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

[Wivk]

Incompetent impersonators not doing their research into their targets, a good thing for everyone else.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Incompetent impersonators not doing their research into their targets, a good thing for everyone else.

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In the original series, Captain America was a good target because no one really knew what he was like. Unfortunately for the skrull, Logan does know and can sniff the difference.

 

[Frozen20XX]

And now she's definitely concerned. The impersonator is evidently being very wary of trying to use the Ring.

Click to shrink...

Thank the One Above All for that, because the last thing we need is Skrull!Not-OL going Larfleeze on the city.

 

[Shotiegun11]

Is there a list where i could find all the chapters of the Invincible variant of Paul?

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Random segments of the Episode: 'Equity' and the 'Invulnerable War' segments, I believe. I think that all there is.

 

[BR549]

In the original series, Captain America was a good target because no one really knew what he was like. Unfortunately for the skrull, Logan does know and can sniff the difference.

Click to shrink...

...ah, so Rogue is going to run into Logan, start to explain she has concerns about OL, and then stop, pause, and ask whose purple blood is all over an even-more-pissed-off-than-usual Wolverine...

Lol of course they instantly know it's not him because of his well known habit of being so british that he doesn't shit.

Click to shrink...

You joke, but I suspect that a clue might be the combination of "I can be there in a moment if I run" and "I am on the toilet" = "I will use my Ring to finish going".

Which, assuming all Pauls share the Paragon's trait, is something he will never, ever do for love or money...

 

[Zig]

Ah Yes, the 'Punch Dimension' thing.

One explanation for Cyclops's was that his eyes don't generate the energy, rather they form a portal to an alternative dimension full of 'concussive energy'. His eyes simply form an aperture for the energy to enter our reality.

They mostly ditched that explanation but it still comes up. I think they came up with it in an attempt to explain why he doesn't have 'recoil' to his powers, or super strong neck muscles to absorb such recoil. And they are pretty specific about those beams not being lasers or thermal....heck I remember the 90's cartoon version putting out fires with them....somehow.

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Now I want a version that has the required secondary powers of super strong neck muscles going around head butting people.

 

[Cuchulin]

Now I want a version that has the required secondary powers of super strong neck muscles going around head butting people.

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Head butting power require a super hard head as well.

 

[m_d]

Is there a list where i could find all the chapters of the Invincible variant of Paul?

Click to shrink...

Here's what I can easily get you. Though I'm doing links, I'm not doing them all pretty with the dates and titles for all of them right now in the interests of speed, but you can find them in this index on the first page pretty easily.

Episode 149: Equity parts: 9, 14, 15, 16, 18, 26, 27, 28 (i.e.: all the ones happening in 2024)
Episode 156: Goo-Goo G'joob parts: Invulnerable War: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 (All in 2025 as opposed to the parts corresponding to the episode title, which are in 2013)

I'm still working on the side-story index. Not done yet, but I'll post it when I've got it.

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st September 2013
19:43 GMT -5

Artemis looks mildly confused. "Bournville is an actual place?"

"Yes. It was the top of the line Victorian town built by the Cadbury brothers for their workers. It's also the place the dark chocolate brand I resurrected is named after."

Wallace arranges more of the names Edward Mackensen provided us with on the hologram display. Faces, employment history, and… I'm not sure whether I should be worried or relieved that we've got this much information on known associates. And when they're all in place, he looks decidedly unsatisfied. "We've got a problem."

"Someone's been making drugs in a company town when I'm the one who owns the company."

"Not that." He gestures at the display. "Why would any of these guys know anything about alchemy?"

He's got a point. A few drivers, a depot manager, a welder… Yes, some of them have something obvious to add to the enterprise, while others…

"This chap." I point. "Charles Andrews."

Artemis frowns, calling up his expanded history. "The… Homeless guy?"

"'No fixed address' doesn't mean homeless. Did I ever tell you about The Tate Club?"

"The place in London where the wizards hang out?"

I nod. "Criminal record. A couple of speeding tickets, both in London. And he didn't have the same hair style, but I'm pretty sure that I remember seeing him in the club on one of my visits."

Wallace raises his eyebrows. "What happened to perfect memory?"

"Wizards. There are plenty of ways for them to disguise themselves. Altering my memory would be difficult, but changing their own face a little would be easy. What else do you notice about his record?"

"He's been unemployed… His whole life."

"Good suit for an unemployed man. Unemployment benefits in Britain aren't that good."

Wallace nods. "Street magician?"

"That's my guess." I have my ring quickly review Cadbury's records. "Never applied for a job with Cadbury or KordTech."

Artemis nods. "Guess he's not a joiner."

"Could be that. Or it could be that he's not good enough."

Wallace looks sceptical. "I don't know, Oh El. This isn't something a guy who knows nothing could have come up with."

I call up the mass spectrometry results.

"Look, each of the patches contains basically the same thing. The only difference is the… Tiny amount that can't be properly analysed with conventional equipment. That looks to me like he found a potion recipe somewhere and adapted it."

Wallace nods. "So he can follow a recipe but doesn't know enough to create things outside of that."

"It's a thing in Britain. We've actually got lots of magicians, technically, but they're usually weak and ignorant. They get by on cunning and the greater ignorance of the people around them. One or two good tricks they parlay into wider significance."

Alright, London's the most surveilled city in the world… And we have access to all of their records. Again, not… Totally comfortable with that, but… Facial recognition-. Ring, that query's going to take too long. Do the processing yourself.

Compliance. Results available.

And suddenly I know nearly everywhere he's gone in central London for the last twenty years. Any one particular place-.

"Here." The Grand Hotel, of course. "I think he's been living here."

Artemis frowns. "Do magicians earn enough to live full-time in fancy hotels?"

"Not usually, but it's easy to nudge a few minds so that they think you're a guest. Put up a glamour so that they're only selectively aware that the room you're occupying actually exists. There are all sorts of ways to manipulate people with magic if they can't defend themselves at all." There's a reason why the Metropolitan Police put up with John Constantine, and it's not just because of that Watford mess. They needed someone with his skills. "I'll get in touch with my old friends at The Tate Club and see if they're prepared to talk to me."

Wallace calls up a London street map. "Think it's safe for me and Arte to check out his hotel?"

"Probably. I suspect that it's booby trapped… If he's planning on ever coming back, which given that he's moved to Bournville, he may well not be."

Artemis nods. "Like, an explosive..?"

"Probably not. Probably some sort of curse, or maybe a minor demon. If it's the first, your spell eaters should be able to take it… Unless it's indirect. But again, I don't get the impression that he's particularly powerful. It would probably be bound to an object-. You've got your-?"

Artemis and Wallace both pull out their rune stones.

"Good, good. I've got silver-plated iron daggers if you want them, but honestly you should be able to handle a minor demon without special measures."

Artemis holds out her hand, so I fabricate a knife with a sheath that will fit on her harness.

Wallace frowns thoughtfully. "How smart would a demon be?"

"Uh… This is a pile of assumptions we're making here, but I'd guess that if it attacks you then it's probably as intelligent as a feral animal, and if it holds off and waits then it's probably as intelligent as… My old praexis demons."

"Could we bargain with-" Artemis glares at him and slaps his upper right arm. "-with-. I don't mean like that."

"You necessarily do. It's a demon. Even just freeing it from bondage would just free it to inflict misery on other people. If you want to try and get information from it, give it a choice of having its physical form destroyed by either physical trauma or Essence of Vitriol. Your super acid will cause lasting harm. If there's a demon there at all, which I emphasise we don't know."

Artemis nods. "We sweep the place, find where he's been hiding, and go through his stuff and see if there's anything magical there."

"You and Wallace will."

"Okay." Wallace raises an eyebrow. "And where are you going?"

"Bournville. It's not strange for me to visit; I own the company. I'll walk around, monitor our suspects remotely and see if I see any problems. If you turn out to need me I can be back in London in a few seconds, but I'm still hopeful that we can end this without a violent confrontation."

Artemis frowns. "Did you miss the part where they tried to kill a guy to keep him quiet?"

"Frankly, I don't think a magician like this is skilled enough to pull that off. I'm not sure why it happened, but that's why I'm going to go in softly. Anything else?"

They shake their heads.

"Alright." I generate a zeta tube construct. "Let's go."

 

[Ngamer11]

"Not usually, but it's easy to nudge a few minds so that they think you're a guest. Put up a glamour so that they're only selectively aware that they room you're occupying actually exists. There are all sorts of ways to manipulate people with magic if they can't defend themselves at all." There's a reason why the Metropolitan Police put up with John Constantine, and it's not just because of that Watford mess. They needed someone with his skills. "I'll get in touch with my old friends at The Tate Club and see if they're prepared to talk to me."

Click to shrink...

That should say 'the'.

 

[Mr Zoat]

That should say 'the'.

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

 

[Darko]

Artemis looks mildly confused. "Bournville is an actual place?"

Click to shrink...

Wonder if Jason Bourne can trace his family there.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

1st September 2013
19:43 GMT -5

Artemis looks mildly confused. "Bournville is an actual place?"

"Yes. It was the top of the line Victorian town built by the Cadbury brothers for their workers. It's also the place the dark chocolate brand I resurrected is named after."

Click to shrink...

And no doubt revitalised by his takeover and the establishment of the Portal network? Makes sense, really, having most of the staff close at hand. Less travel time, easier to call in in emergencies... And probably easy to hide out in.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

Wallace arranges more of the names Edward Mackensen provided us with on the hologram display. Faces, employment history, and… I'm not sure whether I should be worried or relieved that we've got this much information on known associates. And when they're all in place, he looks decidedly unsatisfied. "We've got a problem."

Click to shrink...

I guess he was being diligent in covering his ass. Making sure he knew all the names he needed in case he had to turn it over to the police.

"Someone's been making drugs in a company town when I'm the one who owns the company."

"Not that." He gestures at the display. "Why would any of these guys know anything about alchemy?"

He's got a point. A few drivers, a depot manager, a welder… Yes, some of them have something obvious to add to the enterprise, while others…

Click to shrink...

But none of them seem the sort to have the crucial arcane skills involved. Not unless they were seriously low-balling their skillsets.

"This chap." I point. "Charles Andrews."

Artemis frowns, calling up his expanded history. "The… Homeless guy?"

"'No fixed address' doesn't mean homeless. Did I ever tell you about The Tate Club?"

Click to shrink...

The kind of fellow who spends his money on hotels and hostels. makes it harder to track him, though.

"The place in London where the wizards hang out?"

I nod. "Criminal record. A couple of speeding tickets, both in London. And he didn't have the same hair style, but I'm pretty sure that I remember seeing him in the club on one of my visits."

Click to shrink...

People can and do change haircuts as time passes. I don't know if OL still wears his hair longish, and I'm sure other friends have adapted to changing fashions.

Wallace raises his eyebrows. "What happened to perfect memory?"

"Wizards. There are plenty of ways for them to disguise themselves. Altering my memory would be difficult, but changing their own face a little would be easy. What else do you notice about his record?"

Click to shrink...

A simple illusion would be more energy-efficient than a mass enchantment. Especially if it's as simple as 'totally unremarkable, don't bother trying to remember me.'

"He's been unemployed… His whole life."

"Good suit for an unemployed man. Unemployment benefits in Britain aren't that good."

Click to shrink...

More likely he makes his money through under-the-table means. Cash payments for services that don't appear on tax forms. Or even outright theft.

Wallace nods. "Street magician?"

"That's my guess." I have my ring quickly review Cadbury's records. "Never applied for a job with Cadbury or KordTech."

Click to shrink...

I suspect that'll be changing by the time this is done. It'll be that or a prison sentence for narcotics-related offences.

Artemis nods. "Guess he's not a joiner."

"Could be that. Or it could be that he's not good enough."

Click to shrink...

Not everyone is involved in Constantine level affairs, true. Most would definitely avoid that sort of thing like the plague.

Wallace looks sceptical. "I don't know, Oh El. This isn't something a guy who knows nothing could have come up with."

I call up the mass spectrometry results.

Click to shrink...

Alchemy doesn't require a lot of magical energy. A little nudge during the preparation to enforce the mystical changes and that's about it. Potentially doable unaware, as Kid Flash showed when he copied the Garrick Formula...

"Look, each of the patches contains basically the same thing. The only difference is the… Tiny amount that can't be properly analysed with conventional equipment. That looks to me like he found a potion recipe somewhere and adapted it."

Wallace nods. "So he can follow a recipe but doesn't know enough to create things outside of that."

Click to shrink...

Not everyone has the benefit of money or someone involved in Atlantis to get the training manuals needed.

"It's a thing in Britain. We've actually got lots of magicians, technically, but they're usually weak and ignorant. They get by on cunning and the greater ignorance of the people around them. One or two good tricks they parlay into wider significance."

Alright, London's the most surveilled city in the world… And we have access to all of their records. Again, not… Totally comfortable with that, but… Facial recognition-. Ring, that query's going to take to long. Do the processing yourself.

Click to shrink...

When it comes in handy, it makes it easier to ignore the doubts.

Compliance. Results available.

And suddenly I know nearly everywhere he's gone in central London for the last twenty years. Any one particular place-.

Click to shrink...

Particularly dense clusters of sightings within the last year would be best. Ideally the last month...

"Here." The Grand Hotel, of course. "I think he's been living here."

Artemis frowns. "Do magicians earn enough to live full-time in fancy hotels?"

Click to shrink...

A decent hedge-wizard doesn't need to pay...

"Not usually, but it's easy to nudge a few minds so that they think you're a guest. Put up a glamour so that they're only selectively aware that they room you're occupying actually exists. There are all sorts of ways to manipulate people with magic if they can't defend themselves at all." There's a reason why the Metropolitan Police put up with John Constantine, and it's not just because of that Watford mess. They needed someone with his skills. "I'll get in touch with my old friends at The Tate Club and see if they're prepared to talk to me."

Click to shrink...

Not sure why they wouldn't, unless he's too public a figure for their preferred anonymity.

Wallace calls up a London street map. "Think it's safe for me and Arte to check out his hotel?"

"Probably. I suspect that it's booby trapped… If he's planning on ever coming back, which given that he's moved to Bournville, he may well not be."

Click to shrink...

Still may be instructive if they can find any traces. It's likely where he first made these patches before selling the first batch and making bank.

Artemis nods. "Like, an explosive..?"

"Probably not. Probably some sort of curse, or maybe a minor demon. If it's the first, your spell eaters should be able to take it… Unless it's indirect. But again, I don't get the impression that he's particularly powerful. It would probably be bound to an object-. You've got your-?"

Click to shrink...

They are adults at this stage, or close to. If they can't deal with something simple like this by themselves, they would be better off not being heroes...

Artemis and Wallace both pull out their rune stones.

"Good, good. I've got silver-plated iron daggers if you want them, but honestly you should be able to handle a minor demon without special measures."

Click to shrink...

...But being prepared never hurts, no matter your age.

Artemis holds out her hand, so I fabricate a knife with a sheath that will fit on her harness.

Wallace frowns thoughtfully. "How smart would a demon be?"

Click to shrink...

I pity anything that tries to take her on, expecting a 'weak human female' only to get its back folded and a knife to its throat.

"Uh… This is a pile of assumptions we're making here, but I'd guess that if it attacks you then it's probably as intelligent as a feral animal, and if it holds off and waits then it's probably as intelligent as… My old praexis demons."

"Could we bargain with-" Artemis glares at him and slaps his upper right arm. "-with-. I don't mean like that."

Click to shrink...

Not a foolish question. At the very least, you'd have to make it willing to return to Hell.

"You necessarily do. It's a demon. Even just freeing it from bondage would just free it to inflict misery on other people. If you want to try and get information from it, give it a choice of having its physical form destroyed by either physical trauma or Essence of Vitriol. Your super acid will cause lasting harm. If there's a demon there at all, which I emphasise we don't know."

Click to shrink...

But, again, better prepared than surprised. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

Artemis nods. "We sweep the place, find where he's been hiding, and go through his stuff and see if there's anything magical there."

"You and Wallace will."

"Okay." Wallace raises an eyebrow. "And where are you going?"

Click to shrink...

Hopefully they'll have no trouble even finding the hidden spot. I can't foresee the guy maintaining any concealment spells on it now that he's moved on, but there's the chance others might have been in and out and contaminated the spot unknowingly.

"Bournville. It's not strange for me to visit; I own the company. I'll walk around, monitor our suspects remotely and see if I see any problems. If you turn out to need me I can be back in London in a few seconds, but I'm still hopeful that we can end this without a violent confrontation."

Click to shrink...

Not least because they'll be overkill, unless this guy can somehow summon a demon lord or other extra-dimensional backup.

Artemis frowns. "Did you miss the part where they tried to kill a guy to keep him quiet?"

"Frankly, I don't think a magician like this is skilled enough to pull that off. I'm not sure why it happened, but that's why I'm going to go in softly. Anything else?"

Click to shrink...

He might merely be a patsy in the affair. A pawn of something more dangerous...

They shake their heads.

"Alright." I generate a zeta tube construct. "Let's go."

Click to shrink...

Well, time to see if the preparations are needed or not.

It says a lot that OL and company are over-preparing. They're used to things getting out of hand and seem to expect it more often than not, I suspect. But given the tendency for OL's missions to go awry, better to brace for disaster than take things lightly. Especially with something like these patches and their sympathetic magical risks, as seen with Edward's troubles.

 

[Duke Long]

"Don't worry." I wave my right hand. "I can rearrange matter. I'm gong to fix everything except her spinal column. And I can monitor everything in real time, so I'll see any problems faster than the monitors will."

Click to shrink...

'going'

Alright, London's the most surveilled city in the world… And we have access to all of their records. Again, not… Totally comfortable with that, but… Facial recognition-. Ring, that query's going to take to long. Do the processing yourself.

Click to shrink...

'too'

A surveillance state is easier to justify when criminals could be causing an apocalypse or destroying a city. Wonder if that sort of thing would've been used as political justification in Britain 16.

Was this a case of Oh El's perfect memory coming in handy? Rare occurrence, that. I mean, I'm sure it's handy all the time but usually it would be replicable with just a pretty good memory. Remembering some random guy you saw in passing is more specifically a perfect memory thing.

 

[Mr Zoat]

And no doubt revitalised by his takeover and the establishment of the Portal network?

Click to shrink...

Bournville has become a part of the city of Birmingham, and...

Um.

I can't talk about Birmingham on this site for 20 years.

The SI has probably had a positive impact on its fictional cousin, though.

I pity anything that tries to take her on, expecting a 'weak human female' only to get its back folded and a knife to its throat.

Click to shrink...

Very few demons associate biology with meaningful differences in strength. A strong demon isn't going to notice a difference between the strength of an average man and that of an average woman, and a holy relic will repel just as hard in anyone's hands.

'going'
'too'

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

A surveillance state is easier to justify when criminals could be causing an apocalypse or destroying a city. Wonder if that sort of thing would've been used as political justification in Britain 16.

Click to shrink...

That's the neat part. They didn't.

 

[mastermenthe]

I can't talk about Birmingham on this site for 20 years.

Click to shrink...

I was unaware QQ Staff were willing to submit a lawsuit at all, for any reason?

That's the neat part. They didn't.

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Do you mean "They didn't have justification. They simply did it anyway because they wanted to"?

 

[Mr Zoat]

I was unaware QQ Staff were willing to submit a lawsuit at all, for any reason?

Click to shrink...

Uh, I have no idea how litigious they are. The rules ban talking about modern politics.

Do you mean "They didn't have justification. They simply did it anyway because they wanted to"?

Click to shrink...

Yes.

 

[mastermenthe]

The rules ban talking about modern politics.

Click to shrink...

Oh right, the 50 years thing.

 

[NightmareWarden]

It says a lot that OL and company are over-preparing. They're used to things getting out of hand and seem to expect it more often than not, I suspect. But given the tendency for OL's missions to go awry, better to brace for disaster than take things lightly. Especially with something like these patches and their sympathetic magical risks, as seen with Edward's troubles.

Click to shrink...

To be blunt, there are a lot of traps which have been crafted and specifically prepared for OL himself. Just like traps prepared for the Flash or Superman exist. These would just kill a lot of members of the team, especially if they're alone.

How well would they handle one of those ball demons that attacked Paul's eyes, ears, etc. at the Hawks' house years ago? Yeah.

 

[Mr Zoat]

September 1st, 2013
14:49 UK Time

Okay.

Okay.

No rush. Just remember-

"Recognized, Artemis, B zero eight."

-what Dad and Uncle Barry and Jay told you. Apologise, talk about what you're going to do like rational people, and then let her talk herself out while making sympathetic noises because that's something women need even if they've agreed with you about what you're going to do next.

Arte looks around the abandoned lot where London's zeta tube is stationed these days.

This whole idea was a lot less scary when I thought they were joking. And when it wasn't Artemis.

Okay, Wally, time to man-

"So, this way?"

-up-?

"Huh?" She's pointing-. The hotel, right. "Oh, yeah. Ah, you want me to carry you?"

She taps her belt and.. floats into the air-. Because she's got a inertia belt. "You want me to carry you?"

Hm. It's mid-afternoon here, so there shouldn't be all that many people on the street. None of the people in Britain with superspeed live in London, so unless Lord Malvolio is still around-. Should have checked that. I start tapping on my arm computer. There's no reason not to run except that Artemis can't keep up, and she'll be flying directly anyway-.

Oh, that's not why-.

"You know what?" I shrug, smiling my most winning smile. "Sure."

"Really?" Hah! Didn't expect that, did you?

"Yeah. I've never gone flying with you before-" Let's not mention what happens when I try using superspeed with an inertia belt. Should have learned my lesson from trying to vibrate through a wall. "-and it's not like a hotel room's going anywhere."

Okay, she knows this is some sort of game, but she never backs down, so-.

"And up we go!"

I… Should have seen this coming. She just put me over her shoulder, because she's got superstrength and I'm not that heavy. We're flying at about ten stories up, and I'm getting a great view of London's streets-

And her ass.

-but we can't really have a conversation…

Ah, it can wait.

"You okay back there?"

"Just taking the time to appreciate how great your ass looks in these pants."

She tightens her grip around my waist just a little. "Well, you-."

I feel her turn her head towards me, but that's just putting her face in my hip, so…

"Would you prefer a bridal carry?"

"Nah babe, I'm good."

My wrist computer beeps-. No, looks like Lord Malvolio only comes back for a few days each month. Still think it's kinda weird how he looks like a juiced-up Alan Scott… I wonder if they're related or something-.

And I'm not on Arte's shoulder any more! She dropped-. No, she tosses me and I'm starting to come down-! Okay, I should be able to run down that wall-.

She catches me under the arms. "How about this?"

Okay, breathe, breathe, try and ignore the fact that your feet are hanging ten stories up-.

Wait, what's that against the back of my h-?

Oh.

Okay, not complaining any more.

"Fine, babe."

"Didn't look like you were f-." She pauses, then shifts position so she's not cushioning my head any more and I'm just dangling. "How about now?"

"Less fine. Ah, look, babe, I know you're pissed about the whole dropping-out-of-college thing, but it was just an idea."

"An idea."

"Yeah. Y'know, getting feedback-."

"That you brought up with Paul, and not with me."

"He-."

"Paul. The cake guy."

"He's also the richest guy in the world right now."

"He is?"

"Kinda. Rob explained it. Basically, rich people don't have a lot of cash just sitting around, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Right, so between dollars not being worth much and most shares not being worth much, Paul just flat out owning a huge logistics company with magic portals… And the only chocolate company still trading internationally, and having a whole load of gold in a vault somewhere… I mean, once the economy starts working again then whoever got shares in the companies that are still working will probably be richer on paper, but… Yeah."

"Do you think he knows?"

"Ah… Could go either way."

"Do you think he did it on purpose?"

"Again, could go either way. I mean, he was trying to keep vital infrastructure working, and right now that's just about the most vital thing there is, so…"

But we're talking around the problem.

"Look, I've kinda been thinking about it for a while, and he was just there, so I thought I'd ask. Obviously, I'd have talked it over with you before deciding anything."

"So?"

"So we haven't talked it over yet. And… Okay, they're not making me redo the first semester, so I've got a couple of months to put a business plan together. We already know there's a market for healing potions, and I can come up with something to extend their shelf life." Which honestly isn't great right now. "And there's a bunch of other potions I've tested that are just like things that are already on the market but better, cheaper, and without the side effects. Ted says he's fine with helping with marketing and Paul already said he can handle shipping."

"So..?"

"So… What do you think?"

She breathes out slowly, my head cushion deflating even further. "Do you really wanna do this?"

"I don't know..? I think… Yeah? I think putting stuff together and making stuff happen is kinda why I got into chemistry in the first place, and… Uncle Barry's great and all, but ninety percent of his actual job is running the same couple of tests about a million times a week."

"Okay. Work on that business plan, and… Show me when it's done, I guess."

"Okay."

"Okay."

Huh. That wasn't so-.

"But you understand how I felt when you talked about it with Paul instead of me, right?"

"Oh, totally!"

"Because…"

 

[Ngamer11]

"And idea."

Click to shrink...

That should say 'An'.

"Paul. The cake guy."

"He's also the richest guy in the world right now."

"He is?"

"Kinda. Rob explained it. Basically, rich people don't have a lot of cash just sitting around, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Right, so between dollars not being worth much and most shares not being worth much, Paul just flat out owning a huge logistics company with magic portals… And the only chocolate company still trading internationally, and having a whole load of gold in a vault somewhere… I mean, once the economy starts working again then whoever got shares in the companies that are still working will probably be richer on paper, but… Yeah."

"Do you think he knows?"

"Ah… Could go either way."

"Do you think he did it on purpose?"

"Again, could go either way. I mean, he was trying to keep vital infrastructure working, and right now that's just about the most vital thing there is, so…"

Click to shrink...

I'm a little surprised to learn that Paul might be one of the richest men in the world now. I hope he only finds out when someone posts a list about it in an article or something.

 

[Darko]

unless Lord Mavolio is

Click to shrink...

No, looks like Lord Malvolio

Click to shrink...

The first one should be like the second.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

September 1st, 2013
14:49 UK Time

Okay.

Okay.

No rush. Just remember-

Click to shrink...

Ah, Wally. This is going to be fun. It's been a while since we had a proper teenaged point of view, not just someone like Mitchell who's intelligent and mature but woefully inexperienced. Let's see how fast he can put his foot in his mouth?

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Recognized, Artemis, B zero eight."

-what Dad and Uncle Barry and Jay told you. Apologise, talk about what you're going to do like rational people, and then let her talk herself out while making sympathetic noises because that's something women need even if they've agreed with you about what you're going to do next.

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The joy of having several older male relatives with plenty of experience in relationships to advise you about what to do when you mess up...

Arte looks around the abandoned lot where London's zeta tube is stationed these days.

This whole idea was a lot less scary when I thought they were joking. And when it wasn't Artemis.

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Sadly, young love is like that. Exciting and scary and intense.

Okay, Wally, time to man-

"So, this way?"

-up-?

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Don't forget, you're here on business, Wally. Relationship drama comes after superheroing stuff.

"Huh?" She's pointing-. The hotel, right. "Oh, yeah. Ah, you want me to carry you?"

She taps her belt and.. floats into the air-. Because she's got a inertia belt. "You want me to carry you?"

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Even without that, she can probably roof-hop at a fair rate, thanks to the Danner Formula.

Hm. It's mid-afternoon here, so there shouldn't be all that many people on the street. None of the people in Britain with superspeed live in London, so unless Lord Malvolio is still around-. Should have checked that. I start tapping on my arm computer. There's no reason not to run except that Artemis can't keep up, and she'll be flying directly anyway-.

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But you can't really talk that way, can you?

Oh, that's not why-.

"You know what?" I shrug, smiling my most winning smile. "Sure."

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Ah, teenage guys, always thinking they're suaver than they are.

"Really?" Hah! Didn't expect that, did you?

"Yeah. I've never gone flying with you before-" Let's not mention what happens when I try using superspeed with an inertia belt. Should have learned my lesson from trying to vibrate through a wall. "-and it's not like a hotel room's going anywhere."

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And you can only really sweep the hotel so fast, since I doubt the rune-stone would function properly at superspeed.

Okay, she knows this is some sort of game, but she never backs down, so-.

"And up we go!"

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ah, the joy of being downright amazonian in terms of strength.

I… Should have seen this coming. She just put me over her shoulder, because she's got superstrength and I'm not that heavy. We're flying at about ten stories up, and I'm getting a great view of London's streets-

And her ass.

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Try to stay calm, chum, she's going to notice any perfectly natural response you may experience to that.

-but we can't really have a conversation…

Ah, it can wait.

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Truly, flying with allies is always awkward. What position do you assume? Piggy-back? Bridal Carry? Surfboard?

"You okay back there?"

"Just taking the time to appreciate how great your ass looks in these pants."

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I'm sure she can say the same. All that running must make his thighs and glutes amazing.

She tightens her grip around my waist just a little. "Well, you-."

I feel her turn her head towards me, but that's just putting her face in my hip, so…

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I do hope he's staying calm...

"Would you prefer a bridal carry?"

"Nah babe, I'm good."

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Let's hope no-one's spotted them. Imagine the memes if this got posted around.

My wrist computer beeps-. No, looks like Lord Malvolio only comes back for a few days each month. Still think it's kinda weird how he looks like a juiced-up Alan Scott… I wonder if they're related or something-.

And I'm not on Arte's shoulder any more! She dropped-. No, she tosses me and I'm starting to come down-! Okay, I should be able to run down that wall-.

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Easiest way to reposition him, I guess.

She catches me under the arms. "How about this?"

Okay, breathe, breathe, try and ignore the fact that your feet are hanging ten stories up-.

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Oh, yes. The deadweight dangle. hardly the most dignified carrying position.

Wait, what's that against the back of my h-?

Oh.

Okay, not complaining any more.

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Ah, an easy man to please.

"Fine, babe."

"Didn't look like you were f-." She pauses, then shifts position so she's not cushioning my head any more and I'm just dangling. "How about now?"

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You had to blow it, huh?

"Less fine. Ah, look, babe, I know you're pissed about the whole dropping-out-of-college thing, but it was just an idea."

"An idea."

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Well, at least they can talk without any awkward 'calling over the shoulder' stuff.

"Yeah. Y'know, getting feedback-."

"That you brought up with Paul, and not with me."

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And there's the real issue of the moment.

"He-."

"Paul. The cake guy."

"He's also the richest guy in the world right now."

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Well, asteroid mining, of course he's in that indescribably rich range.

"He is?"

"Kinda. Rob explained it. Basically, rich people don't have a lot of cash just sitting around, right?"

"Yeah?"

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...Admittedly, OL can. Subspace storage. Though it's a bit harder to pay with rare-earth metals or raw gold than it is with local currency...

"Right, so between dollars not being worth much and most shares not being worth much, Paul just flat out owning a huge logistics company with magic portals… And the only chocolate company still trading internationally, and having a whole load of gold in a vault somewhere… I mean, once the economy starts working again then whoever got shares in the companies that are still working will probably be richer on paper, but… Yeah."

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There is a big difference between having a lot of money and having a lot of investments.

"Do you think he knows?"

"Ah… Could go either way."

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More importantly, does he care? Beyond what it does for his ability to make the changes he wants to the world?

"Do you think he did it on purpose?"

"Again, could go either way. I mean, he was trying to keep vital infrastructure working, and right now that's just about the most vital thing there is, so…"

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It's a lot easier to fix broken stuff by working around it rather than trying to prop up the broken, after all.

But we're talking around the problem.

"Look, I'm been kinda thinking about it for a while, and he was just there, so I thought I'd ask. Obviously, I'd have talked it over with you before deciding anything."

"So?"

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You say that now, but can she really trust that you mean that. That's the problem here, methinks.

"So we haven't talked it over yet. And… Okay, they're not making me redo the first semester, so I've got a couple of months to put a business plan together. We already know there's a market for healing potions, and I can come up with something to extend their shelf life." Which honestly isn't great right now. "And there's a bunch off other potions I've tested that are just like things that are already on the market but better, cheaper, and without the side effects. Ted says he's fine with helping with marketing and Paul already said he can handle shipping."

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So with a little prep-work, Wally could become very wealthy indeed.

"So..?"

"So… What do you think?"

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Endure boring college or apply superhero-adjacent skills to making real money. Hmm, let me see...

She breathes out slowly, my head cushion deflating even further. "Do you really wanna do this?"

"I don't know..? I think… Yeah? I think putting stuff together and making stuff happen is kinda why I got into chemistry in the first place, and… Uncle Barry's great and all, but ninety percent of his actual job is running the same couple of tests about a million times a week."

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That's the nature of forensics. It's not all excitement, no matter what CSI shows have told people. Hell, most of the time, they never find out the results of the cases they do work for. It's not their job to go around arresting people.

"Okay. Work on that business plan, and… Show me when it's done, I guess."

"Okay."

"Okay."

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A surprisingly mature conclusion to the matter... Or is it?

Huh. That wasn't so-.

"But you understand how I felt when you talked about it with Paul instead of me, right?"

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...And there we go.

"Oh, totally!"

"Because…"

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Don't forget, Wally, she can still drop you. In more ways than one.

Amusing, seeing these two work out their relationship troubles with surprising maturity. Still somewhat impulsive, but superheroing does seem to have given them an appreciation for things like consequences. Artemis is still going to hold his gaffe over his head for a while yet, though...

 

[DAT_NOOB]

I'm a little surprised to learn that Paul might be one of the richest men in the world now. I hope he only finds out when someone posts a list about it in an article or something.

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I'm pretty sure he had mentioned that he is likee 3 times richer than Earth once.

 

[Signaller]

I'm pretty sure he had mentioned that he is likee 3 times richer than Earth once.

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Five times, when chatting with Selina just before the world was split into kids vs adults.

 

[Mr Zoat]

That should say 'An'.

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The first one should be like the second.

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[WereDragon]

"Paul. The cake guy."

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This from pointy-stick launcher girl?
Does she not pay any attention to the pantheons and star empires that he has shaped? Or the magical revolution he brought about? Dude is the most powerful being on Earth and has been for quite a while.

 

[boo600]

I mean, A) she's making a point that Paul is less important than his girlfriend, and B), well, yeah. No one does pay attention to Paul's exploits in the context of civilization, just in terms of Paul when they have to deal with him. This story has been about how every human thinks Paul sucks and how he's all inhuman for a long time now; are you surprised? And little things like 'Superman with his morality suppressed and his kryptonite weakness turned into a strength and with perfect mastery of the two martial arts he's trying to learn giving him energy absorption powers could beat OL trying not to kill him or summon the Ophidian in a curbstomp battle' kinda undermines his 'guys, this man can become a god at will' statement, especially with Guy and Malvolio active. Heck, Malvolio changed the laws of physics and still couldn't protect a guest from a surprise attack from Flash, who's limited to lightspeed (see Guy laughing at fleets with 'only lightspeed weapons;' a lot changes in a knife-fight with terrain); Lanterns are A-listers but not S-rankers. They have a box to put him in, mentally.

And in the end, it makes sense; Paul's journey ends with him walking away from the Justice League. If they treated him seriously with consistently and respect, and actually put effort into covering their damn weaknesses… well, that wouldn't make much sense now, would it?

Spoiler

Because remember, Christmas 1- the entire fucking League was mind-controlled, using a sleeper agent and their base as a hub. It was then infiltrated by a Lord of Chaos, and it still took Paul-+several months before anyone thought 'hey, shouldn't Nabu ward our base?' It's tactically important even if there's no civilians or critical infrastructure there, and there is critical infrastructure there - it's important for the Zeta Beam network.

Then came Christmas 2, a full year later. They still don't know that the missing justice league members committed a rampage/possible genocide, but they do know they were mind controlled by Vandal Savage - a caveman who claimed to be Ghengis Khan - and Klarion - who murdered hundreds of thousands of kids for kicks. The members mind controlled… well, they don't know what they were used for, but Superman? He's not a nuke, but he has the power of one in terms of destructive capacity as long as he keeps going: he's not treated like one because he doesn't act like one. But under mind control? They claim that they don't need accountability because they hold themselves accountable, but fuck that; they lost a bunch of nukes. And maybe it makes sense for inhuman masterminds to be impossible to reach, for them to not be able to leverage the newly joined Balewa and Angelica for investigations when they were hired as Countermagic, for them to not know what they were used for. That makes sense.

But several months later, Paul has to - in a training exercise - mind control the entire Justice League. Beat them, hands down.

Only then do they actually take the two minutes to head to Mars and update their security. There's no… renegade bit where mars is shifting; they could have done this at any time. Mars is static at that point. They just… what, don't have time? For putting in guardrails to prevent every Master with indirect, contagious mastery from waltzing into their base the moment they get a member and wearing the Watchtower as a hat?

This is something that, over a decade ago, I'd expect to be a major scandal if it happened with the US government. They lost multiple nukes, and didn't bother putting in further countermeasures for well over a year, with additional humiliation as an actual motive. That's fucking unacceptable! It's made worse by how easily they implemented it the moment they actually cared; it's not the PRT trying to pretend they can deal with full-on mind control with mind-reading and remote connections with a few questions (which works as long as there's a weakness - here, the mind control they encountered lacked that!). No, they literally just had to go shopping. Could their new security be circumvented? Of course! With more effort. But it's a damn sight better than fucking none… which is what they had.

Basically, Paul can indeed be off putting, and more than a little fashy; the JSI were too far, but this is the guy who sees statements like 'you can tell a lot about a government by how it treats imprisoned criminals' and thinks 'what fucking pussy-ass liberal nonsense is that?' I'm not saying he doesn't have flaws; for fuck's sake, an alternate version of him willingly took - in a comic-book universe he knows as a comic-book universe… the evil formula. The man can fuck up hard!

But, like. He's in an abusive relationship with the concept of Superheroes, or at least the strongest organization of them in his world. Or at least a horrifyingly toxic one; the amount of 'but have you considered that Prep Time belongs solely to Batman, bro? Just chill out' is legitimately maddening, especially contrasted with them seeming so willing to listen in training exercises and the like. Him mindraping Batman is also bad, and circumstances or no quite horrifying… but really, let's not pretend that they don't rely on Plot Armor as the primary defense of Earth while larping as it's necessary defenders.

 

[Duke Long]

"Right, so between dollars not being worth much and most shares not being worth much, Paul just flat out owning a huge logistics company with magic portals… And the only chocolate company still trading internationally, and having a whole load of gold in a vault somewhere… I mean, once the economy starts working again then whoever got shares in the companies that are still working will probably be richer on paper, but… Yeah."

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Neat. Of course he already had enormous theoretical wealth in resources, but practically it would've been difficult to convert that into money. Though at the moment being the richest man alive is probably much less useful than it would've been a year ago. And even then it might not've been that useful.

"Look, I'm been kinda thinking about it for a while, and he was just there, so I thought I'd ask. Obviously, I'd have talked it over with you before deciding anything."

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'I've'

"So we haven't talked it over yet. And… Okay, they're not making me redo the first semester, so I've got a couple of months to put a business plan together. We already know there's a market for healing potions, and I can come up with something to extend their shelf life." Which honestly isn't great right now. "And there's a bunch off other potions I've tested that are just like things that are already on the market but better, cheaper, and without the side effects. Ted says he's fine with helping with marketing and Paul already said he can handle shipping."

Click to shrink...

'of'

 

[Neruz]

I'm a little surprised to learn that Paul might be one of the richest men in the world now. I hope he only finds out when someone posts a list about it in an article or something.

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Cadbury Shipping basically is the world economy right now, so it makes sense.