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

[Agumentic]

I don't remember this individual showing up, when did that happen?

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Trivialities, part 2.

 

[Duke Long]

"But the strategic planning part. I know that I argued for redundancy, and, yes, two people is an improvement on one, but it looks like we're building a system that's one unlucky dose of Smilex away from being run by someone who thinks that humans would be better off it they didn't have to waste time eating."

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'if'

 

[Mr Zoat]

Though most of the proceeds get donated to charity, I would assume.

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No, he doesn't mean that they charge more. He means that if you work out what it costs to keep the Justice League operating for that amount of time, it's almost always more.

Huh. That would be interesting, especially given that he'd have to commute form his world.

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from

Well, finally someone told him straight out, 'talk to Batman.' The question is whether that'll ease his worries, or give him new ones. As for involving Lex in League oversight... It might give him an outlet for his world domination urges. Or he might fool himself into being a backstabbing moron and working to undermine the League from within... And no-one will know which until he's offered the shot.

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In the comics, he actually sponsored Aztek with a view to putting him in charge of a version of the Justice League that he controlled.

'if'

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Wivk]

Right now faith in government is at an all time low and faith in the league is high. But once the league is in charge everything wrong will be directly their fault so trust in them will start dropping off pretty fast.

 

[WereDragon]

That's... really anti-complementary. Like grievously so, I think.

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Which is exactly how it was intended and they both know that. Paul deciding to 'take matters into his own hands' is one of the League's big worries.

 

[CTrees]

Turn the world into a police state? Not really. If only because we don't have the manpower."

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Did OL forget about Brother Eye in the comics? Lack of manpower isn't really a problem when Batman is sufficiently motivated and paranoid. And wasn't there just an OMAC (or OMAC-variant) like, a couple arcs ago?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Did OL forget about Brother Eye in the comics? Lack of manpower isn't really a problem when Batman is sufficiently motivated and paranoid. And wasn't there just an OMAC (or OMAC-variant) like, a couple arcs ago?

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No...

But.

How many people actually remember the short-lived One Man Army Corp comic, compared to the mind control thrall robot version? Particularly given that the thrall version has already featured as being used by Owlman. And that version of Brother Eye was a covert anti-metahuman measure, which isn't what's happening here.

 

[Signaller]

Isn't Dox the smartest person OL knows? What's his take on it? I think the last time they spoke was just after Atlantis emerged?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Isn't Dox the smartest person OL knows? What's his take on it? I think the last time they spoke was just after Atlantis emerged?

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Since it's not really Orange Lantern Corps business, the SI hasn't asked him.

 

[Steelplaza]

"-I'll talk it through with him. Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me."

"I think everyone on the League would make time for you, Paul."

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That's... really anti-complementary. Like grievously so, I think.

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You could take it as a slight against OL, but- I've been rereading the whole Antilife story arc, and I feel like there's something that's kind of slid through the cracks because no one made a big deal of it.

The SI saved the world. No one else had a plan against the antilife. No one even had an idea for a plan, as far as I can tell. The closest we see is the guy who wanted to make the giant mutated Tiger Shark fight Finality Man, which didn't work but at least it was an attempt. The SI swept in with his "gather one of every power ring color" plan, personally did the recruiting, brought in what was needed, and helped execute the mission. I know it's like, hah-hah, the Justice League saves the world all the time, but the Justice League was stuck!

I think Paul, but also a lot of readers in the thread, are underestimating the amount of goodwill Paul has banked right now. It's not just "oh hah-hah that Orange Lantern always causes trouble". People on the Justice League genuinely feel like they owe him bigly, and if makes a request or has something to talk about they will indeed make time for it. I mean, they also know he causes trouble, but he also solves trouble, like he's early Loki or something.

 

[CrazyNoVa]

If nothing else, Batman does have a family to knock some sense into his Ring-shielded head. On any or all of those points.

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Assuming that he even bothers listening to them in the first place. Whenever Batman is at his most distrustful and paranoid, he tends to ignore the people around him and automatically assumes that he knows better than everyone about everything, no matter how much it comes back to bite him in the rear.

An apt analogy, but the problem is, the people being given the reins aren't inclined to act in their own interests. They're generally not the sort of person to want to rule the world, no matter how much easier it would make some things.

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Yes, their hearts are in the right place and we know that they wouldn't abuse their power for petty or selfish reasons, but heroism alone doesn't make you qualified to be a leader or a politician.

Remember, up until the anti-life crisis, most of the JLA members were just a bunch of regular people in costumes who were doing their best to fight crime and make a difference. People with extraordinary skills and abilities, yes, but still regular people at their core. They signed up to fight crime and protect the world, but they never expected that that they would have to rule it, nor were they prepared for such a colossal task either. The fact that the Justice League didn't even realize that they were taking over the world until Paul told them just reinforces that point.

Think of it like this: In real life, if we took a bunch of doctors, policemen and firefighters, and then asked them to rule the city they live in, how well do you think they would do? The answer is that they probably wouldn't do very well, because while they would do a good job at protecting people, they probably wouldn't handle the bureaucracy or the economy all that well, because they would likely lack the proper skills and education to do so. The same principle applies here: Sure, we know that the Justice League wouldn't abuse their power for stupid or selfish reasons, but that's only one part of what it takes to be a good ruler. You can't rule the world through good intentions alone.

And yes, I know that theoretically, Batman would probably be smart and knowledgeable enough to do the job, but considering that he's obviously not mentally stable right now, and that he's overworking himself, we don't know how that might impact his efficiency as a leader, or if there may be other side-effects we don't know about. Just saying, you can't blame Paul for being concerned for Batman's mental state, especially since Paul is the one who mindscrewed Batman in the first place.

You could take it as a slight against OL, but- I've been rereading the whole Antilife story arc, and I feel like there's something that's kind of slid through the cracks because no one made a big deal of it.

The SI saved the world. No one else had a plan against the antilife. No one even had an idea for a plan, as far as I can tell. The closest we see is the guy who wanted to make the giant mutated Tiger Shark fight Finality Man, which didn't work but at least it was an attempt. The SI swept in with his "gather one of every power ring color" plan, personally did the recruiting, brought in what was needed, and helped execute the mission. I know it's like, hah-hah, the Justice League saves the world all the time, but the Justice League was stuck!

I think Paul, but also a lot of readers in the thread, are underestimating the amount of goodwill Paul has banked right now. It's not just "oh hah-hah that Orange Lantern always causes trouble". People on the Justice League genuinely feel like they owe him bigly, and if makes a request or has something to talk about they will indeed make time for it. I mean, they also know he causes trouble, but he also solves trouble, like he's early Loki or something.

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To be fair, we usually only see the story from Paul's perspective, so we don't really know how the JLA feels about him right now.

Although, I do sometimes wish that we'd get a post or two from their perpective to see what they think of Paul.

No...

But.

How many people actually remember the short-lived One Man Army Corp comic, compared to the mind control thrall robot version? Particularly given that the thrall version has already featured as being used by Owlman. And that version of Brother Eye was a covert anti-metahuman measure, which isn't what's happening here.

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To be fair, I DID bring it up a while ago when I asked you about the possibility of Paul making his own army of OMACS for L.E.G.I.O.N. uses, although I don't know if you remember.

 

[hkim]

Clark Kent with the Department of Common Sense interrupt. Very nice!

 

[Mr Zoat]

To be fair, I DID bring it up a while ago when I asked you about the possibility of Paul making his own army of OMACS for L.E.G.I.O.N. uses, although I don't know if you remember.

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I frequently forget what I've written, much less what anyone else writes.

 

[Mr Zoat]

I recall that a primary school teacher of mine once remarked that supply teachers generally only learned the name of the badly behaved children.

@rthomas2, I fear that I recognised your name.

 

[hkim]

That's kind of impressive given that he hasn't posted since 2021 .. what did he do?

 

[CrazyNoVa]

I frequently forget what I've written, much less what anyone else writes.

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Yeah, I figured as much. Which is perfectly fair, given that you've been doing this for well over a decade. I guess you wouldn't remember everyone unless they did something truly outstanding that would make them stand out. For example, there was I want to see you smile by Whiteeyes. You must have really liked that story, since you did write a crossover where Future Paragon visits Teal Lantern's world.

I recall that a primary school teacher of mine once remarked that supply teachers generally only learned the name of the badly behaved children.

@rthomas2, I fear that I recognised your name.

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That's kind of impressive given that he hasn't posted since 2021 .. what did he do?

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I'm sorry, who? I'm afraid that I'm not familiar with the name.

 

[Darko]

I'm sorry, who? I'm afraid that I'm not familiar with the name

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They posted in the story only thread.

 

[PDV]

How many people actually remember the short-lived One Man Army Corp comic, compared to the mind control thrall robot version?

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The people who learn about the bizarrities of comics mostly from wikis and fanfic rather than reading the originals. (Raises hand.)

 

[Mr Zoat]

For example, there was I want to see you smile by Whiteeyes. You must have really liked that story, since you did write a crossover where Future Paragon visits Teal Lantern's world.

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Joyful being!

 

[Jirachi]

"No."

"Okay. So what's the problem?"

"It gives us far too much power indefinitely. And even if it wasn't being organised through the League, it's still too much power going to any one place."

He frowns, puzzled. "I.. suppose it's a little expansive, but it only really covers a lot of the things we've been doing anyway. Would you really want to undo all the work you've been doing in Hub City?"
[...]

"But the strategic planning part. I know that I argued for redundancy, and, yes, two people is an improvement on one, but it looks like we're building a system that's one unlucky dose of Smilex away from being run by someone who thinks that humans would be better off if they didn't have to waste time eating."

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I do think that there's also the more pragmatic problem that the 'tactical overwatch' role and the 'strategic administrator' roles of the justice league are kind of compressed to batman and mister atom - there'd probably be a pretty significant dropoff in overwatch quality if either of them were rendered unfit, though that's less of a philosphical issue.

"No. I'm not putting Lex Luthor in charge of the whole world."

"So we are putting someone in charge of the world?"

"I trust Batman not to use it like that. And-." He visibly ponders his next statement. "And I trust Mister Atom to realise that he isn't ready to rule the world, because I don't think he'd have agreed to join the Justice League if he hadn't. I cannot say the same about Lex Luthor."

"Anti-matter Lex Luthor isn't that bad."

Kal-El sighs. "No. He is, he's just on our side. He's every bit as ruthless and controlling as our Lex, he just does more to help people with it."

"Um." That's… News to me. "How..? Do you..?"

"We were considering offering him League membership, so we did an interview. He was surprisingly open about it."

I frown. "He… Could probably-."

He holds up his right hand to forestall my objection. "We used Diana's lasso. I'm pretty sure he couldn't fake that."

Ah… No. If he was giving answers and the lasso was active, then he wasn't lying. "I'm pleased that you thought to ask like that. Is that a standard check now?"

"Ah…" Kal-El looks a little self-conscious. "He is a Lex Luthor."

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This is maybe a little unfair - I would expect the league to at least consider something like this for new applicants - and I wouldn't be suprised if Diana's divine powers would be able to catch more indirect misleading attempts, after her semi-ascension. But yes, they still haven't figured out a routine operational way to deal with this.

"Work himself to death? Go back to managing a huge part of the League by himself causing the same single point of failure issue it had before? Yes. Turn the world into a police state? Not really. If only because we don't have the manpower."

"I don't think he'd do that anyway."

"I didn't think Alan would do it anyway, and then I went a few parallel universes sideways and look what I found! But…" I raise my hands theatrically. "In the interest of maintaining better communication channels and avoiding another Nabu incident-"

"You said it, not me."

"-I'll talk it through with him. Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me."

"I think everyone on the League would make time for you, Paul."

I smile blackly. I suppose that they would. "How's Ak-Var been getting on?"

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Wonder if he's game to looking into the gods overseeing things in the thaumosphere model? If nothing else might be worthwhile asking Athena for a consult about how she'd be willing to help.
Glad he's not doomering too much, even if he's pretty clearly on a bit of a dejected train of thought.
I'm not sure if it's better or worse that batman is overworking himself but with a yellow power ring now - it probably has the sleep mitigation function that might help more then just being surgical with nap timing and such, but I could also easily see him getting dependent on it.
Honestly another angle on the batman thing is that if his time is so valuable and everything is oriented around being able to get his cognitive labour done, he should ask again about garricking him or something - it should be reliably safe, it doesn't seem to super have a problem in space, and it could dramatically help with the effective workload, perhaps?

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th March 2025
10:22 GMT -5

'Rex Splode' fidgets as his clone-brother starts taking apart the drone. "Ah… Shouldn't we be out there, doing something?"

Rudy Splode carefully connects the drone's circuitry to his analysis equipment. "Even assuming that the other Invincibles are only as strong as the one who attacked us-."

The small girl who is.. here for some reason, pulls a face. "'Only'?"

The clone nods. "Judging by the damage done to my robots, assuming that he was hitting as or nearly as hard as he could, I estimate him to be about eighty percent as strong as our Invincible."

I nod. "Your Invincible does appear to have the edge in strength. Not skill or equipment, though. I was a little surprised that your version of The Immortal wasn't tutoring him."

"Yeah…" Rex winces. "They… Diiiidn't exactly get along."

I frown at him. "And that was more important than fighting the Viltrumite Empire? There aren't many people on the planet who can physically fight at that level. If he'd taken some time to share his literal millennia of experience, or even just sparred with him on a regular basis, your Invincible would be able to beat his doppelgängers quite handily."

Local Eve shakes her head. "Immortal blamed Mark for what Omni-Man did. I don't think they had a single sparring session. Most of the training Mark did was with the G.D.A.."

"That doesn't-."

A woman in a dull green skin tight costume dashes down the stairs outside of the workshop, vanishing for a moment and then appearing on our level.

Rex brightens up. "Oh, hey Rae. Having second-?"

She grabs him and hugs him, staring over his shoulder at everyone else. "Is everyone okay? I saw the wrecks out there. Did-?"

"We're fine." Rudy doesn't look around. "An Invincible duplicate attacked us, but Atom Eve and Orange Lantern were able to kill him."

I nod. "Director Stedman is collecting their bodies to use to make stronger zombots. I don't know exactly what your arrangement with him is, but he'll probably want that one."

"Ah..?" Rex turns his head in my direction, still holding onto Rae. "'Zombot'."

"A portmanteau of 'zombie' and 'robot', referring to the corpses reanimated with cybernetic implants which the G.D.A. appears to be making use of."

"Oh, right. Just so you know, in this reality we call those 'Reanimen'."

I frown. "Four syllables? That seems a little clunky."

Rae relaxes her hold on Rex a little. "Who are you?"

"I am Orange Lantern Two Eight One Four. I came here with one of the invading Invincibles at the behest of Angstrom Levy, but we've switched sides. Rudy is currently trying to use that drone to track his location while my Invincible assists yours in beating the other invaders to a pulp."

The man in the skintight orange and yellow costume nods. "Which is why we're standing around here and not getting out there."

On that note... "It seemed to me that you got soundly thrashed by one Invincible. While we're waiting, perhaps I could assist you in ensuring that your next encounter goes better?"

Orange and yellow smiles. "Sounds good. You got more of those sweet swords? I could go for a katana."

"Are you trained in how to use a katana?"

"Sharp side goes in the other guy."

"Not inaccurate." I raise my right hand and transmute an arming sword before x-ionising it. "This is an arming sword, or knight's sword. You put either sharp side or the sharp point in the other guy."

"Alright." He grabs the hilt with his right hand and tests the weight. "Three times as good."

I nod. "For a total amateur, yes. In addition, this-" I transmute a bracer with a high-powered speaker and hold it out to him. "-will generate sound on a wavelength which disables viltrumites. The green button turns it on." I shut it around his forearm. "The red button turns it off. The casing is resilient enough to survive being slammed into a wall once or twice, but it isn't as tough as a viltrumite."

"So, get close, turn it on, stab, and we're done?"

"That's the aim."

Rex grins. "Got anything for the rest of us? 'cause I used to have a laser built into my arm, but…" Rae frantically looks at his arms. "Huh?" He needs a moment to work out why she's worried. "Oh! No, see, Cecil booby trapped it, so Lantern made me a new one. No laser, but it's got blood!"

She blinks uncomprehendingly at him.

"Because it's.. like a normal living hand. Not because it.. fires blood, or.. anything."

"Sword, sheath, harness, bracer." I push them towards him. "I can't build you a gun that would do much to a viltrumite. What does your power do?"

"I can charge up objects and make them explode."

Oh. Gambit. "You have to touch them?" He nods. "Any object?"

"It doesn't work on organic stuff. Except bone." He looks around awkwardly. "Don't ask me how I know."

"Plastic? Oil?"

He looks puzzled. "Ah, yeah?"

Eve shakes her head. "Not 'organic' as in 'organic chemistry'. It's 'living tissue'. My power has the same restriction. "

Perhaps… No, a railgun wouldn't work because the magnetic pulse might detonate it prematurely. "I could make you a slingshot? It wouldn't do anything to a viltrumite that your explosions don't normally-."

Eve pulls a slingshot out of the air and hands it to him.

"Ah, thanks?"

I turn to Rae. "What is your power?"

"I can shrink myself down. But there's a limit to what I can take with me. I don't think-."

Transmute.

She takes one of the pellets I just created. "What are these?"

"I read our G.D.A.'s file on our you. Those capsules are made of your bone and the interior is lined with your stomach lining. Inside that is your stomach acid." Her eyes widen slightly as she stares at it, clearly disturbed. "Assuming you fight by getting inside people and then enlarging yourself like our you used to, that should represent a far less risky way to deliver an attack. Your power should shrink it down with the rest of you."

She and Rex look at each other, then she shrinks down to the size of a small doll. The bone capsule maintains its size relative to her. She shrinks more, it shrinks more. Then she grows again, the capsule returning to normal size with her.

"Thank you. What.. happened.. to the me from your reality?"

"He tried that on Omniman, but his expansion was weaker than Omniman's toughness. According to Invincible, he was coughing up bits of Shrinking Raymond for several days."

She blanches, then nods.

"I'm afraid that I can't make a speaker with your body parts, but that should damage Invincible's brain if you can get to it, or give him severe disorientation if used in his sinuses. Don't expand to full size inside him."

She nods more firmly this time.

"Hm."

I turn to where Rudy is reviewing some readings. "Do you have something?"

He nods, focusing on the readout. "I believe so."

 

[Ardy]

Manton limits, gotta love em

 

[Zig]

Aww nothing for Monster Girl?

 

[Ngamer11]

"I read our G.D.A.'s file on our you. Those capsules are made of your bone and the interior is lined with your stomach lining. Inside that is your stomach acid." Her eyes widen slightly as she stares at it, clearly disturbed. "Assuming you fight but getting inside people and then enlarging yourself like our you used to, that should represent a far less risky way to deliver an attack. Your power should shrink it down with the rest of you."

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That should say 'by'.

 

[Lord Ernest]

"Ah..?" Rudy turns his head in my direction, still holding onto Rae. "'Zombot'."

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This should be Rex, I think. Rudy is busy with the Levy drone.

 

[Whenever Possible]

Manton limits, gotta love em

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An incredibly apt description, considering that Eve's and (probably) Rex's restrictions are artificially imposed. Edit: And in both cases, (probably) as user and designer safety measures.

 

[Mr Zoat]

That should say 'by'.

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This should be Rex, I think. Rudy is busy with the Levy drone.

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

6th March 2025
10:22 GMT -5

'Rex Splode' fidgets as his clone-brother starts taking apart the drone. "Ah… Shouldn't we be out there, doing something?"

Rudy Splode carefully connects the drone's circuitry to his analysis equipment. "Even assuming that the other Invincibles are only as strong as the one who attacked us-."

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I mean, lacking the context of 'super-genius clones handsome teammate's body for new shell', it's only logical that he assume they're some form of clone. Sadly, since Rex's powers are apparently given by different super-science, no kaboom powers for Robot.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

The small girl who is.. here for some reason, pulls a face. "'Only'?"

The clone nods. "Judging by the damage done to my robots, assuming that he was hitting as or nearly as hard as he could, I estimate him to be about eighty percent as strong as our Invincible."

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Guessing Monster Girl never made it to the Viltrumite takeover, if Lantern doesn't recognise her. Or he simply never saw her human form.

I nod. "Your Invincible does appear to have the edge in strength. Not skill or equipment, though. I was a little surprised that your version of The Immortal wasn't tutoring him."

"Yeah…" Rex winces. "They… Diiiidn't exactly get along."

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That happens when Mark's dad ripped his head off.

I frown at him. "And that was more important than fighting the Viltrumite Empire? There aren't many people on the planet who can physically fight at that level. If he'd taken some time to share his literal millennia of experience, or even just sparred with him on a regular basis, your Invincible would be able to beat his doppelgängers quite handily."

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Immortal never seemed the mentoring type, from what I've seen. More of the 'classical Hero' type.

Local Eve shakes her head. "Immortal blamed Mark for what Omni-Man did. I don't think they had a single sparring session. Most of the training Mark did was with the G.D.A.."

"That doesn't-."

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Oh, joy. So Mark doesn't really have any idea of how to fight people of comparable strength. No wonder his default tactic is 'fly in, super-punch'

A woman in a dull green skin tight costume dashes down the stairs outside of the workshop, vanishing for a moment and then appearing on our level.

Rex brightens up. "Oh, hey Rae. Having second-?"

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Ah, the animated series version of Shrinking Ray. Because the original comics were a bit of a sausage-fest at times...

She grabs him and hugs him, staring over his shoulder at everyone else. "Is everyone okay? I saw the wrecks out there. Did-?"

"We're fine." Rudy doesn't look around. "An Invincible duplicate attacked us, but Atom Eve and Orange Lantern were able to kill him."

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At which point Rae goes 'Who?' Since Lantern is an unknown who was probably spotted with his Invincible by cameras...

I nod. "Director Stedman is collecting their bodies to use to make stronger zombots. I don't know exactly what your arrangement with him is, but he'll probably want that one."

"Ah..?" Rudy turns his head in my direction, still holding onto Rae. "'Zombot'."

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It's a perfectly cromulent word for robot zombie guys.

"A portmanteau of 'zombie' and 'robot', referring to the corpses reanimated with cybernetic implants which the G.D.A. appears to be making use of."

"Oh, right. Just so you know, in this reality we call those 'Reanimen'."

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...Zombot is punchier, sadly.

I frown. "Four syllables? That seems a little clunky."

Rae relaxes her hold on Rex a little. "Who are you?"

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Ha, she did ask who he is. So, what is Lantern wearing? Sensible combat armour, I hope?

"I am Orange Lantern Two Eight One Four. I came here with one of the invading Invincibles at the behest of Angstrom Levy, but we've switched sides. Rudy is currently trying to use that drone to track his location while my Invincible assists yours in beating the other invaders to a pulp."

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Which shouldn't take too long, if they're double-teaming them.

The man in the skintight orange and yellow costume nods. "Which is why we're standing around here and not getting out there."

On that note... "It seemed to me that you got soundly thrashed by one Invincible. While we're waiting, perhaps I could assist you in ensuring that your next encounter goes better?"

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Oh, hey, Bulletproof got his ass out of that wall. Didn't even notice he was here.

Orange and yellow smiles. "Sounds good. You got more of those sweet swords? I could go for a katana."

"Are you trained in how to use a katana?"

"Sharp side goes in the other guy."

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No, with a katana, it's more 'sharp side goes across other guy. They're more a curved razor than a sharpened club or pointy needle.

"Not inaccurate." I raise my right hand and transmute an arming sword before x-ionising it. "This is an arming sword, or knight's sword. You put either sharp side or the sharp point in the other guy."

"Alright." He grabs the hilt with his right hand and tests the weight. "Three times as good."

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Until he manages to overswing and takes something important off someone else.

I nod. "For a total amateur, yes. In addition, this-" I transmute a bracer with a high-powered speaker and hold it out to him. "-will generate sound on a wavelength which disables viltrumites. The green button turns it on." I shut it around his forearm. "The red button turns it off. The casing is resilient enough to survive being slammed into a wall once or twice, but it isn't as tough as a viltrumite."

Click to shrink...

Surprised Cecil doesn't have that sort of thing mass-produced by now. Then again, it's probably in the apocalypse cupboard for when Omni-man or his friends show up again.

"So, get close, turn it on, stab, and we're done?"

"That's the aim."

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And hopefully do it without cutting anything important off yourself or anyone you like.

Rex grins. "Got anything for the rest of us? 'cause I used to have a laser built into my arm, but…" Rae frantically looks at his arms. "Huh?" He needs a moment to work out why she's worried. "Oh! No, see, Cecil booby trapped it, so Lantern made me a new one. No laser, but it's got blood!"

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...That doesn't sound much better, you know.

She blinks uncomprehendingly at him.

"Because it's.. like a normal living hand. Not because it.. fires blood, or.. anything."

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Yes, I'm sure that'll comfort her.

"Sword, sheath, harness, bracer." I push them towards him. "I can't build you a gun that would do much to a viltrumite. What does your power do?"

"I can charge up objects and make them explode."

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Not a new concept in comics. Just from DC: Gunfire. He can at least aim the blast like bullets.

Oh. Gambit. "You have to touch them?" He nods. "Any object?"

"It doesn't work on organic stuff. Except bone." He looks around awkwardly. "Don't ask me how I know."

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...He managed to explode someone's bones during his backstory, didn't he? Hope they were at least an asshole.

"Plastic? Oil?"

He looks puzzled. "Ah, yeah?"

Eve shakes her head. "Not 'organic' as in 'organic chemistry'. It's 'living tissue'. My power has the same restriction. "

Click to shrink...

...Except when it matters to keep you alive. Wonder if Rex has similar programmed restrictions.

Perhaps… No, a railgun wouldn't work because the magnetic pulse might detonate it prematurely. "I could make you a slingshot? It wouldn't do anything to a viltrumite that your explosions don't normally-."

Eve pulls a slingshot out of the air and hands it to him.

Click to shrink...

And that one act massively increases his range and effectiveness. Since he can only throw things so far and so accurately.

"Ah, thanks?"

I turn to Rae. "What is your power?"

"I can shrink myself down. But there's a limit to what I can take with me. I don't think-."

Click to shrink...

Ah, the good old 'personal reality-warping field' sort of power. Limited solely to a certain distance of her skin so that her clothing gets affected.

Transmute.

She takes one of the pullets I just created. "What are these?"

Click to shrink...

Good question.

"I read our G.D.A.'s file on our you. Those capsules are made of your bone and the interior is lined with your stomach lining. Inside that is your stomach acid." Her eyes widen slightly as she stares at it, clearly disturbed. "Assuming you fight but getting inside people and then enlarging yourself like our you used to, that should represent a far less risky way to deliver an attack. Your power should shrink it down with the rest of you."

Click to shrink...

...Both a disgusting application of her power, and a potentially more efficient one. Gastric acid is nasty stuff in places it shouldn't be in the body. That's why your throat can feel 'burnt' after vomiting...

She and Rex look at each other, then she shrinks down to the size of a small doll. The bone capsule maintains its size relative to her. She shrinks more, it shrinks more. Then she grows again, the capsule returning to normal size with her.

"Thank you. What.. happened.. to the me from your reality?"

Click to shrink...

So presumably, she can shrink, place it and flee, then when she returns to normal size, so will the capsule? Nasty.

"He tried that on Omniman, but his expansion was weaker than Omniman's toughness. According to Invincible, he was coughing up bits of Shrinking Raymond for several days."

She blanches, then nods.

Click to shrink...

I get the feeling she never considered that possibility...

"I'm afraid that I can't make a speaker with your body parts, but that should damage Invincible's brain if you can get to it, or give him severe disorientation if used in his sinuses. Don't expand to full size inside him."

She nods more firmly this time.

Click to shrink...

...And now that it's been pointed out, I'm sure she's having trouble not thinking about it.

"Hm."

I turn to where Rudy is reviewing some readings. "Do you have something?"

He nods, focusing on the readout. "I believe so."

Click to shrink...

Oh-ho! Time to go asshole-hunting, then.

Always handy to be handing out useful equipment and power-ups for people. Makes them much more friendly when you reveal that you came with the bad guys. Let's hope the x-ionised weapons don't get abused too much or misused in the hands of inexperienced users. Though it will make them a bit more effective if other Viltrumites arrive, as they will later.

 

[Ngamer11]

...He managed to explode someone's bones during his backstory, didn't he? Hope they were at least an asshole.

Click to shrink...

He's done it to his own teeth when he fought Monster Girl during the tryouts to join the Guardians of the Globe. It's possible he's done it with his own teeth before then.

...And now that it's been pointed out, I'm sure she's having trouble not thinking about it.

Click to shrink...

She actually experienced that already. She was just lucky enough to pop out of the villain's throat after Rex blew up his head.

 

[Darko]

Immortal never seemed the mentoring type, from what I've seen. More of the 'classical Hero' type

Click to shrink...

After being killed he probably wasn't in the mental space to mentor anyone.

And that's assuming that he's ever mentored anyone in fighting with super strength, or that he'd be able to specifically help Mark.

He may have experience, but if Mark's powers kept growing then he honestly may not have been able to do much.

Oh, joy. So Mark doesn't really have any idea of how to fight people of comparable strength. No wonder his default tactic is 'fly in, super-punch'

Click to shrink...

To be fair, when you have his level of strength, punching will solve a lot of issues.

Which shouldn't take too long, if they're double-teaming them.

Click to shrink...

Phrasing!

Surprised Cecil doesn't have that sort of thing mass-produced by now. Then again, it's probably in the apocalypse cupboard for when Omni-man or his friends show up again.

Click to shrink...

He had them made, but when one of the alternates attacked his base they were destroyed.

A lot of things that could have helped them avoid further trouble were destroyed.

The sound machines and the Mauler Twins dying got rid of a good weapon against Conquest and a potential way to safety get info from Conquest.

If they had the Mauler's cloning expertise and memory transfer machine then they could have cloned a regular human body and uploaded Conquest's mind into it in order to interrogate him and not have to worry about him doing any damage.

That doesn't sound much better, you know.

Click to shrink...

Hey, at least now he doesn't have to worry about not being to use his middle finger.

It's his favorite.

Yes, I'm sure that'll comfort her.

Click to shrink...

I mean, he does seem like a considerate lover.

I get the feeling she never considered that possibility

Click to shrink...

And now that it's been pointed out, I'm sure she's having trouble not thinking about it.

Click to shrink...

It happened to her.

A guy ate her alive and she tried to burst out of him, but he turned out to be too tough and crushed her.