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

[Mr Zoat]

There's some wind, but so little that the air stale and…
There's some wind, but so little that the air is stale and…
The points up as another patrol flies over.
She points up as another patrol flies over.
Simply trying to feel isn't necessarily an option.
Simply trying to flee isn't necessarily an option.
(I'm assuming he's not thinking about negotiations here)
Instead, I burrow filaments through the ground beneath us was we walk.
Instead, I burrow filaments through the ground beneath us as we walk.

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Thank you, corrected.

...lights plugged into power stolen through holes bored up into the world above.
Feels like something missing here. 'Power' what?

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Electricity.

 

[Stsword]

Yeah, like the wise Admiral Ackbar said « It's a trap!» i don't see why the Military would place lanterns counter measure in the slums...

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They aren't necessarily specifically anti-lantern measures.

The Emotional Spectrum energy is treated as energy like any other in DC and Thanagarians are very good with energy manipulation.

For example, one version of Dr Light's origin is that he stole his suit from a Thanagarian lab.

 

[Mquz]

Yeah, like the wise Admiral Ackbar said « It's a trap!» i don't see why the Military would place lanterns counter measure in the slums...

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Might not be the military.

 

[Vaermina]

Yeah, like the wise Admiral Ackbar said « It's a trap!» i don't see why the Military would place lanterns counter measure in the slums...

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They probably didn't, it's likely the Nth metal in pretty much everything that disrupted his filaments.

 

[moralrelativity]

Thanaldar is build on

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built

 

[Mr Zoat]

built

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Eponymic]

Thanaldari

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G?

thanagarians/QUOTE]

Capital t?

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[Mr Zoat]

G?

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Look, if I have to correct your corrections we're never going to get anywhere.

Thanaldar is the name of the capital city of the Thanagarian Empire. It is located on a mountain on the planet Thanagar. Which is primarily inhabited by thanagarians (who are winged humanoids) and lizarkons (who are reptiloids).

 

[Maxx Crowley]

"They have Nth metal weapons. I don't want to kill anyone!"

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Kara....just...just shut up.

See, you stupid super powered physical god. THIS is why you actually train your powers even if you don't want to be an active hero. So that you actually KNOW how to use them if needed.

"I just want to be normal." By which you mean helpless in situations just like what you are in, if you weren't one of the most blessed races in all the universe.

 

[SirKaid]

"I just want to be normal." By which you mean helpless in situations just like what you are in, if you weren't one of the most blessed races in all the universe.

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She's not actually helpless here. Her problem is that she doesn't have the training to defeat these opponents without killing them, not that she's in any danger of being defeated herself.

And that's fine! Just because she's effectively a demigoddess doesn't mean that she should have to get police or military training. She's not interested in superheroism as a hobby or profession. She's a tourist who got into a rare bit of trouble. She's naturally strong enough to not be in serious danger here.

 

[Gantradies]

She's not actually helpless here. Her problem is that she doesn't have the training to defeat these opponents without killing them, not that she's in any danger of being defeated herself.

And that's fine! Just because she's effectively a demigoddess doesn't mean that she should have to get police or military training. She's not interested in superheroism as a hobby or profession. She's a tourist who got into a rare bit of trouble. She's naturally strong enough to not be in serious danger here.

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well...
she doesnt want to kill anyone...

she has minimal control over her red-sunlight derived abilities because she's spent almost her entire time since being saved blocking them- the logical read would include her barely having a handle on her strength/speed at the least, especially when under stress or adrenaline - and i doubt she's practised much with heat vision either.

therefore she's practically helpless, if not actually literally so simply because she's a good person who DOESN'T really want to hurt/kill people- she's vulnerable to a mundane mugging for the simple fact that she cant trust her reaction times/responses to not pulverise some poor mugger's skull/entire torso (ill give her credit for realising this and calling for assistance) which is the point i think Maxx was going for- by trying to live "normally" and denying her new powers, she crippled herself- and she'll likely have issues trying to live a civilian life besides untill she adjusts given her previous power nullifier is off the table now.

 

[Maxx Crowley]

She's not actually helpless here. Her problem is that she doesn't have the training to defeat these opponents without killing them, not that she's in any danger of being defeated herself.

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I didn't say she was helpless, and as long as she's under a yellow sun, she'll almost never be helpless to anything.

Problem? She's pussy-footed around and "I just want to be normal" to the point where she doesn't know how to control her power in a violent situation. Which could result in countless lives that are not hers, being ended if she has a woopsy.

And that's fine! Just because she's effectively a demigoddess doesn't mean that she should have to get police or military training. She's not interested in superheroism as a hobby or profession. She's a tourist who got into a rare bit of trouble. She's naturally strong enough to not be in serious danger here.

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Actually, it's not.

Let me quote it.

"I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard, always taking constant care not to break something, to break someone. Never allowing myself to lose control even for a moment, or someone could die."


Kara historically has a temper, and like it or not, she can potentially break planets. A couple of fuck ups, heat vision going a little out of control, not understanding just how strong she really is, and she can accidently level a city.

You know one of the reasons you train? So that if you find yourself in a situation like this, you know what you can do and how to handle it.

I know 65 different ways to strangle you to death, and at least 10 to just snap your neck/spine. You know why I practice them so much? So that I DON'T.

Whether she likes it or not, whether she ever wants to use them or not, Kara is literally TOO POWERFUL to be irresponsible.

Superman could liquify someone with a casual backhand (From his perspective). He doesn't, because he trained himself to control his strength.

Kara hasn't. She's been running from it (Of which I have zero sympathy for) and even taking radioactive substances to try and hide.

I mean, fuck....that's like X-men 101.

 

[Chaoswind]

She's not actually helpless here. Her problem is that she doesn't have the training to defeat these opponents without killing them, not that she's in any danger of being defeated herself.

And that's fine! Just because she's effectively a demigoddess doesn't mean that she should have to get police or military training. She's not interested in superheroism as a hobby or profession. She's a tourist who got into a rare bit of trouble. She's naturally strong enough to not be in serious danger here.

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To be fair, N metal weapons are exoteric enough to be dangerous to her even if not immediately lethal.

Anyways BAD FORM PAUL, you can't leave Kara alone to chase after Blezz tail IE butt. You technically dragged her to be with you, you have a certain degree of responsibility as the only person she knows in the group and her chaperone.

 

[Mr Zoat]

To be fair, N metal weapons are exoteric enough to be dangerous to her even if not immediately lethal.

Anyways BAD FORM PAUL, you can't leave Kara alone to chase after Blezz tail IE butt. You technically dragged her to be with you, you have a certain degree of responsibility as the only person she knows in the group and her chaperone.

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She was with Hector and a local chaperone. He thought she'd be fine.

Also, the SI is not interested in Bleez.

 

[Lazurman]

Kara historically has a temper, and like it or not, she can potentially break planets.

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I agree with basically everything you said, buuut YJ is significantly lower power levels than mainstream DC. Kara's a city-buster at most.

Which is still too strong to be left without self-control training, mind.

 

[Maxx Crowley]

I agree with basically everything you said, buuut YJ is significantly lower power levels than mainstream DC. Kara's a city-buster at most.

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If she can hit cometry speeds she can cause extinction level impacts just by flying straight up and straight down. To say nothing of just excellerating a large hunk of matter into the planet. Something OL himself can, and basically has, done already.

Also, as for lower power levels, Kon caused massive planetary damage with his Helios vision.

 

[Mquz]

If she can hit cometry speeds she can cause extinction level impacts just by flying straight up and straight down. To say nothing of just excellerating a large hunk of matter into the planet. Something OL himself can, and basically has, done already.

Also, as for lower power levels, Kon caused massive planetary damage with his Helios vision.

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That's Helios vision, though. Normal Superman heat vision is much more precise - he can use it to weld steel, instead of atomize it. Kon literally uses solar flares.

 

[Maxx Crowley]

That's Helios vision, though.

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Yes. I was using it as an example that things aren't exactly underpowered in WTR

Normal Superman heat vision is much more precise - he can use it to weld steel, instead of atomize it.

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Yes, if he wants it to be. If he wants to turn it on WIDE and go red wave of burning death, he can.

Kon literally uses solar flares.

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I'm not entirely sure that is what it is. Unless we have WOZ on that of course. Magical, divine sunfire more like it.

Huh...I wonder how some of the Silver City's angels would have held up to Kon unleashing.

 

[Ardy]

Yes, if he wants it to be. If he wants to turn it on WIDE and go red wave of burning death, he can.

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I haven't seen any evidence of that.

 

[Someguy Somewhere]

I haven't seen any evidence of that.

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[Ardy]

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Thats not Young Justice? And you're not Crowley!

 

[Mquz]

Thats not Young Justice? And you're not Crowley!

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Good choice for a first post ever, though ! On the other hand as Andy pointed out, Zoat specified that in YJ / this fic, Superman has less power than in canon, to make situations where the team is actually needed instead of Superman can do everything.

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st January
19:42 GMT

Hector and Kara have been backed up against a wall, part of one of the giant support pillars holding up the city. Over their heads, scaffolding is built into the side of it, extending all the way up. I suppose that explains why they were noticed: that's probably the local's source of electrical power. This isn't one of the 'nicer' parts of downside. Confronting the misadventuring duo are six lizarkons armed with a variety of weapons, including Nth metal melee weapons. Not.. a.. bad place to loot, if this turns into a fight. There isn't enough of the stuff to build anything much, but the Nth metal trades for stupid amounts of money on the interstellar markets.

The leader of the group looks around as our escorts enter the small… Plaza? I doubt that this place was planned so much as left like this, but the word fits. Gun-lizarkon scurries forward while knife-lizarkon remains just behind us, close enough that if I was thanagarian he could stab me before I could fly away. Probably wise: there is locally produced body armour that can stop these weapons, but Nth metal would make a mockery of it.

"That's Bladebat."

The hat-wearing reptilian strolls in our direction, the fingers on his cybernetic hands retracting and being replaced by curved-edged knives.

"Meat want pay Bladebat? Maybe Bladebat take from hides."

"I don't want any trouble, Mister Bladebat sir. I'd.. just like to.. pay the toll for myself and my friends..?"

Kara looks relieved by my arrival, while Hector's faceplate obscures his expression. Okay, so what am I seeing here that disrupted my filament? Bladebat's cybernetics aside I'm not seeing anything especially sophisticated. The guns are a couple of generations old, and probably 'fell' off a military quartermaster's truck at some point. They're not wearing force fields. I try again-.

Filament lost.

What's doing that?

"Meat's friends make trouble. Meat pay big toll."

Ring, any obvious filament generating objects around here?

Nth metal powder is able to disrupt constructs. Area does not appear to contain Nth metal powder in the required quantities.

Downsiders use more physical currency than upsiders. Precious metal, of which I have plenty, and since its use isn't 'official' forging or.. striking, since the metal content is the same? Anyway, it isn't a crime. Problem is, while I have an approximate idea of what pre-digitisation prices were, I've got no idea what a hostage-taking warrants. Too little and he might stab me, which would be inconvenient as the whole point of this mummery is to resolve this quietly and peacefully, not with me beating his crew senseless with orange constructs. Too much, and he might decide to see if he can get more, because I'm seeing a lot of orange from him. Though… To be fair, it appears to have grown from desperation rather than naked greed, which is why I don't feel like being harder on him. Compared to the average Citadel officer he's not even really all that bad. It just happens that he's the bad in front of me.

"Ah… I'm not sure I can afford-." Weekly wage for someone in the hard currency era, adjust for inflation… I pull my right hand into my robe and take the combination of metals out of subspace before turning them into the required coins. "Is this.. okay..?"

I hold the newly minted coins out towards him, and he changes his left hand back into a hand to grab -ow- them. No, that's fine, just a little blood. I pantomime twitching in pain, but I can't tell from his expression if he noticed or cares. No, no real sense that he enjoys people in general suffering around him, and I'm already being meek enough to satisfy his desire to dominate. Bladebat checks the coins, running a blade across a few to check the hardness of the metal. They.. probably look a bit new, but since the value is tied to the price of the metal that's not necessarily a problem.

"What?" His attention's back on me. Cowed, not curious. "This is not enough!" Naturally. "Upsiders come to break our property, pay off with this?"

"I-I doubt very much that they were breaking anything, Mister Bladebat. We don't-. We don't know the area. I'm-. They're very sorry for intruding-."

"Cost more, yes!"

Ah, alright then. Back into the sleeve, pull out half again-. I spot a Man-Hawk move into position above us. Hm. Not.. sure how intelligent they are. They're clearly altered from the thanagarian physical norms, and the lighting here is just about good enough to see the humanoid faces they've plastered over their own avian visages. Weird. Thanagarian materialism means that they don't see taking trophies from bodies as anything other than 'unhygienic', or perhaps 'irritating' when it makes identifying a body harder.

"Is this.. better?"

These coins are snatched, a few more scratches… A closer look inside him suggests that he is indeed satisfied. He might make-.

The movement is sudden as he punches me in the solar plexus, but not so fast that I can't double over to prevent him feeling that he mostly hit armour. He steps back, blade-hand switching back to fingers.

"Get out. Come back, Bladebat not so friendly."

The guards surrounding Kara and Hector lower their weapons slightly, and the two of them walk-. One snaps his jaws at Kara, who -taking her lead from me- makes a show of being alarmed. But the group lets them go. Alright.

Another Man-Hawk takes up position above us. And… Weren't there guards up there when I scanned it the first time? Yes, yes there were.

"Mister Bladebat sir? Are your-" I point at the closest Man-Hawk. "-friends.. letting us go too?"

"Friends?" He sounds genuinely mystified. "Just-" He looks up. "-go."

There's a brown blur as a Man-Hawk dives onto him, blood-

Secrecy over then. I bring my full power armour out of subspace and add construct armour for myself and Bleez.

-spraying out as it tears into him. One of his faster-acting subordinates takes a shot with a particle pistol. It hits and.. does no damage I can see. Then another Man-Hawk lands on the shooter with a screech.

And-. I can't look inside them. I suppose-

Hector raises his forearms and fires a blast from his forearm-mounted electrolasers at the second Man-Hawk. It staggers sideways a pace before reorientating on him and screeching again, which… Actually, yes, the flayed face does make it more intimidating.

-that might explain what happened to my filament.

"Kara." Another Man-Hawk dives at Bleez as the one which killed Bladebat leaps back up into the sky. Faster than it should be able to by muscle power. Nth metal, then? Sustained solid slugs from a railgun construct knock it aside and it slam into the ground. "Heat vision."

The Man-Hawk which killed the shooter leaps at me, talons outstretched! I take an x-ionised sword out of subspace, sidestep and slash, carving through its left leg and the left side of its chest. Solid slugs not achieving the desired results. Switching to crumblers would be good, but I'm not sure that I want the thanagarians to know I have that capacity. I form another railgun and have it track a Man-Hawk that has yet to make its-.

The Man-Hawk leaps and I shoot it repeatedly in the head. The leap turns rapidly into a tumble, and-.

And Kara flies up and punches it. She's not back to full power and it appears to have more than thanagarian toughness, but the difference between her force and its resilience results in a loud crack as it bends around her right fist and then collapses limply to the ground. Hector takes two shots at his opponent and then closes to punching range, his left fist smashing off the creature's stolen face and driving it back. A somewhat clumsy slam down with his right fist appears to stun it, and he flies back as it swings its wings at him.

The lizarkons have made themselves scarce, beams burning into the air as they fire at the Man-Hawks who are pursuing them. I wrap construct chains around the one Hector has beaten down, feeling it as something about it resists the orange light. Not strongly enough to break the chains if I exert myself, but I add metal chains anyway.

"Everyone alright?"

Kara nods stiffly, looking down at the Man-Hawk she struck as it tries to move the part of its body still responding to its brain. Hector nods as well, watching the sky for new threats. And Bleez-.

Thanagarian patrolmen drop out of the sky, their weapons trained on each of us!

 

[RichardWhereat]

Well, seems like normal procedure for antagonistic militaries, even when they're being polite. But given who they killed, they might be getting a bounty for them, if they hand out bounties. My recommendation would be to put them in the freezer, so when you eat them, they're nicer.

 

[Mquz]

Well, seems like normal procedure for antagonistic militaries, even when they're being polite. But given who they killed, they might be getting a bounty for them, if they hand out bounties. My recommendation would be to put them in the freezer, so when you eat them, they're nicer.

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Who did they kill? Just the criminals? Is Bleez implied to be ok? It didn't seem like anything happened to her. Those criminals sounded like they might survive with heavy injuries. Will Paul be arrested for counterfeiting currency or something?

 

[Phrexia Unbound]

The thanagarian patrol drops down, weapons trained on each of us!

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Dammit Paul! Couldn't you have just been arrested BEFORE the dramatic cliffhanger?

 

[BR549]

Who did they kill? Just the criminals? Is Bleez implied to be ok? It didn't seem like anything happened to her. Those criminals sounded like they might survive with heavy injuries.

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It was explicitly noted that Bladebat was dead.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

Area does not appear to contain Nth metal powered in the required quantities.

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Area does not appear to contain Nth metal powder in the required quantities.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

Downsiders use more physical currency that upsiders.

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Downsiders use more physical currency than upsiders.

The guard surrounding Kara and Hector lower their weapons slightly...

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The guards surrounding Kara and Hector lower their weapons slightly...

Weren't there guards up them when I scanned it the first time?

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Weren't there guards up there when I scanned it the first time?

It hits and.. does no damage I can see.

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Oh dear. Is that normal or has someone been buffing them?

The another Man-Hawk lands on the shooter with a screech.

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Then another Man-Hawk lands on the shooter with a screech.

It staggers sideways a pace before reorientating on him...

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It staggers sideways at pace before reorientating on him...

Solid slugs not achieving the desires results.

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Solid slugs not achieving the desired results.

Kara nods stiffly, looking down at the Man-Hawk she struck as it tries to move the part of its body still responding to its brain.

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Hmm... Wonder how she feels about powers now?

The thanagarian patrol drops down, weapons trained on each of us!

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"'Ello, 'ello, 'ello, what's all this then?"

Those Man-Hawks could be trouble in future, given their apparently unusual traits...

 

[RichardWhereat]

Who did they kill? Just the criminals? Is Bleez implied to be ok? It didn't seem like anything happened to her. Those criminals sounded like they might survive with heavy injuries. Will Paul be arrested for counterfeiting currency or something?

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They killed low caste scum, and captured man-hawks.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Area does not appear to contain Nth metal powder in the required quantities.
Downsiders use more physical currency that upsiders.
Downsiders use more physical currency than upsiders.
The guard surrounding Kara and Hector lower their weapons slightly...
The guards surrounding Kara and Hector lower their weapons slightly...
Weren't there guards up them when I scanned it the first time?
Weren't there guards up there when I scanned it the first time?
The another Man-Hawk lands on the shooter with a screech.
Then another Man-Hawk lands on the shooter with a screech.
Solid slugs not achieving the desires results.
Solid slugs not achieving the desired results.

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Thank you, corrected.

Kara nods stiffly, looking down at the Man-Hawk she struck as it tries to move the part of its body still responding to its brain.
Hmm... Wonder how she feels about powers now?

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Worse, probably. She did just cripple someone.

It staggers sideways a pace before reorientating on him...
It staggers sideways at pace before reorientating on him...

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No, they staggered one step.