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

[DAT_NOOB]

Lightning flashes from nowhere and Adom drops to the ground, having taken the precaution of wearing a copy of his costume on his normal body. William-.

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Wait, do you mean Amon or did Adom just show up there and no one commented on it?

 

[Ngamer11]

"You want me to hit you with my lightning?" William nods. "Okay, I-." His head jerks slightly. "Ah. Lord Zehuti says that he doesn't think it works like that."

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Amon was previously unable to actually hear Zehuti speak to him. When did that change?

 

[Handlewithcare]

Zeus probably lives like in the car commercial, just without Hera.

Dana Dearden must have lost her power to, unless she brought a spare Zeus back in time.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Maybe add the date 28th October above the link.

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The date hasn't changed.

"Darn it. Um, okay. How does the… Sponsoring you thing work?"
Double Space.

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Wait, do you mean Amon or did Adom just show up there and no one commented on it?

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Tbryan]

I'm pretty sure Blaze know how to modify the Shazam spell, why not ask her?

Mary's eyes widen. "You mean the reason he can give power to Sabbac is because he learned it from the Wizard?"

Adom nods. "I believe it is so. Blaze -his sister- showed a considerable understanding of the process. When he first approached me, the Wizard presumed to offer me the power of the gods who empowered him. Since they were not my gods I at first refused. It was Blaze who suggested that the Kahndaqi gods might be willing to provide equivalent power. She also accompanied me on my pilgrimage to the great temples of each of the gods whose power I bear."

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[Ngamer11]

"He was not always the old man you have met. Once, long even before he met me, he was a vigorous and powerful warrior. Hm, and clearly one not untroubled by mankind's baser nature."

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I found a picture that doesn't work anymore. I know it was an image of a younger Shazam, but I have no idea on what it looked like.

 

[Stsword]

I found a picture that doesn't work anymore. I know it was an image of a younger Shazam, but I have no idea on what it looked like.

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Well I don't know if it was this picture but here's what he looked like.

 

[RichardWhereat]

Well I don't know if it was this picture but here's what he looked like.

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My alerts say you quoted me with this. Somehow.

 

[iamnuff]

I would ask Heph about the lightning before asking zeus. He's a lot more likely to actually know, and a lot less likely to tell you to fuck off.

 

[Silveraith]

Aphrodite always seemed to be more about desire than love.

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I'm really not. Her mythological profile is one who sees love as a tool for her political schemes... Not the behavior of someone enlightened by love.

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I can definitely see and believe that Aphrodite is more about desire and using love as a tool but Hephaestean made it seem like the Olympians don't have a god of Avarice and that was why Hades may consider kicking him upstairs if he were to die.

 

[Xelloss]

Best guess : Zeus' lightning doesn't work because you now need electrical and metrological knowledge to operate it.

Quick Billy, being good at school is needed if you want to save the world, time to hit your physics books !

 

[Patrick Holt]

The broken clock strikes the right time. Can't believe I'm going to leave a like on a Vaerminapost.

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But that's not what he said. He said it wouldn't be quick to cut him off.

Can the connection be disrupted? Not easily or quickly. Can it be redirected? No. Could a god learn to use their new power quickly? No.

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He was working with the titan who made the spell Zeus was using so cutting him off isn't the problem. And the titans getting powered up isn't the problem because they were pulling small bits from many titans so not much difference in strength now that they have it back. The big problem is Zeus is now a mortal target if he doesn't keep his head down it will probably get cut off.

 

[Darko]

I'm pretty sure Blaze know how to modify the Shazam spell, why not ask her

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The spell on Billy is different than the one on Adom and it's more connected to the Wizard.

I found a picture that doesn't work anymore. I know it was an image of a younger Shazam, but I have no idea on what it looked like.

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Well I don't know if it was this picture but here's what he looked like.

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I think he wore a blue version of the Captain Marvel costume.

 

[Valint]

The main reason why renaming Captain Marvel, Shazam, was a dumbass decision.

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I'm pretty sure most casual fans thought his name was 'Shazam' already, so at some point you might as well just give in to the inevitable.

Also, the fact that DC could not legally use 'Captain Marvel' as part of the branding for anything makes it better to just switch to a name they could use that way. (I find the story of how that happened kind of fascinating.)

 

[Zig]

The main reason why renaming Captain Marvel, Shazam, was a dumbass decision.

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The same time they renamed him, they also made it so he can say it without transforming.

 

[Doccer]

And while you're doing that I'll see if I can find out what happened to Zeus's lightning. Ring, find Zeus."

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I'd have gone to Hephaestusian first. He did bottle some of that lightning in the fight and he almost certainly can make up a tech solution.

 

[Pinklestia]

Whatever happened with visiting Shazam's daughter, she knows the ritual after all, suee she did it for Mighty Adam using different Gods but she knows it.

 

[Coda]

That's what Deus ex Machina means?

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No it doesn't. "Ex" means "from," while "in" means... um... "in." "Deus ex machina" means that the god came out of the machine. That clearly has not happened here. He's still in it.

They worshipped Aphrodite Areia who was a Goddess of love and war.

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I mean, I suppose all's fair.

Wonder how it'd change his transformation... less magical lightning for one.

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Why not? Hephaestus is the one who forged Zeus's lightning bolts in the first place. He's got a claim to it, and lightning is just unharnessed electricity, and harnessing electricity is WELL within Hephaestaean's domain.

"So really he's become everything a forward-thinking pantheon needs their leader to be; stronger and with none of the weaknesses of his former self."

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Colon instead of semicolon.

"Oh, ah, yeah, the Wizards says you're not allowed

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Pretty sure there's only one of the Wizard?

"No, no. Captain Marvel has a problem we're hoping that you can help with. Could you-?"
"Recognized, Osiris, B One Nine."

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Missing a blank line between these paragraphs.

 

[Lord Ernest]

Why not? Hephaestus is the one who forged Zeus's lightning bolts in the first place. He's got a claim to it, and lightning is just unharnessed electricity, and harnessing electricity is WELL within Hephaestaean's domain.

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Wasn't the Thunderbolt created by the Cyclops or Hekatonkhieres? I vaguely recall that they were the original armorers of the God side in the Titanomachy. They gave the invisibility helm to Haded and the Trident to Poseidon as well, no?

Although, being mythology, there's probably different interpretations, so it depends on what version this story is using. However, I get the impression that Hephaestean and the other younger Olympians were born once Zeus already was king and, as such, after the Titanomachy so I would personally go with the Cyclops/Hekatonkhieres version.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Colon instead of semicolon.
Pretty sure there's only one of the Wizard?
Missing a blank line between these paragraphs.

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Stsword]

Wasn't the Thunderbolt created by the Cyclops or Hekatonkhieres? I vaguely recall that they were the original armorers of the God side in the Titanomachy. They gave the invisibility helm to Haded and the Trident to Poseidon as well, no?

Although, being mythology, there's probably different interpretations, so it depends on what version this story is using. However, I get the impression that Hephaestean and the other younger Olympians were born once Zeus already was king and, as such, after the Titanomachy so I would personally go with the Cyclops/Hekatonkhieres version.

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The cyclopes Brontes, Steropes and Arges, whose names mean Thunder, Lightning, and Bright are Heph's assistants at the forge.

Although some myths have Heph's cyclopes assistants killed by Apollo out of revenge for someone Zeus killed with their thunderbolts, other myths that Apollo killed their sons instead.

 

[Zig]

Once he's done with this, Paul should start testing fate:

" Nothing except The Reach suddenly all ceasing to exist will stop me from going after Constantine"

 

[Caerwen]

Why not? Hephaestus is the one who forged Zeus's lightning bolts in the first place. He's got a claim to it, and lightning is just unharnessed electricity, and harnessing electricity is WELL within Hephaestaean's domain.

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Shaham!

 

[AidanMorgan]

Hephaestean steps in to huck lightning at the Marvel kids. "SHAHAM"

Everyone thinks they're really hungry.

 

[hance1986]

Hephaestaean nods in satisfaction, two servo arms with camera already pointing at Diana and me as we land.

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cameras

 

[Mr Zoat]

cameras

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Mr Zoat]

28th October 2012
07:22 GMT -7

"-daughter's getting up in a few minutes-."

Helena Sandsmark cuts herself off as she spots me flying in. Zeus appears to have acquired jeans and a shirt from somewhere, and his wounds are less obvious than they were a few hours ago. She's currently standing outside of her house and very clearly not happy that he's here.

Why is he here? He's clearly spent time on Earth in the modern era; one of the products of that time is currently sleeping in her room upstairs. So it's not as if he needs someone to explain how money works or anything like that. Similarly, he must have somewhere to live.

I land a short distance away from Cassandra's parents.

"Doctor Sandsmark. Zeus."

"Hephaestus's bard." Zeus stares at me with a look of contempt. "Here to narrate my life in verse? Let me pay you your worth."

He reaches into his pocket, and tosses me… Half a copper coin. An old British halfpenny, if I'm any judge.

"Half a coin to match your wits. Too kind."

"Paul, why is he here?"

"I don't know. He's not on Olympus because he got overthrown by Hephaestaean, but I don't know why he's here."

"I'm here because I need a reference. I need to get into a college of some sort in order to get back to Olympus, and a published Doctor of Archaeology would seem to be my best bet. A better question is: what are you doing here?"

"Captain Marvel can't transform."

"Who?"

"The current champion of the wizard Jebediah of Canaan. Shazam."

"Oh. Him. Yes, it wouldn't, would it? I don't have access to my lightning, because Hephaestus has never been a fool. No one else has it, so even automatic things like my gift to Jebediah aren't working."

"How do I start it working?"

"Ah, to do that you must perform an epic quest worthy of the Elysian Fields. First, enter the gateway into the Dream in Erebos, and pass into that eldritch place to retrieve a single petal from each of the strange flowers that bloom in Morpheus's own garden. Next, to Tartarus, and steal a single tear from each of the beings bound there. These you will need to quench the fires which burn beneath Mount Othrys, that you may take the remaining fragments of the bones of Uranus from their vaults. Then you must travel unto the hallowed halls of Harvard University, whereupon you may suck my cock."

"You realise that Captain Marvel is the one useful thing you've done with yourself in living memory, don't you? The one thing people actually credit you for?"

"Jeb got me to sign up to that while I was merry with drink. Don't expect me to have any real attachment to the man."

"I doubt that anyone here expects you to have any real attachment to anyone. What exactly do you want on this reference? I can hardly give you a character reference; we barely know each other."

"You mean you might have to lie on a reference?" He looks at her incredulously. "Do people actually tell the truth on those things?"

"Yes!"

"What do you want?"

Zeus turns his head my way. "What?"

"What do you want in order to be helpful? You don't like me and I don't like you, but Captain Marvel respects you and does good work in your name."

"Ah, no, no, I think I've been discharged of all responsibilities. Captain Marvel will just have to make do."

I take a quick look at his desire network. Nothing unbearable, but… He's not going to help.

"Right, fine. Your lack of cooperation has been noted. Good da-."

"Hey!" Dr. Sandsmark glares at me. "Where are you going?"

"Erebos. Hades has been nothing but helpful for as long as I've known him."

"Hm." Zeus grimaces. "Family."

"You ate your first wife and kept her trapped in your head for thousands of years. You literally threw Hephaestus off a mountain so hard that his leg got crushed and you played away from home so often that the Goddess of Marriage divorced you, the rest of your family says 'Hm, Zeus'. Doctor Sandsmark, I apologise for this inconvenience."

I raise my right hand to my forehead

and

28th October 2012
17:25 GMT +3

appear in Erebos, face to face with Zagreus's arrow.

"Feeling jumpy?"

"Everyone's feeling jumpy. You just overthrew Zeus."

"Hephaestaean overthrew Zeus."

"Hephaestaean exists because of you. He asked me if I'd like to try out for the position of War God."

"From the way you appear to like pointing arrows at people, I'd say that you were a natural fit."

"Not really." He lowers the arrow and reduces the tension on the string. "Hm."

"What?"

"I just realised that your carefully planned chaos is far scarier than Eris's habit of pulling loose threads."

"But I'm happy with my current job. Why aren't you taking it?"

"I don't particularly want to be a god."

"You were rather born the wrong person, then."

"No, I mean that I don't have any desire to be part of the kind of active pantheon that Hephaestaean wants us to become. I understand the logic of it; I'm out in the world enough to know what 'competition' is. But I like being a tour guide and hunter. Even though hunting isn't a part of the lives of most humans any longer, there's a job that an Olympian could do… I don't want to. If anyone needs to do it, Artemis can have the job."

"Were you working the role under Zeus?"

"No, but he didn't care. Hephaestaean does, and I'm concerned that he might take it badly. I heard about Ares."

"I don't think he'll geld you for wanting to come off the civil list. Given the backlogs I'm seeing around here, I'd be more worried about what your father will say."

"I am."

"What do you actually get out of it, anyway?"

"Nothing. The power I get from Erebos comes from my being born here rather than being a gift from my father. The spells bound to my equipment have already been paid for and everything else is my innate power."

"Can I assume that other Olympians are similarly concerned?"

"Zeus's laziness let people just drift away and do their own thing. If Hephaestaean makes an issue of things, then he…"

Zagreus jerks his head towards the west, staring with no small amount of concern.

"Something wrong?"

"My mother is leaving her grove. She very seldom does-. I should go and see what she wants."

Between Hera and Aphrodite…

"I think I can guess."

 

[Darko]

explain now money works

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'explain how'

Why is he here? He's clearly spent time on Earth in the modern era; one of the products of that time is currently sleeping in her room upstairs. So it's not as if he needs someone to explain now money works or anything like that. Similarly, he must have somewhere to live.

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Not necessarily.

He may have only come down to Earth to fuck men and women, so he may only have a general idea of how modern society works.

Here to narrative my life in verse? Let me pay you your worth."

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'narrate'

from each of the being bound there

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'beings'

must travel to unto the hallowed halls of Harvard University, whereupon you may suck my cock."

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Remove 'unto'.

whereupon you may suck my cock."

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He's not happy to see you.

"I doubt that anyone here expects you to have any real attachment to anyone. What exactly do you want on this reference? I can hardly give you a character reference; we barely know each other."

"You mean you might have to lie on a reference?" He looks at her incredulously. "Do people actually tell the truth on those things?"

"Yes

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Well to be fair, they may sometimes embellish things.

Hey!" Dr. Sandsmark glares at me. "Where are you going?"

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Yeah Paul, at least take the trash out.

arrow and reduced the tension on the string. "Hm."

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'reduces'

Even thought hunting

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'though'

If anyone needs to do it, Artemis can have the job."

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Though then they'll be missing a hunt god.

"No, I mean that I don't have any desire to be part of the kind of active pantheon that Hephaestaean wants us to become. I understand the logic of it; I'm out in the world enough to know what 'competition' is. But I like being a tour guide and hunter. Even thought hunting isn't a part of the lives of most humans any longer, there's a job that an Olympian could do… I don't want to. If anyone needs to do it, Artemis can have the job

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Not surprising, seeing as he's a fairly minor character in the mythology, so people may not have thought or prayed too much to him, so he wouldn't have developed too much if an attachment to the god job.

"No, but he didn't care. Hephaestaean does, and I'm concerned that he might take it badly. I heard about Ares

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Don't worry, I doubt he'll castrate you, but he may lock away your divine powers.

Were you working the role under Zeus?"

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Maybe 'Weren't you'.

And I think Artemis would be working as hunt god.

"My mother is leaving her grove. She very seldom does-. I should go and see what she wants."

Between Hera and Aphrodite…

"I think I can guess

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Time for another divorce.

 

[Vaermina]

"Oh. Him. Yes, it wouldn't, would it? I don't have access to my lightning, because Hephaestus has never been a fool. No one else has it, so even automatic things like my gift to Jebediah aren't working."

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Still not explaining how Hephaestus just randomly gained the ability to de-power Zeus.

"Zeus's laziness let people just drift away and do their own thing. If Hephaestaean makes an issue of things, then he…"

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With almost any other author I would give it a month before the majority of other gods are conspiring with Zeus to return things to the good old days.

But this is Zoat, so this will almost surely be ignored and nothing bad will come of Hephaestus's takeover.

 

[jasonh23761]

Alright Zeusy-boy, that got a chuckle out of me.