahead in the 'cool teacher' stats.

"Kid Devil got a lotta use out of the healing ray." Kid Devil -who had been staring wide-eyed at everything- cringes sheepishly. "Turns out that stunt fighting doesn't translate into actual fighting."

"I'll work on it, sir!"

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Yeah, generally actually connecting with stunt-people is bad when filming.

"Aztek just needs to learn Justice League protocols and she's good to go."

Aztek stands proud. "I have dedicated my life to being ready. I look forward to surpassing your requirements."

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She's a keen one, isn't she?

"Good show. Um. I wanted to ask. I had contact with a lot of parallel universe versions of myself a while back, and some of them shares their databases with me. Adjusting for event timelines, I was expecting the current Aztek to me a man named Uno?" She twitches slightly, giving me her completely undivided attention. "Is that not how things worked out here?"

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Good cover for his metaknowledge.

"Uno was my predecessor and, briefly, my teacher. He died during his attempt to kill Bruno Mannheim."

"Yes, there was a reason why the League tried to avoid Mannheim whenever possible. It's a shame that he didn't try to coordinate with us."

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Well, then. Respect to him for taking the shot.

"My predecessor was not unaffected by the Anti-Life. He came to believe that Mannheim was Tezcatlipoca, the ultimate enemy of our lineage."

I shake my head. "That's what the… Society? Trains you for, isn't it?"

Her eyes flick to Roy before returning to me, and she gives me a stiff nod.

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Interesting. Checking that she should answer, or nervous at the backstory check?

"No, definitely not Mannheim. He wasn't even the ultimate source of the Anti-Life. Remind me, is it literally Tezcatlipoca you're preparing to fight, or is it a being that your forebears identified with Tezcatlipoca?"

The mask does a good job of hiding the upper part of her face, and -surprise surprise- I can't scan through it. But there's a definite pause.

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I think the difference would be kind of obvious.

"The prophecies are imprecise. If they were not, Uno would not have attacked Mannheim."

"Ah. Well, when the lecture's over, come and talk to me. I think I can clear that up for you."

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Well, prophecies generally have to be vague, or you'd blab all the important stuff to the people who least need to know it. Don't want the bad guy coming to the definitely-final battle prepared...

This is going to be an eclectic class of rookie heroes, it seems. Given each trainer seems to be aligning to a specific skillset, it'll be curious to see who the others selected. At least they seem to be producing a decent team composition, with two energy-projectors, two power-armour guys... Let's hope at least one of the prospects is a healer.