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

Noticed this when looking for a specific part of the Heaven arc.
I assume either the Renegade is working off a different understanding, or the Lantern aspect specifically is in play here?

Either the local population does the whole good will tour thing, or a guy that flies with a ring is less intimidating than a warship.
 
Noticed this when looking for a specific part of the Heaven arc.
I assume either the Renegade is working off a different understanding, or the Lantern aspect specifically is in play here?
Lantern Dul was talking about visiting places already favourably inclined towards the Orange Lantern Corps. Lex would just be turning up.
 
"Before the Green Lantern Corps, before the Halla, we at first attempted to spread universal law and order through the use of specialised androids. They were called the Manhunters. We Guardians pride ourselves on both our rationality and our selfless service to the wider universe, and we foolishly assumed that one led to the other. That a purely rational species would relate to the universe in the same way that we do, without the need for introducing convoluted value systems. We chose a Space Sector in which to test them before a galaxy-wide implementation and a few hours later they killed nearly every living thing in it. Burned the whole place down to the bedrock."

Shit.

"That was the second worst thing we've ever done, surpassed only by Krona's misdeeds.

Actually, that was Krona as well. He hacked the damn things and had them massacre everything in the sector, except for Atrocitus and the other four.
 
Will Appa ever get to meet Paul? That could be an interesting conversation.

An in the Airbender character or...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appa_(character)

Sorry could not resist.

Are we seeing more of Blue Paul?
Actually, that was Krona as well. He hacked the damn things and had them massacre everything in the sector, except for Atrocitus and the other four.

Depends on continuity.

The reformated and new version of the same robots decided to take over the Guardians in the DCAU and these had nothing to do with Krona.
 
I think you've got that backwards, but I don't have the comic page on hand right now.

Yeah, you may be right. The links I used last time for images are down now, but secondhand sources are saying that the conflict was over the Controllers wanting to destroy all of the Manhunters, while the Guardians just wanted to take away their batteries and exile them.

I don't know if the version I stated previously was my misinterpretation or just some later retcon. (Searching for information on the Manhunters, I realized there's a whole chunk of stuff from the 80s on the Manhunters I don't think I had ever read, most of which appears to be batshit insane.)

But, in any event, the split was over the Controllers wanting to eradicate all evil, whereas the Guardians just wanted to try to contain it.

... which sounds great, in an edgy 80s sort of way, until you take into account the kind of collateral damage the Controllers are okay with.

For example, while you can certainly quibble with whether the Guardians' psychic castration of the Burning Martians was the right thing to do, the Controller version would more likely have been just blowing up Mars, plus probably that third one from the sun, too, just to be sure there's none hiding there.
 
For example, while you can certainly quibble with whether the Guardians' psychic castration of the Burning Martians was the right thing to do, the Controller version would more likely have been just blowing up Mars, plus probably that third one from the sun, too, just to be sure there's none hiding there.

Or try to enslave the Burners and turn them into their soldiers.
 
For example, while you can certainly quibble with whether the Guardians' psychic castration of the Burning Martians was the right thing to do, the Controller version would more likely have been just blowing up Mars, plus probably that third one from the sun, too, just to be sure there's none hiding there.

You're thinking too small.

They'd have sent out a Sun-Eater to eat the sun and kill the entire solar system in one go.

It really takes something to make the Guardians look like absolute saints in comparison, but the Controllers manage to do it.
 

Seems unlikely why? As much as people want to hate on the Guardians, they seem pretty rational as far as I can see. By every indication they are altruistic, they are certainly knowledgeable. Paragon has only been operating for a couple years and he is culpable for at least 1 genocide with the Psions. Give him a few billion years and he will make his share of mistakes as well.

At the scale they operate on, the Guardians will screw up. The alternative is no one doing anything and things being worse.

There is no reason for them to hide information from their elites. They have given a lot of trust to them.

Someone also mentioned the Martians, wasn't the development of distinct races something that was an indirect result of the tampering? And the racism that followed definitely wasn't the fault of the Guardians.
 
You're thinking too small.

They'd have sent out a Sun-Eater to eat the sun and kill the entire solar system in one go.

It really takes something to make the Guardians look like absolute saints in comparison, but the Controllers manage to do it.


Nah, the life entity being on the system precludes that solution, also killing the living creatures on earth would be against policy and very inefficient.

The controllers would have killed all the Martians with gratuitous ortillery or a plague. They wouldn't have wasted time trying to turn the Martians into a whole different species (if the Guardians changed how they reproduce then they are a different species).
 
Back Seat (part 16)
5th July 2012
07:43 GMT


"Tricky."

"But could you do it?"

I glance through the cockpit window and see Adam Blake frown, his eyes a little distant.

"I honestly don't know. I know for sure I could contact that many minds, but I don't know whether or not I could move them."

"No, I.. just meant, 'could you add to the group effort'?"

He nods, his eyes refocusing. "Oh, certainly. It's not often I meet an intelligence I can't outsmart."

"You've met Vran Gozzi, haven't you?"

"She's…" He sighs. "She lacks the.. spark. The passion. She's let herself become a living calculator. I hope that the rest of her species aren't like that."

"I'm.. not sure I understand."

"I'm a man of my time in a lot of ways. Much as I wanted to see the galaxy, I-. Well, I'd like to have someone to share it with."

"I'd have thought that there'd be at least someone on Tamaran-."

He shakes his head. "Oh, I don't mean-. Tamaranean social mores are a good deal more… Permissive, than those I grew up with. But the idea of… Having 'intimate relations' for their own sake doesn't appeal to me." He sighs quietly. "Komand'r did propose to me, but I'm even less interested in marrying a teenager now than I was back when I was a teenager."

"So you're looking for a mature woman with a varied life experience, intelligence in your league and an adventurous spirit?"

He chuckles quietly. "I know, I don't ask for much, do I?"

"Humanoid?"

He raises his left eyebrow. "Preferably? Did you have someone in mind?"

"Mother of Mercy can ramp up her intellect to any level you want, and she's certainly unique."

"I'm sure she's a very nice plant-planet, but when I say I'm not just looking for a 'good time', I don't mean that I'm completely disinterested in a.. physical relationship."

"What a man and his 'plant-planet' get up to in the privacy of their own geosphere is their business."

"I'd prefer humanoid."

"I think.. Hera's still single?"

That gets another eyebrow.

"If I remember my Greek mythology correctly, Hera is married to Zeus."

"Not.. any more. They got divorced last year." I shrug. "He brought it on himself, really. She's thousands of years old, physically humanoid, I don't even know if you can read her mind… Last I heard she was looking for new experiences… You want me to set something up?"

"Ah. How likely is Zeus to take offence at me dating his ex-wife?"

"I'm the one who convinced her to divorce him and he only shot me with lightning once."

"Alright. In that case, yes. Let's give it a-"

We drop out of warp, Colu just ahead of us.

"-try. Huh."

"You can feel them?"

"I can feel… I guess that must be the Computer Tyrants themselves. I've never had.. contact this direct with an AI before. Their thoughts are… Strangely angular. It's like looking at a.. complex.. piece of.. clockwork…"

"Adam, gaze in wonder when you're on the ground and not in charge of a spacecraft."

"I'm perfectly capable of splitting my attention. Exactly how much lightning did Zeus hit you with?"

"I'm not sure. A lot. Enough to fry a human of my dimensions."

"The reason I'm asking is that I'm only tougher than a normal man because of my telekinesis. When I'm asleep, I'm just as vulnerable as anyone else."

"I've never seen Zeus hit a target underground or in space."

"I think I remember Kent Nelson saying something about an ideal wife being one who keeps you on your toes."

"If you like electrocution I have it on good authority that Zeus is bisexual."

"How's about you go and check on the Martians?"

"I'll leave you to it, then."

I come to a relative stop in space as his ship carries on towards the Green Lantern Corps' temporary base of operation, and raise my right hand to my forehead,

appearing

back in the Martian capital next to S'yrra.

"What-"

**Agh!**

"-news?"

S'yrra stares at me-. No, glares at me for a few moments, then shifts into a human form. With clothes, I'm relieved to note; some Martians flying around here haven't quite managed to grasp their significance in human society.

"The Council are deliberating. They will likely be able to give an indication of the direction of travel within a day. Then it will be the longer task of hashing out details. Can you not provide warning before doing that?"

"I could try appearing further away, but that's inefficient. Given that you're from the small portion of your civilisation that is allowed to learn magic, have you considered asking to be taught a basic spell to grant you a prescient warning? Or acquiring an artefact to grant it to you?"

"We're a species of networked telepaths. Martians do not creep up on one another."

"So how have the Hyperclan escaped detection?"

"They have also assassinated Sorcerer Priests, so I assume that they can bypass warning spells. In any case, learning even simple magic would take me away from my other duties for too long to justify it."

"Will the Council require any further testimony from me? Is there anything else I can do to encourage them to decide in our favour?"

She shakes her head. "None of these are precisely original arguments, and you have already shared your thoughts on your meeting with the… 'The Burner'. Unless you can persuade a Guardian to give personal testimony, there is little else you can do."

"I suppose I can ask. Ring, contact Lantern Gardner."

"Compliance."

My ring blinks, then Guy's head appears. He looks a little out of sorts.

"Hey Paul. What's up?"

"Still on Mars. I realise that the answer's probably 'no', but is there any chance that a Guardian would be prepared to give testimony? They don't need to come in person, just communicating via ring would be fine."

He looks away for a moment, then turns back.

"Yeah. I think we can set that up."
 
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I feel like the Guardian called to speak will be Appa. He's not going to shy away from the truth or sugarcoat it for the Martians. The Burners were a emerging threat, but racism and a color caste system was certainly not ideal to replace it.
 
Seems unlikely why? As much as people want to hate on the Guardians, they seem pretty rational as far as I can see. By every indication they are altruistic, they are certainly knowledgeable. Paragon has only been operating for a couple years and he is culpable for at least 1 genocide with the Psions. Give him a few billion years and he will make his share of mistakes as well.

At the scale they operate on, the Guardians will screw up. The alternative is no one doing anything and things being worse.

There is no reason for them to hide information from their elites. They have given a lot of trust to them.

Someone also mentioned the Martians, wasn't the development of distinct races something that was an indirect result of the tampering? And the racism that followed definitely wasn't the fault of the Guardians.
On the condition that it might be that the Guardians don't have accurate records on everything, the guardians have done.

But that's some half-remembered possibly inaccurate New 52 stuff.

So I could be wrong.
 
The reason I'm asking it that I'm only tougher

'asking is that'

"Komand'r did propose to me, but I'm even less interested in marrying a teenager now than I was back when I was a teenager."

Plus if he read her mind then some of her thoughts may not have been all that pleasant.

Yeah, she's not her psycho comic self, but she's still not exactly someone you'd want to be around.

"If you like electrocution I have it on good authority that Zeus is bisexual."

"How's about you go and check on the Martians?"

He just wanted this conversation to be over.

"The Council are deliberating

'Council is'

"Still on Mars. I realise that the answer's probably 'no', but is there any chance that a Guardian would be prepared to give testimony? They don't need to come in person, just communicating via ring would be fine."

He looks away for a moment, then turns back.

"Yeah. I think we can set that up."

This explains the previous chapter.
 
GMT is 6 hours ahead of EST right? In which case it has been 4 hours since Gardener first sat down with Appa. I expect they were talking the entire time and is still there.

I thought it was just an interlude, but nice set-up for this.
 
5th July 2012
07:43 GMT


"Tricky."

"But could you do it?"
x3 Oh, my. What have we dropped into the middle of, I wonder?

I glance through the cockpit window and see Adam Blake frown, his eyes a little distant.

"I honestly don't know. I know for sure I could contact that many minds, but I don't know whether or not I could move them."
Hey, there's more than one way to contribute. How skilled are you at mental combat? Because I doubt the Computer Tyrants will be willing to let their hostages go without resistance...

"No, I.. just meant, 'could you add to the group effort'?"

He nods, his eyes refocusing. "Oh, certainly. It's not often I meet an intelligence I can't outsmart."
But keep in mind, these will be twelfth-level intellects, at the minimum. Gods only know how much processing capability sixty million brains, all at least eighth-level, will give them...

You've met Vran Gozzi, haven't you?"

"She's…" He sighs. "She lacks the.. spark. The passion. She's let herself become a living calculator. I hope that the rest of her species aren't like that."

"I'm.. not sure I understand."
He saying, he'd like to 'Boldy Go' and 'Dance' with some space babes, green or otherwise. After, the man grew up with stuff like Amazing Stories, Buck Rogers and Republic Serials. Why else would his ship look like something out of Flash Gordon?

"I'm a man of my time in an lot of ways. Much as I wanted to see the galaxy, I-. Well, I'd like to have someone to share it with."

"I'd have thought that there'd be at least someone on Tamaran-."
I'm thinking the Tamaraneans are a bit too casual about sex for his tastes. Even the peak of human evolution can get tired sooner or later.

He shakes his head. "Oh, I don't mean-. Tamaranian social mores are a good deal more… Permissive, than those I grew up with. But the idea of… Having 'intimate relations' for their own sake doesn't appeal to me." He sighs quietly. "Komand'r did propose to me, but I'm even less interested in marrying a teenager now than I was back when I was a teenager."
Even with everything she has, she always wants more, eh? Truly, she was worthy of an Orange Ring.

"So you're looking for a mature woman with a varied life experience, intelligence in your league and an adventurous spirit?"

He chuckles quietly. "I know, I don't ask for much, do I?"
:sneaky: ...Is Diana dating anyone right now? Or would she be a bit too settled-down on Earth for his tastes?

"Humanoid?"

He raises his left eyebrow. "Preferably? Did you have someone in mind?"
I mean, I'm sure he's not going to discriminate based on skin colour. Other cosmetic features might need some adjusting to, though... I mean, could you imagine dating a Yautja female? One word: Mandibles.

"Mother of Mercy can ramp up her intellect to any level you want, and she's certainly unique."

"I'm sure she's a very nice plant-planet, but when I say I'm not just looking for a 'good time', I don't mean that I'm completely disinterested in a.. physical relationship."
I don't know, she does have some measure of physical manipulation capabilities... :confused: How do you feel about tentacle orifices?

"What a man and his 'plant-planet' get up to in the privacy of their own geosphere is their business."

"I'd prefer humanoid."
Yes, bit hard to.. 'Dance' with something with more limbs than you do...

"I think.. Hera's still single?"

That gets another eyebrow.
Moving up in the world, certainly. She could do worse. Hell, she settled for much worse for about three thousand years...

"If I remember my Greek mythology correctly, Hera is married to Zeus."

"Not.. any more. They got divorced last year." I shrug. "He brought it on himself, really. She's thousands of years old, physically humanoid, I don't even know if you can read her mind… Last I heard she was looking for new experiences… You want me to set something up?"
And Adam just thinks to himself: 'He says it so casually...' :confused:

"Ah. How likely is Zeus to take offence at me dating his ex-wife?"

"I'm the one who convinced her to divorce him and he only shot me with lightning once."
Admittedly, you do have the advantage of a shield that never actually turns off anymore. Other people do need to sleep.

"Alright. In that case, yes. Let's give it a-"

We drop out of warp, Colu just ahead of us.

"-try. Huh."
Ah, the Troi effect. Telepathic signals over extraplanetary distances... Though his power is a lot more useful than her vague empathy...

"You can feel them?"

"I can feel… I guess that must be the Computer Tyrants themselves. I've never had.. contact this direct with an AI before. Their thoughts are… Strangely angular. It's like looking at a.. complex.. piece of.. clockwork…"
Oi, oi, oi. Eyes on the spacelanes, boyo. I wonder, though. Could he bring himself to smash that clockwork, given the need to?

"Adam, gaze in wonder when you're on the ground and not in charge of a spacecraft."

"I'm perfectly capable of splitting my attention. Exactly how much lightning did Zeus hit you with?"
If you're worried, there's always the option of a Faraday cage? With magical warding?

"I'm not sure. A lot. Enough to fry a human of my dimensions."

"The reason I'm asking it that I'm only tougher than a normal man because of my telekinesis. When I'm asleep, I'm just as vulnerable as anyone else."
Which must make having a safe place to rest very important to him, sometimes. All that advancement, and it still comes down to shelter, food and 'companionship'... :D

"I've never seen Zeus hit a target underground or in space."

"I think I remember Kent Nelson saying something about an ideal wife being one who keeps you on your toes."
Hey, if you never touch the ground, it's a lot harder to get shocked, right? o_O ...Unless Zeus' Thunderbolts ignore things like conductivity...

"If you like electrocution I have it on good authority that Zeus is bisexual."

"How's about you go and check on the Martians?"
Hey, he's open-minded, OL, but not that open-minded! After all, no point being the pinnacle of human evolution without the urge to sow some wild oats, if you know what I mean. x3

"I'll leave you to it, then."

I come to a relative stop in space as his ship carries on towards the Green Lantern Corps' temporary base of operation, and raise my right hand to my forehead,
I take it you at least called ahead with the Greenies? I expect they're curious to see what sort of operation is being planned to assist the population...

appearing

back in the Martian capital next to S'yrra.
With no warning? Be ready to duck, you fool!

"What-"

**Agh!**

"-news?"
Seriously, OL, you have got to find some way of warning people you're coming when visiting friends. How many times have you caught someone by surprise like that now?

S'yrra stares at me-. No, glares at me for a few moments, then shifts into a human form. With clothes, I'm relieved to note; some Martians flying around here haven't quite managed to grasp their significance in human society.
...Sounds like fun. I'm sure their enhanced physiology doesn't feel the effects of gravity much, either... :cool:

"The Council are deliberating. They will likely be able to give an indication of the direction of travel within a day. Then it will be the longer task of hashing out details. Can you not provide warning before doing that?"

"I could try appearing further away, but that's inefficient. Given that you're from the small portion of your civilisation that is allowed to learn magic, have you considered asking to be taught a basic spell to grant you a prescient warning? Or acquiring an artefact to grant it to you?"
:rolleyes: Hey, you're the one who keeps popping in out of nowhere, OL. It's on you to be polite about it...

"We're a species of networked telepaths. Martians do not creep up on one another."

"So how have the Hyperclan escaped detection?"
...They hide their thoughts. Honestly, OL. You know how easy it is to shield your thoughts. And who knows what buffs Karmang has been adding to provide concealment.

"They have also assassinated Sorcerer Priests, so I assume that they can bypass warning spells. In any case, learning even simple magic would take me away from my other duties for too long to justify it."

"Will the Council require any further testimony from me? Is there anything else I can do to encourage them to decide in our favour?"
...Sure, change the subject. :rolleyes: Sooner or later someone's going to organise an intervention, you know...

She shakes her head. "None of these are precisely original arguments, and you have already shared your thoughts on your meeting with the… 'The 'Burner'. Unless you can persuade a Guardian to give personal testimony, there is little else you can do."

"I suppose I can ask. Ring, contact Lantern Gardner."
:eek: ...Is this why we saw Guy's interlude yesterday? Clever, Mr Zoat, clever.

"Compliance."

My ring blinks, then Guy's head appears. He looks a little out of sorts.
Given what Appa Ai Apsa's been reading him into, I'm not surprised. It's one thing to know intellectually that your bosses have had fuckups over the years... It's another thing to actually learn how many. And he's not even being told all of them.

"Hey Paul. What's up?"

"Still on Mars. I realise that the answer's probably 'no', but is there any chance that a Guardian would be prepared to give testimony? They don't need to come in person, just communicating via ring would be fine."
:rolleyes: ...Yeah, I think he can ask...

He looks away for a moment, then turns back.

"Yeah. I think we can set that up."
And because it can't appear in the narration, an appropriate depiction of Guy's face right now: :sneaky:

Well, then, that's a thing. I wouldn't put it past Appa to make a personal appearance, just out of recognition that the Martians deserve a face to put their anger to. It's a good thing Karmang couldn't have seen something like this coming, can you imagine how angry he would be to learn one of the beings that broke his people is visiting? :confused: ...Unless he's posing as one of the White witnesses...
 
Nah, the life entity being on the system precludes that solution, also killing the living creatures on earth would be against policy and very inefficient.

The controllers would have killed all the Martians with gratuitous ortillery or a plague. They wouldn't have wasted time trying to turn the Martians into a whole different species (if the Guardians changed how they reproduce then they are a different species).

Zoat indicated that the Controllers would have let the Burning Martians kill all life on Earth and then would have sent a Sun-Eater to take care of the problem, so where you got this idea of kinder gentler Controllers I honestly don't know.

The Sun-Eaters weren't deterrence. They weren't threats. They were tools to be used, and so they were used.
 
But keep in mind, these will be twelfth-level intellects, at the minimum.

Actually the people of Colu are 8th level at average.

He saying, he'd like to 'Boldy Go' and 'Dance' with some space babes, green or otherwise. After, the man grew up with stuff like Amazing Stories, Buck Rogers and Republic Serials. Why else would his ship look like something out of Flash Gordon?

Actually I think someone else built the ship, but I may be wrong.

Even with everything she has, she always wants more, eh? Truly, she was worthy of an Orange Ring.

Well wanting more may not be completely good for an Orange Lantern that Paul may want.

He likes his Lanterns to also be able to control themselves.

I mean, I'm sure he's not going to discriminate based on skin colour. Other cosmetic features might need some adjusting to, though... I mean, could you imagine dating a Yautja female? One word: Mandibles.

Hey, some people may be into it.

I don't know, she does have some measure of physical manipulation capabilities... :confused: How do you feel about tentacle orifices?

I was honestly thingking something like the House of Mysteries did in JL Dark, that is make a humanoid avatar.

Oi, oi, oi. Eyes on the spacelanes, boyo. I wonder, though. Could he bring himself to smash that clockwork, given the need to?

That may be dangerous if he makes a mistake and harms the Coluans.

Hey, if you never touch the ground, it's a lot harder to get shocked, right? o_O ...Unless Zeus' Thunderbolts ignore things like conductivity...

They are magic, so maybe.

Hey, he's open-minded, OL, but not that open-minded! After all, no point being the pinnacle of human evolution without the urge to sow some wild oats, if you know what I mean. x3

Or even if he is open to having a relationship with a guy, a serial adulterer like Zeus may not be something he wants.
 
Mother Of Mercy is a master of creating realistic mindscapes, so she could wear an illusory human body and her and Blake could brain-hump. After making fantasies for for the dying for millions over the years, she's done way more and weirder sex stuff than J'arkin ever did.
 
Can the Genomorphs create G-Angels using feathers from Angelica's wings? It seems a safer bet than their creation of G-Onis, especially with more oversight from Angelika herself and Doctor Mist (possibly Sephtian, Cranius and other specialists as well). I don't remember if all the G-Oni have been destroyed or not.
 
Can the Genomorphs create G-Angels using feathers from Angelica's wings? It seems a safer bet than their creation of G-Onis, especially with more oversight from Angelika herself and Doctor Mist (possibly Sephtian, Cranius and other specialists as well). I don't remember if all the G-Oni have been destroyed or not.
They haven't.

The genomorphs are taking integrating magic a little slower now.

Did no one ge the 'Tricky.' 'But could you do it?' reference?
 
Mother Of Mercy is a master of creating realistic mindscapes, so she could wear an illusory human body and her and Blake could brain-hump. After making fantasies for for the dying for millions over the years, she's done way more and weirder sex stuff than J'arkin ever did.


So you would suggest to dump J'arkin on her to see what they do, also is her mind presence large enough to sustain martians without causing issues ? Because if so then she could ferry martians around
 
5th July 2012
07:43 GMT


"Tricky."

"But could you do it?"

I glance through the cockpit window and see Adam Blake frown, his eyes a little distant.

"I honestly don't know. I know for sure I could contact that many minds, but I don't know whether or not I could move them."

"No, I.. just meant, 'could you add to the group effort'?"

He nods, his eyes refocusing. "Oh, certainly. It's not often I meet an intelligence I can't outsmart."

"You've met Vran Gozzi, haven't you?"

"She's…" He sighs. "She lacks the.. spark. The passion. She's let herself become a living calculator. I hope that the rest of her species aren't like that."

"I'm.. not sure I understand."

"I'm a man of my time in an lot of ways. Much as I wanted to see the galaxy, I-. Well, I'd like to have someone to share it with."

"I'd have thought that there'd be at least someone on Tamaran-."

He shakes his head. "Oh, I don't mean-. Tamaranian social mores are a good deal more… Permissive, than those I grew up with. But the idea of… Having 'intimate relations' for their own sake doesn't appeal to me." He sighs quietly. "Komand'r did propose to me, but I'm even less interested in marrying a teenager now than I was back when I was a teenager."

"So you're looking for a mature woman with a varied life experience, intelligence in your league and an adventurous spirit?"

He chuckles quietly. "I know, I don't ask for much, do I?"

"Humanoid?"

He raises his left eyebrow. "Preferably? Did you have someone in mind?"

"Mother of Mercy can ramp up her intellect to any level you want, and she's certainly unique."

"I'm sure she's a very nice plant-planet, but when I say I'm not just looking for a 'good time', I don't mean that I'm completely disinterested in a.. physical relationship."

"What a man and his 'plant-planet' get up to in the privacy of their own geosphere is their business."

"I'd prefer humanoid."

"I think.. Hera's still single?"

That gets another eyebrow.

"If I remember my Greek mythology correctly, Hera is married to Zeus."

"Not.. any more. They got divorced last year." I shrug. "He brought it on himself, really. She's thousands of years old, physically humanoid, I don't even know if you can read her mind… Last I heard she was looking for new experiences… You want me to set something up?"

"Ah. How likely is Zeus to take offence at me dating his ex-wife?"

"I'm the one who convinced her to divorce him and he only shot me with lightning once."

"Alright. In that case, yes. Let's give it a-"

We drop out of warp, Colu just ahead of us.

"-try. Huh."

"You can feel them?"

"I can feel… I guess that must be the Computer Tyrants themselves. I've never had.. contact this direct with an AI before. Their thoughts are… Strangely angular. It's like looking at a.. complex.. piece of.. clockwork…"

"Adam, gaze in wonder when you're on the ground and not in charge of a spacecraft."

"I'm perfectly capable of splitting my attention. Exactly how much lightning did Zeus hit you with?"

"I'm not sure. A lot. Enough to fry a human of my dimensions."

"The reason I'm asking is that I'm only tougher than a normal man because of my telekinesis. When I'm asleep, I'm just as vulnerable as anyone else."

"I've never seen Zeus hit a target underground or in space."

"I think I remember Kent Nelson saying something about an ideal wife being one who keeps you on your toes."

"If you like electrocution I have it on good authority that Zeus is bisexual."

"How's about you go and check on the Martians?"

"I'll leave you to it, then."

I come to a relative stop in space as his ship carries on towards the Green Lantern Corps' temporary base of operation, and raise my right hand to my forehead,

appearing

back in the Martian capital next to S'yrra.

"What-"

**Agh!**

"-news?"

S'yrra stares at me-. No, glares at me for a few moments, then shifts into a human form. With clothes, I'm relieved to note; some Martians flying around here haven't quite managed to grasp their significance in human society.

"The Council are deliberating. They will likely be able to give an indication of the direction of travel within a day. Then it will be the longer task of hashing out details. Can you not provide warning before doing that?"

"I could try appearing further away, but that's inefficient. Given that you're from the small portion of your civilisation that is allowed to learn magic, have you considered asking to be taught a basic spell to grant you a prescient warning? Or acquiring an artefact to grant it to you?"

"We're a species of networked telepaths. Martians do not creep up on one another."

"So how have the Hyperclan escaped detection?"

"They have also assassinated Sorcerer Priests, so I assume that they can bypass warning spells. In any case, learning even simple magic would take me away from my other duties for too long to justify it."

"Will the Council require any further testimony from me? Is there anything else I can do to encourage them to decide in our favour?"

She shakes her head. "None of these are precisely original arguments, and you have already shared your thoughts on your meeting with the… 'The 'Burner'. Unless you can persuade a Guardian to give personal testimony, there is little else you can do."

"I suppose I can ask. Ring, contact Lantern Gardner."

"Compliance."

My ring blinks, then Guy's head appears. He looks a little out of sorts.

"Hey Paul. What's up?"

"Still on Mars. I realise that the answer's probably 'no', but is there any chance that a Guardian would be prepared to give testimony? They don't need to come in person, just communicating via ring would be fine."

He looks away for a moment, then turns back.

"Yeah. I think we can set that up."
Mate how did that Rick & Morty clip convince you Zeus is bi
 

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