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

[Vaermina]

Even without taking that in account, I still can't think of any. Can you think of one? Most of the most famous ones start because of some sort of trauma from guilt (Spider-man,Iron Man [MCU],) trauma from loss (Batman, Daredevil) or some sense of duty that goes beyond healthy (Wonder Woman, Captain America).

Ironically, the most mentally healthy and stable hero i can think of, might very well be the one who does it for the most selfish reasons on the service. Saitama, who became a hero simply because he's bored if everything else, might just be the most mentally healthy hero i can think of.

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Superman.

The perfectly well adjusted boy from Kansas.

 

[CrazyNoVa]

Superman.

The perfectly well adjusted boy from Kansas.

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Eh, from a general standpoint, Superman's not that well adjusted anymore. He had to watch several worlds die over the years, he fought in a large-scale war that left the world in shambles, he fought in another war in Valhalla for over a thousand years, he once lost his soul to the demon Satanus, he watched one of his sons get aged prematurely and then lost him, he had to endure the collective memories of death from all the times Batman died at the hands of The Joker when he got Mxyzptlk's powers, and he lost his entire universe (which makes him one of the last survivors of not one, but two world-ending calamities) because of that stupid New 52 reboot.

He just hides his trauma much better.

 

[Mr Zoat]

"that. Particularly"

Or

"that, particularly"

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'of someone'
'do'

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Darko]

Eh, from a general standpoint, Superman's not that well adjusted anymore. He had to watch several worlds die over the years, he fought in a large-scale war that left the world in shambles, he fought in another war in Valhalla for over a thousand years, he once lost his soul to the demon Satanus, he watched one of his sons get aged prematurely and then lost him, he had to endure the collective memories of death from all the times Batman died at the hands of The Joker when he got Mxyzptlk's powers, and he lost his entire universe (which makes him one of the last survivors of not one, but two world-ending calamities) because of that stupid New 52 reboot.

He just hides his trauma much better.

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He may now have years worth of therapy levels of trauma, but he still started out trying to help because it was the right thing.

 

[Signaller]

I believe Signaller was confused as to whether the "Four. Excuse me." referred to Nabu or was referring to another Leaguer who 'died' in the exercise. If the former they asked for more clarity in the 'joke', and if the latter there would be one person missing from the list in the debrief, which would require correction.

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Yes, exactly, thanks for translating

For what it's worth, that's why I suggested "Three today. Excuse me.", because it retains the structure and intent while also remaining consistent with the count numbers at the top of the chapter.

(Although now I'm wondering if Nabu's power set would have been able to meaningfully help in the exercise, if he hadn't been a body-stealing lich that needed to be dealt with. For example, could he have warded the "squishies" to let them help in the final confrontation?)

 

[Clell65619]

Yeah, I know that, but I'm pretty sure Stewart has been shown to have participated in actual combat in his backstory before he became a lantern, so I don't think he's not one of those Marines who have never killed anyone.

Besides, regardless if Stewart did kill or not, that doesn't change the fact that he willingly joined the U.S. Military, an organization that is well known to not be shy about the usage of lethal force when necessary, even if they don't actively encourage killing just for it's own sake. Thus, if Stewart really has a problem with using lethal force when circumstances call for it, then that would make him a massive hypocrite.

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If I recall correctly, Stewart was introduced in the comics as an architect, not a Marine. The Marine thing didn't come around until the Justice League cartoon, unless I'm misremembering, if so, IGNORE ME! (for a Venture Brothers Reference).

I don't think John's back story ever came up in Young Justice. So he might be a Marine, and he might not.

Damn it, now I want Zoat to show a Paul variant dealing with the nonsense of the Venture Verse.

 

[Darko]

Damn it, now I want Zoat to show a Paul variant dealing with the nonsense of the Venture Verse.

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First thing he may do is deal with the OSI and their technology suppression scheme.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Damn it, now I want Zoat to show a Paul variant dealing with the nonsense of the Venture Verse.

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Sorry, I'm not familiar enough with the setting.

 

[Vaermina]

Eh, from a general standpoint, Superman's not that well adjusted anymore. He had to watch several worlds die over the years, he fought in a large-scale war that left the world in shambles, he fought in another war in Valhalla for over a thousand years, he once lost his soul to the demon Satanus, he watched one of his sons get aged prematurely and then lost him, he had to endure the collective memories of death from all the times Batman died at the hands of The Joker when he got Mxyzptlk's powers, and he lost his entire universe (which makes him one of the last survivors of not one, but two world-ending calamities) because of that stupid New 52 reboot.

He just hides his trauma much better.

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We're talking about Superman without the random bevy of writers that change his character to fit their own personal narratives.

 

[CrazyNoVa]

We're talking about Superman without the random bevy of writers that change his character to fit their own personal narratives.

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Hey, trauma is still trauma no matter what. Besides, none of what I just listed was retconned and it's all still canon, so it counts.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Common Sense (part 12)

1st October 2010
17:45 GMT -6

Conner looks over the devastation with a mild frown, which is a mark of his progress. A couple of months ago he'd have been raging at being left out. Richard is still and calm, mentally cataloguing everything before moving to a new vantage point. M'gann is floating a little way off, clearly uncomfortable with everything. Wallace has been dashing continuously from point to point-.

He stops in front of me. "So where are they?"

"I took Tolifhar's body back to Africa. I disintegrated the rest. Except for Wotan."

"So where's he?"

I wave my left hand, and Wotan appears, scowling at me.

"So… You… Trapped him in your ring?"

"Think of it as a destructive upload."

"A-?" He works it out. "Oh. Can..? He talk?"

"Yes."

Wallace takes a half-step backwards. "Dude that's creepy."

Artemis looks like she's really not sure what to make of my behaviour. She's been switching between watching me from the corners of her eyes and analysing the damage I've caused. "Why'd you disintegrate them?"

"We live in a world where raising the dead to life-" I incline my head towards Wotan. "-is entirely possible. I didn't want anyone putting them in a Lazarus Pit."

"Um." M'gann floats downwards. "Do we actually need to be here?"

I shrug. "I thought you might take umbrage if I just went back to the mountain and said that I'd dealt with it."

"So.. we.. don't need to be here?"

"Lantern Jordan might appreciate the help taking this place apart once the League has had a chance to look at it, but not really."

"Okay, I'm…" She turns and floats away from us. "I'm going to be in the ship. I'll… Take everyone back once you're finished… Looking."

I frown, and fly after her. She jerks her head around as she feels me approaching, but doesn't… Fly away in fear or anything.

"Are you alright?"

She slows, turning around to face me. "I didn't know you were going to do this."

"Yes?"

"You… You planned to kill them from the start."

"Barring very unexpected circumstances, yes. Is that a problem?"

"Yes-. But no, but… Yes?" I frown. "I mean… I thought… Being a superhero would be… Nicer? Getting… Cats out of trees or stopping robberies by people in striped sweaters. And I saw that it wasn't exactly like that on Santa Prisca, but what we did was still… Quite a lot like that?"

She takes a moment to compose herself.

"But thousands of people dying… Isn't bags of swag. And a group of m-." She hesitates, then pushes on. "And a group of mass murderers isn't striped sweaters. And… I read minds. Not all the time, and not deeply, but I always thought that someone… Deciding to kill someone else would stand out. And I didn't notice it when you were right next to me. And I don't know… Why I didn't notice it? Are other people thinking about killing people the whole time so it just doesn't stand out..?"

"I imagine that strong emotion would stand out. If I'd been angry or hateful then you'd probably have noticed." She nods slowly. "As it was I didn't feel anything beyond 'this is a sensible course of action'. All reason, no emotion."

"I guess you felt a little… Nervous, but I thought that was because of the mission."

"Well, yes, but nervous because I wasn't completely certain that this was the best approach or because I'm concerned how Batman will respond. Not about killing them. I'm… Glad that you haven't been in this position yet, but with the empathic abilities the ring gives me, it's not that hard to see how… Vile some people are. I imagine that you'll experience something like that with telepathy eventually. Someone who just isn't redeemable, or where they might be redeemable, but there isn't enough time before they'll hurt or kill a lot of people. And… If you haven't already, you need to think about how you intend to handle it."

Her face falls, but she nods.

"As for 'do people think about killing all the time?'… I don't think so. I don't have a lot of experience. Captain Atom used to think about killing professionally and Lantern Stewart used to kill people professionally, so you could try asking them about it."

"I'll… Think about it. I think I need to think about a lot of things. Um. Are you going to teleport us back?"

"Technically, it's not teleportation. But I need to go and talk to Batman and I think it might be best if the rest of the team could discuss this without me being here. So, I can, but it might be better if I didn't."

She nods, drifting backwards in the direction of the bioship. I accelerate upwards, clearing the clouds in a moment and then…

Ring, location of Batman.

An image appears in my mind. He's on a rooftop, watching the cleanup operation. Below, paramedics in A.B.C. gear recover the people suffering from Smilex exposure. Survival rates aren't good, but they're not zero. Some of the survivors even avoid brain damage. I could probably help with that up to a point. I couldn't restore someone's brain without a 'before' scan, but if I could consult with a neurologist I could probably undo the most obvious damage.

I orientate on Batman and accelerate, hurtling through the sky over eastern states in his direction. And… I'm just drawing this out, aren't I? Plot course and transition.

1st October 2010
18:48 GMT -5

I don't appear right next to him; that would be rude and stupid. Instead, I appear a hundred metres in front of him in full, and then drift closer.

Huh. Being this low over tall buildings is actually more off-putting than being high in the air. More vertigo-inducing. Looks like the area around the vines has been cordoned off. It has only been a few minutes since they dropped dead.

"Orange Lantern."

I come to parade rest in the air just in front of him. "Sir."

"You killed all of them."

"Yes sir."

"The Justice League does not kill its adversaries."

"As you pointed out before sending us to Bialya, sir, I am not a member of the Justice League. At no point did I agree-."

"I've heard this argument before, but you may as well get it out of your system. Why did you do it?"

"Sir, if you're heard it before… And I'm certain that you've got a detailed psychological profile written up about me by now, then you know why. I don't see any point in needlessly starting an argument."

"Are you disobeying my order?"

"No. Fine. I could talk about them being mass murderers who I encountered while they were enthusiastically mass murdering thousands of people. If the main concern was legality then I could point to Self Defence and Defence of Another laws both nationally and in the state. But when you get right down to it, as far as I'm concerned, once a person has a body count above a certain level, killing them is just… Common sense."

 

[Ngamer11]

"No. Fine. I could talk about them being mass murderers who I encountered while they were enthusiastically mass murdering thousands of people. If the main concern was legality then I could point to Self Defence and Defence of Another laws both nationally and in the state. But when you get right down to it, as far as I'm concerned, once a person has a body count above a certain level, killing them is just… Common sense."

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I really like this quote because it lets you know that common sense can mean a lot of things depending on the person you're talking to. As such, I like that no one had any idea Paul would do this because it violates their common sense but not his own.

 

[CrazyNoVa]

"Sir, if you're heard it before… And I'm certain that you've got a detailed psychological profile written up about me by now, then you know why. I don't see any point in needlessly starting an argument."

"Are you disobeying my order?"

"No. Fine. I could talk about them being mass murderers who I encountered while they were enthusiastically mass murdering thousands of people. If the main concern was legality then I could point to Self Defence and Defence of Another laws both nationally and in the state. But when you get right down to it, as far as I'm concerned, once a person has a body count above a certain level, killing them is just… Common sense."

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Holy hell, this Paul is unsettling. I don't disagree with him, but he still feels…off. And the worst part is that unlike other weird Pauls we've seen like Tangseid or The Paragon, there's no real explanation for why he's like this. If anything, it's almost like his logic and efficiency sets him apart from everyone else. He's so normal, sane and rational that it goes full circle and back around to make him inhuman.

Well, at least he still cares enough about his friends to check up on M'gann.

 

[john doe 777]

Yes fucking yes. I have no problem with cops and robbers with villains that aren't killers. But Jesus man some comic book villains have death counts in the thousands and people just ignore that

 

[Someguy Somewhere]

And of course that cuts both ways, since he now has a body count too. Wonder what villain opinion goes to once word goes out. Grayven once dictated to his Batman the Kingdom Come story, so he knows where this line of thought goes.

 

[CrazyNoVa]

And of course that cuts both ways, since he now has a body count too. Wonder what villain opinion goes to once word goes out. Grayven once dictated to his Batman the Kingdom Come story, so he knows where this line of thought goes.

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Well, if anything, this little segment definitely proves that a Paul driven solely by cold efficiency is a terrifying force to behold.

 

[hance1986]

Holy hell, this Paul is unsettling. I don't disagree with him, but he still feels…off. And the worst part is that unlike other weird Pauls we've seen like Tangseid or The Paragon, there's no real explanation for why he's like this. If anything, it's almost like his logic and efficiency sets him apart from everyone else. He's so normal, sane and rational that it goes full circle and back around to make him inhuman.

Well, at least he still cares enough about his friends to check up on M'gann.

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Really? All Pauls come from the 'real world' to a DC one. This is Paul not following superhero narrative conventions and killing instead of subduing. And succeeding.

I mean Paul was in contact with General Lane who will tell his superiors he spoke to someone in the hero crowd who was fine with killing when necessary. The surprise on Lane's part could be that OL actually followed through. No last minute 'code' or better way.

How is this different from the Paul in Invincible where people do die regularly?

 

[CrazyNoVa]

Really? All Pauls come from the 'real world' to a DC one. This is Paul not following superhero narrative conventions and killing instead of subduing. And succeeding.

I mean Paul was in contact with General Lane who will tell his superiors he spoke to someone in the hero crowd who was fine with killing when necessary. The surprise on Lane's part could be that OL actually followed through. No last minute 'code' or better way.

How is this different from the Paul in Invincible where people do die regularly?

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That's the thing: I'm not sure why I find him so off. Intellectually, I know that there's other Pauls out there who are similar to this one or who are much scarier than him, but Common Sense Paul is a unique flavor of unsettling. Maybe it's because it's really weird to see a Paul who's so normal after all the weird ones we've seen. Sure, Janissary Paul is pretty normal, but even then, he's a Janissary for an evil alien empire who's married to a homicidal maniac.

Maybe it's also because he basically killed Adom and Isley too, especially after we saw what happened to them in the main timeline? I mean, I get that Theodore Adam and Poison Ivy both had it coming, and I don't disagree with what Common Sense Paul did, but what's going to happen to this version of Kahndaq now that there's no Adom to fix it?

 

[Ardy]

Really? All Pauls come from the 'real world' to a DC one. This is Paul not following superhero narrative conventions and killing instead of subduing. And succeeding.

I mean Paul was in contact with General Lane who will tell his superiors he spoke to someone in the hero crowd who was fine with killing when necessary. The surprise on Lane's part could be that OL actually followed through. No last minute 'code' or better way.

How is this different from the Paul in Invincible where people do die regularly?

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Here he has a bunch of sheltered teenagers and Batman to explain/contrast himself to.

 

[Silverias]

Ooh! Title Drop!

 

[Radiant Knight]

Common Sense!Paul did nothing wrong. He us objectively, 100% correct here.

 

[Old Knife]

. But when you get right down to it, as far as I'm concerned, once a person has a body count above a certain level, killing them is just… ."

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Missed opportunity to place the department of common sense logo at the end.

 

[mastermenthe]

Missed opportunity to place the department of common sense logo at the end.

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look again, it is there.

 

[BoML]

"Baring very unexpected circumstances, yes. Is that a problem?"

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Bolded should be "Barring".

 

[Thundersmight94]

Let's be honest, the fact that in Young Justice, in Season 1 they do two Mass Casualties events and then sweep it under the rug for just locking up the Supervillains is stupid. Prison by its very nature is for punishment, incapacitation, deterrence, and rehabilitation, but in both the Injustice League Attack and Halloween, the villains would have a global body count at the very least in the mid thousands and have zero remorse, just execute them. The sensibilities of Batman literally would be the last concern you should be considering. In both cases the death count and damages would be greater than 9/11. Permanently offing the people that perpetrated such attacks really would be common sense.

 

[fwrty]

This P

Holy hell, this Paul is unsettling. I don't disagree with him, but he still feels…off. And the worst part is that unlike other weird Pauls we've seen like Tangseid or The Paragon, there's no real explanation for why he's like this. If anything, it's almost like his logic and efficiency sets him apart from everyone else. He's so normal, sane and rational that it goes full circle and back around to make him inhuman.

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In this instance Paul is not inhuman, he is machiavellian. Kill your enemies abruptly, swiftly and tell everyone why you did it. No one will panic, because: 1) it's alredy over; 2) everyone else will think: I'm not mass murderer-I'm safe.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

Common Sense (part 12)

1st October 2010
17:45 GMT -6

Conner looks over the devastation with a mild frown, which is a mark of his progress. A couple of months ago he'd have been raging at being left out. Richard is still and calm, mentally cataloguing everything before moving to a new vantage point. M'gann is floating a little way off, clearly uncomfortable with everything. Wallace has been dashing continuously from point to point-.

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It looks like most of them are accepting that no, they weren't really needed here. Though they might end up reaching that resolution from different angles. This probably was a bit outside the typical teen-hero wheelhouse, though... Amazed canon Batman got away with sending them after the Injustice goons.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

He stops in front of me. "So where are they?"

"I took Tolifhar's body back to Africa. I disintegrated the rest. Except for Wotan."

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Tolifhar being the great white ape the Ultra-Humanite was body-jacking, if anyone forgot.

"So where's he?"

I wave my left hand, and Wotan appears, scowling at me.

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Ah, this will be their first time seeing a Construct Lantern, isn't it?

"So… You… Trapped him in your ring?"

"Think of it as a destructive upload."

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Ooof. Yeah, we never think about what it must feel like for the subject of Assimilation...

"A-?" He works it out. "Oh. Can..? He talk?"

"Yes."

Wallace takes a half-step backwards. "Dude that's creepy."

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I can't help but imagine Wotan's response in a tired tone. Wonder if this is the first time he's been trapped as a disembodied spirit before?

Artemis looks like she's really not sure what to make of my behaviour. She's been switching between watching me from the corners of her eyes and analysing the damage I've caused. "Why'd you disintegrate them?"

"We live in a world where raising the dead to life-" I incline my head towards Wotan. "-is entirely possible. I didn't want anyone putting them in a Lazarus Pit."

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Eminently logical. Which is probably just making her more suspicious.

"Um." M'gann floats downwards. "Do we actually need to be here?"

I shrug. "I thought you might take umbrage if I just went back to the mountain and said that I'd dealt with it."

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Sure, but there's a difference between seeing the aftermath of a knock-down, drag-out super-brawl... And a blast crater the size of a city block.

"So.. we.. don't need to be here?"

"Lantern Jordan might appreciate the help taking this place apart once the League has had a chance to look at it, but not really."

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And I suppose someone needs to provide security, even if this is basically the middle of nowhere.

"Okay, I'm…" She turns and floats away from us. "I'm going to be in the ship. I'll… Take everyone back once you're finished… Looking."

I frown, and fly after her. She jerks her head around as she feels me approaching, but doesn't… Fly away in fear or anything.

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Looks like she's not liking her first taste of real combat. Not just righteous face-punching or dodging goon bullets, but actual 'people dying bloodily' battle.

"Are you alright?"

She slows, turning around to face me. "I didn't know you were going to do this."

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You didn't think to take a peek? very polite of you.

"Yes?"

"You… You planned to kill them from the start."

"Baring very unexpected circumstances, yes. Is that a problem?"

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Even knowing he's an adult, it's still a lot to take in, after all.

"Yes-. But no, but… Yes?" I frown. "I mean… I thought… Being a superhero would be… Nicer? Getting… Cats out of trees or stopping robberies by people in striped sweaters. And I saw that it wasn't exactly like that on Santa Prisca, but what we did was still… Quite a lot like that?"

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She really was an optimistic creampuff back then, wasn't she? After everything they've been through so far, it's easier to see the post-time-skip MM, though...

She takes a moment to compose herself.

"But thousands of people dying… Isn't bags of swag. And a group of m-." She hesitates, then pushes on. "And a group of mass murderers isn't striped sweaters. And… I read minds. Not all the time, and not deeply, but I always thought that someone… Deciding to kill someone else would stand out. And I didn't notice it when you were right next to me. And I don't know… Why I didn't notice it? Are other people thinking about killing people the whole time so it just doesn't stand out..?"

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Plus her telepathy is so strong, so sensitive, she probably did feel those minds blinking out of her perception. That can't feel pleasant, especially for someone so idealistic...

"I imagine that strong emotion would stand out. If I'd been angry or hateful then you'd probably have noticed." She nods slowly. "As it was I didn't feel anything beyond 'this is a sensible course of action'. All reason, no emotion."

"I guess you felt a little… Nervous, but I thought that was because of the mission."

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If anything, I'd have expected his desire to drown it out. His mind probably feels a bit orange all the time when he's wearing the Ring, so a calm, rational desire like that would barely be a flicker amidst the background.

"Well, yes, but nervous because I wasn't completely certain that this was the best approach or because I'm concerned how Batman will respond. Not about killing them. I'm… Glad that you haven't been in this position yet, but with the empathic abilities the ring gives me, it's not that hard to see how… Vile some people are. I imagine that you'll experience something like that with telepathy eventually. Someone who just isn't redeemable, or where they might be redeemable, but there isn't enough time before they'll hurt or kill a lot of people. And… If you haven't already, you need to think about how you intend to handle it."

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The kind of mind that will make her want to take a long, painfully hot shower afterwards? There are people like that n DC. Doctor Psycho, for example.

Her face falls, but she nods.

"As for 'do people think about killing all the time?'… I don't think so. I don't have a lot of experience. Captain Atom used to think about killing professionally and Lantern Stewart used to kill people professionally, so you could try asking them about it."

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And as trained soldiers, they probably mastered the art of compartmentalisation.

"I'll… Think about it. I think I need to think about a lot of things. Um. Are you going to teleport us back?"

"Technically, it's not teleportation. But I need to go and talk to Batman and I think it might be best if the rest of the team could discuss this without me being here. So, I can, but it might be better if I didn't."

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I think they're gonna need some time to process this, yeah. Their 'den mother' so to speak is capable of this? I'd be pretty shocked too.

She nods, drifting backwards in the direction of the bioship. I accelerate upwards, clearing the clouds in a moment and then…

Ring, location of Batman.

Click to shrink...

Ah, here we go. This is going to be quite the discussion...

An image appears in my mind. He's on a rooftop, watching the cleanup operation. Below, paramedics in A.B.C. gear recover the people suffering from Smilex exposure. Survival rates aren't good, but they're not zero. Some of the survivors even avoid brain damage. I could probably help with that up to a point. I couldn't restore someone's brain without a 'before' scan, but if I could consult with a neurologist I could probably undo the most obvious damage.

Click to shrink...

And really, at this stage, could he muster that much proprietorial avarice for strangers?

I orientate on Batman and accelerate, hurtling through the sky over eastern states in his direction. And… I'm just drawing this out, aren't I? Plot course and transition.

1st October 2010
18:48 GMT -5

I don't appear right next to him; that would be rude and stupid. Instead, I appear a hundred metres in front of him in full, and then drift closer.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, never catch a ninja by surprise like that, or you'll face a painful lesson between average instincts and trained ones.

Huh. Being this low over tall buildings is actually more off-putting than being high in the air. More vertigo-inducing. Looks like the area around the vines has been cordoned off. It has only been a few minutes since they dropped dead.

"Orange Lantern."

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Well, at least he's not ordering you to remove your Ring immediately.

I come to parade rest in the air just in front of him. "Sir."

"You killed all of them."

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That is going to be the meat of the discussion, yes.

"Yes sir."

"The Justice League does not kill its adversaries."

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Which seems a short-sighted ideal, given some of the threats out there. There are powers around that won't be seen off by a strong right hook and a stay in jail.

"As you pointed out before sending us to Bialya, sir, I am not a member of the Justice League. At no point did I agree-."

"I've heard this argument before, but you may as well get it out of your system. Why did you do it?"

Click to shrink...

At least he's pulling the band-aid off quickly. Sooner they get the shouting part over with, the sooner they can talk like rational adults.

"Sir, if you're heard it before… And I'm certain that you've got a detailed psychological profile written up about me by now, then you know why. I don't see any point in needlessly starting an argument."

"Are you disobeying my order?"

Click to shrink...

Bats, there's no need to wave around the big hammer like that, you ass. Ugh, and to think other yous are best bat-dads...

"No. Fine. I could talk about them being mass murderers who I encountered while they were enthusiastically mass murdering thousands of people. If the main concern was legality then I could point to Self Defence and Defence of Another laws both nationally and in the state. But when you get right down to it, as far as I'm concerned, once a person has a body count above a certain level, killing them is just… Common sense."

Click to shrink...

Cut to credits! But honestly, it's something the League has to face sooner or later.

I wonder if this little affair will make the League take things a little more seriously from here on out? So far, it's not really been a concern about lethal force, since the things they fight together are usually too big or too strong to kill that way. But sooner or later, they will have to fight someone they'll have to kill to stop. Being ready for it may mean the difference between them shattering or not...

 

[AmericanNumbers]

Common Sense Paul has nothing on Paragon Paul doing an orbital bombardment of an inhabited planet.
The problem for people may be the scale being smaller? There's no actual objective scenario where killing people with this level of body count and the intent to continue wouldn't be considered lawful and correct.

 

[Darko]

That's the thing: I'm not sure why I find him so off. Intellectually, I know that there's other Pauls out there who are similar to this one or who are much scarier than him, but Common Sense Paul is a unique flavor of unsettling. Maybe it's because it's really weird to see a Paul who's so normal after all the weird ones we've seen. Sure, Janissary Paul is pretty normal, but even then, he's a Janissary for an evil alien empire who's married to a homicidal maniac

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One reason he's so off could be because we haven't really seen him do anything to himself that would make him different to ordinary people.

Paragon has a piece of avarice for a soul, Renegade injected himself with a serum that can change behavior and put the soul of a god into himself, Sybarite eats demons, Tangseid first injected himself with psycho serum and was later brainwashed by an evil mind control artifact, Janissary is basically always in a stressful mindset because he's surrounded by people that would kill him without blinking.

Maybe it's also because he basically killed Adom and Isley too, especially after we saw what happened to them in the main timeline? I mean, I get that Theodore Adam and Poison Ivy both had it coming, and I don't disagree with what Common Sense Paul did, but what's going to happen to this version of Kahndaq now that there's no Adom to fix it?

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Guessing they're still going to be oppressed, unless Adom is somehow brought back.

 

[Darko]

Amazed canon Batman got away with sending them after the Injustice goons.

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Yeah, the League's competency in YJ is very low.

Most of the Injustice League could be defeated by the Team with little difficulty, but sending them to fight Black Adam and Wotan was stupid.

Adam had Superman levels of strength and Wotan was a powerful sorcerer that needed full League mobilization to take him down during his eclipse attack.