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

[AverusBlack]

I don't speak up very often. Zoat, if you're willing to indulge me, what are the other seven colors and what do they represent?

This is surprisingly important to me but I'm not quite willing to explain why out in the open. It has nothing to do with writing or anything like that, just something personal.

 

[Darko]

I don't speak up very often. Zoat, if you're willing to indulge me, what are the other seven colors and what do they represent?

This is surprisingly important to me but I'm not quite willing to explain why out in the open. It has nothing to do with writing or anything like that, just something personal.

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If I remember correctly there's also pride, which was a dark yellow/golden color.

 

[Slayer Anderson]

I guess we should all be terrified if an Orange Lantern ever wanted to be funny.

 

[Coltsguy]

Dammit QQ why won't you let me like this more than once!?!

 

[AverusBlack]

If I remember correctly there's also pride, which was a dark yellow/golden color.

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I took a quick look at that other story and I got that teal is joy while... I'm not sure, light green? Lime? Is sadness. I saw purple but I have no idea what to attribute to that, 's why I figured I'd ask outright.

 

[Sockmonkey]

Did Bullock just ask an apparent supervillain how to spell supervillain?
He has mastered Gotham zen.
The world will destroy all your fucks but one, so save it for something truly important.

 

[Agent Orange]

'Assault and Betterment'

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I am not entirely sure what laws if any cover 'forced bodily alteration' but they could probably get him on practicing... 'cosmetic surgery'(?) without a medical licence?

OL no matter the universe seems to have trouble grasping the concept of consent (or tact) when he's in 'halping' mood.

 

[Darko]

Did Bullock just ask an apparent supervillain how to spell supervillain?
He has mastered Gotham zen.
The world will destroy all your fucks but one, so save it for something truly important.

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This song perfectly captures how many fucks Bullock has left.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Did Bullock just ask an apparent supervillain how to spell supervillain?

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No, he asked whether 'okay' was one word or two, because he's only ever written it as 'O.K.'.

I took a quick look at that other story and I got that teal is joy while... I'm not sure, light green? Lime? Is sadness. I saw purple but I have no idea what to attribute to that, 's why I figured I'd ask outright.

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I honestly don't remember. You'll have to read the whole bunny thing.

 

[AverusBlack]

No, he asked whether 'okay' was one word or two, because he's only ever written it as 'O.K.'.

I honestly don't remember. You'll have to read the whole bunny thing.

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Oh balls.

Well, thanks anyways, haha.

 

[Senevri]

Funny, but very imperialist and very "Orange Lantern's Burden" if you think about it.
Assault and betterment may not be a crime, but Assault is, not to mention violating bodily autonomy is not good,and practicing medicine without a license is probably a literal crime.

As for "breaking and decorating? Less objectionable, certainly structural fixes aren't a bad thing, but taken literally---decorating to whose taste? Even in a completely benign case, there's the risk of building someone else's lego Death Star, if you don't ask people what they want.

 

[doug89]

Did Bullock just ask an apparent supervillain how to spell supervillain?

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The joke is that he would like half an inch of penis growth but apparently not a full inch, so he asked if OK was one word or two.

"Speak again and your penis will grow by a half inch per word.
-snip-
Bullock writes something on his notepad.
"I'm trying to help you learn things the easy way before-" Bullock holds his notepad out in front of her. "-you…"
She focuses on it, arm still outstretched, then frowns.
"Of course it's one word, why would you think-?"
Bullock nods. "Okay."
He looks mildly satisfied as the orange beam hits him, then turns away to head back to his patrol car.

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[Radiant Knight]

Oh balls.

Well, thanks anyways, haha.

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At a glance, the colors in the Teal Lantern SI are:

Joy - Teal
Sadness - Lime
Pride - Gold
Dissatisfaction - Puce
Need - Magenta (Not sure on this one, the story died before more than one clue came out)


EDIT: While the Puce Lantern oath talks about people spoiling fun, the highlighted sections make it clear that the emotion being felt is actually dissatisfaction- the one time the lantern in question feels 'fun' it's the light of hope.

 

[AverusBlack]

At a glance, the colors in the Teal Lantern SI are:

Joy - Teal
Sadness - Lime
Pride - Gold
Dissatisfaction - Puce
Need - Magenta (Not sure on this one, the story died before more than one clue came out)

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I've been skimming the story and it might be grief.

In any case this is helpful, so thank you.

 

[cookiemontser]

I would take over the city by force majeure

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I have never seen force majeure used in this context. Is it correct?

 

[Radiant Knight]

I have never seen force majeure used in this context. Is it correct?

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Definition 2. 'Irresistable Compulsion or Greater Force'.

 

[Darko]

Definition 2. 'Irresistable Compulsion or Greater Force'.

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Hmmm, now I'm worried this may be a future version of Tangseid.

 

[BlueMangoAdea]

Hmmm, now I'm worried this may be a future version of Tangseid.

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You believe that Tangseid has achieved enlightenment?

 

[Darko]

You believe that Tangseid has achieved enlightenment?

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I'm hoping that it's just future paragon, and Paul has said he'd do some pretty ruthless things if it helps him, without going full on utilitarian, but I'm a bit worried.

Also he did seem jealous of Paul achieving enlightenment, so may have tried it himself.

 

[Z000]

I didn't realize Zoat did real-life April Fool's Day writing, just stuff with in-universe timing.

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but it may, not april ?

or it is just a Zoat thing where he does it a month later

 

[SirKaid]

Hmmm, now I'm worried this may be a future version of Tangseid.

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It's hardly unusual for Paul to just lie to people in order to influence them. Here he sees a genuinely good person with incredible power having her time wasted by arguing with Detective Bullock, a man whose only real sterling quality is that he's not corrupt in Gotham.

By stating that if it was him he'd just be a warlord, Paul could accomplish one of several things:

1) He firms her resolve by offering a "Dark mirror" that she can reject.

2) He plants the seed of "Hey, these chumps can't actually stop me in any meaningful way" and she doesn't have to deal with the stress of arguing with them.

3) She decides "If they're going to obstruct me all the time then I can do more good elsewhere" and goes somewhere lower stress to help.

4) She comes around to that idea and takes over. Gotham couldn't get worse, right?

 

[Darko]

It's hardly unusual for Paul to just lie to people in order to influence them. Here he sees a genuinely good person with incredible power having her time wasted by arguing with Detective Bullock, a man whose only real sterling quality is that he's not corrupt in Gotham.

By stating that if it was him he'd just be a warlord, Paul could accomplish one of several things:

1) He firms her resolve by offering a "Dark mirror" that she can reject.

2) He plants the seed of "Hey, these chumps can't actually stop me in any meaningful way" and she doesn't have to deal with the stress of arguing with them.

3) She decides "If they're going to obstruct me all the time then I can do more good elsewhere" and goes somewhere lower stress to help.

4) She comes around to that idea and takes over. Gotham couldn't get worse, right?

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Hmm, good point.

Though for the last one I'd argue that while Gotham isn't Brockton Bay, it isn't exactly all that far behind, so things probably can get worse.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

5th July 2010
14:32 GMT -5

I watch curiously as the brightly glowing humanoid female with rabbit ears below me has some sort of altercation with the local version of Harvey Bullock.

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As noted and linked by AkazilliaDeNaro, this is Vanilla Seimmud (Pronounced 'Sim-mood, as their second chapter explains,) Teal Lantern of Sector 2814. Actually an SI morphed into the body of a Viera (From Final Fantasy's Ivalice.) Remarkable in that one of their first actions was to acquire legal immigration paperwork!

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Removing illegal graffiti and checking that electrical systems and plumbing is up to code requires a work permit?"

"Yer also repairing brick and mortar, replacin' windows, repairin' sidewalks and streets, and gettin' rid of garbage. We got like a dozen different labor unions callin' fer yer head."

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Hence Bullock's asshole behaviour here. He may be one of the cleaner cops on the force politically, but even he would get annoyed by the yelling of Union reps... For those who want to read the original scene, Chapter 4 of the original thread.

I narrow my eyes slightly, then blink as I suddenly start seeing an emotional spectrum which apparently contains fourteen colours rather than the seven I'm used to. This definitely warrants further investigation.

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And that's not an exaggeration. The seven newer colours were more or less hybrids of two of the original seven, like Teal's Joy.

"Well boohoo for them that I'm drying up their bribe money, but the electrical and plumbing systems are literally unsafe here to the point it might actually be safer to live in grass huts in deep Africa. Do you honestly want me to leave people living in buildings where flipping the light switch may one day shock them to death just because some crooked unions and government workers are worried about the bribes they'll be losing out on?"

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Might sound a lot more like Compassion, but when you consider the joy produced by the people living there... Well, when Teal Lanterns are strengthened by the Joy around them? It's quite the feedback loop.

I drop down besides her, arms folded behind my back.

"Wrong question."

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And here's where things Diverge. The question I have is, is this an Alternate Paul native to this universe, or our wonderful Paragon making a flying visit across significant levels of meta? (Not quite Internship levels of Meta, mind...)

"Agh!"

The lagomorph jumps three metres into the air from a standing start, apparently without ring-assistance. Bullock takes a half-step back, right hand jerking towards his sidearm before his brain fully processes what he's seeing.

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And before anyone asks: Yes, Viera can do that. Bizarrely, they can leap great heights, yet cannot stand upright without support. Go Evolution! Vanilla here literally cannot stand on her own two feet without the twelve-inch-plus heels she wears.

"In your own-"

She lands, right hand over her heart and eyes wide.

"-time."

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Methinks she's panicked because she maybe recognises you. As an SI, she does have a memory of our universe, after all. And Mr Zoat did pretty much start off the tide of SI's back then...

She freezes up for several seconds, eyes fixed on my face.

"Um. Joyful.. being..?"

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To save reading time, that's her 'cure all ails' healing power. Healing is something Teal Lanterns are extremely good at, being a Blue-Green hybrid.

I raise my left hand and do a Vulcan salute.

"Live long and prosper, Cyan Lantern."

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Why not throw in a "Nanoo, Nanoo!" for good measure?

"It's… Um. Teal, actually."

"Ah. I apologise. Teal Lantern. But it's still the wrong question."

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Now that the surprise is out of the way, down to business! At least we avoided the usual 'Let's You and Him Fight' encounter.

She hesitates, taking a moment to study me. Right, no Orange Lantern Corps in this continuity. Which means that the only Orange Lantern she could know about is Larfleeze.

"Aaaand..? Then what's the right question?"

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Again, SI with possible knowledge of a certain Lantern SI story being written about the time they got ROB'd. Also, this is a long time before she knew there actually were other hybrid-coloured Lanterns around.

"Do you want to do good, or do you want to listen to a fat fool who wants to stop you doing good?"

Bullock huffs. "Look. I get she's try'na do a good-."

"Stop talking-"." I don't look at him. "."-or I give you a six pack."

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Oh, you're enjoying this, aren't you, OL? Getting to mess with an alternate Harvey Bullock?

"I don't drink on dooty."

My orange beam hits him in the abdomen, converting fat into muscle. His shirt and coat sag noticeably. The Teal Lantern stares at him as he pats himself down to try and assess the damage.

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Surprised his pants didn't feel a lot looser. He must wear his belt under the gut.

"I… Like to try and work inside the system? I want to help but I don't want to get the people who live here in any trouble."

"'Breaking and Decorating' does not fall within the usual purview of the Major Crimes Unit. Even in Gotham, no one is going to be punished because someone else improved their home."

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I mean, she didn't even technically break into any homes. All her work can be done from outside, so no crime there at all.

Bullock finishes feeling himself up, a look of bewilderment on his face. But he hasn't survived this long in Gotham by letting strange occurrences distract him from his job. "Alright, asshole, yer under arrest. We can do this-."

"And neither is 'Assault and Betterment'. And if you honestly intend to attempt to arrest me, I suggest that you toddle off and get someone with a little more firepower than that peashooter. Speak again and I will fully restore your hair."

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Haha, that'd ruin the careful image Bullock's probably been cultivating over the years. You know, the hard-ass, seen-it-all police detective who's 'getting too old for this shit'.

The rabbit frowns. "You're a lot more… Non-crazy than I was… Expecting…"

I nod. "Expecting an Orange Lantern to be, yes, I've met Larfleeze."

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To quote a good movie: You came, You saw, You kicked his arse. Though it was more of a scry-and-restrain tele-nabbing. I mean, did Larfleeze even wake up?

She puts her hands on her hips. "Well, you're still being unnecessarily rude. Detective Bullock is just trying to do his job."

"If someone is doing something likely to negatively affect the people you are trying to help, is their motive of primary importance?"

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There's a twisty thought for you.

"It still matters!"

"Fine. I just added twelve years to his predicted lifespan. How polite do you want me to be?"

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Keep it up! I'm sure he'll enjoy looking like Fabio by the time you're done. Handsomest cop on the force!

"Ah, look-."

Another orange beam repairs Detective Bullock's receding hair line and male pattern baldness, as well as restoring the pigment lost to stress and poor diet.

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You almost get the feeling he's actually trying to get them to fix him up, now.

"Speak again and your penis will grow by a half inch per word. Teal Lantern, I can see within you the shining desire to catalyse joy. You have on your finger the most powerful tool in the universe. If you're going to let people stop you because your actions are inconvenient to them, I can only suggest going home and telling your ring to find a new bearer, because in your heart you have already abandoned your core mission."

"If it's that important to you, why don't you do it?"

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He doesn't want to, though. He'd rather fix the cause of the problem, not the symptoms.

"If I wanted to commit myself to saving Gotham, I would do so in a rational and pragmatic manner. I would take over the city by force majeure, recruit the handful of obstinately upstanding residents as aides, summarily execute the worst criminals, then ram through whatever other changes I thought necessary over the heads of any local objections. Then, and only then, would I do painting and decorating work, because the time spent to lives improved ratio just doesn't support it until then."

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See? Oh, this is definitely a future Paragon. He'll make the world better, even if he has to kick everyone's arse to do it.

She glares at me.

"I don't believe that for a moment!" She point her right arm at he, forefinger extended accusatorially. "You're just a miserable emo who's forgotten how to be nice to people!"

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Buh-huh-wha-? Okay. Now, Tangseid might be a better target for that accusation, but wow. Then again, this OL must have been dealing with typical DC people for centuries. Imagine having to cope with all that instinctive foolishness.

Bullock writes something on his notepad.

"I'm trying to help you learn things the easy way before-" Bullock holds his notepad out in front of her. "-you…"

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Oh, he's not pulling...

She focuses on it, arm still outstretched, then frowns.

"Of course it's one word, why would you think-?"

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Bullock, you jammy blighter. You cheeky dickwaffle...

Bullock nods. "Okay."

He looks mildly satisfied as the orange beam hits him, then turns away to head back to his patrol car.

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There goes one smug bastard. He may not have started the night intending to get a near-total makeover, but hey, when opportunity comes a-knocking, you do not ignore it!

"Great! Now they're going to think I'm a supervillain because of you!"

"That says more about them than it does you. But I want to see what you'll do next."

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For reference, this stuff gets her a place on the Team, courtesy of assuming Bruce Wayne was a supervillian (He would have turned up a in a few minutes.)

"Keep helping people! But now I don't know if I should keep doing this, or-"

"Yes you do."

"-get some sort of licence-." She lowers her arm. "What do you mean?"

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Aw, no Bruce Wayne interrupt... Yet.

"People often limit themselves by what is socially acceptable, even if they think it's nonsense. You know what is right, and you've seen the joy you've already brought. At this point anything other than carrying on is an unworthy self-deception."

Her eyes narrow. "I don't think I like you."

"But do you think I'm wrong?"

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Ah, now there's the rub. ( No, not that kind. Even if she does have fluffy bunny ears.) Could you be doing more, and how?

Well, this is not a side-trip I was ever expecting. Seriously, when I saw the title, I first thought "Something pony-related?" ...Then I saw the Teal. I don't even... What...
What even possessed you to bring us this? I'm not complaining, it's great to be reminded of it (the thread is long dead, alas.) Are... Are we going to see OL visiting other Lantern SI's in future? How deep will the Fanfic recursion go? Is a meeting with Professor Black in the cards, given that they've actually mentioned a certain Orange Lantern in passing?

---

Pardon the Teal, I chose it for my corrections as a joking reference to this very fic...

She point her right arm at he, forefinger extended accusatorially.

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She points her right arm at me, forefinger extended accusatorially.

 

[BlueMangoAdea]

"People often limit themselves by what is socially acceptable, even if they think it's nonsense. You know what is right, and you've seen the joy you've already brought. At this point anything other than carrying on is an unworthy self-deception."

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Hm. A sentiment that could bring people to do both great and terrible things, especially if they have the power to back themselves up.

But if you truly believe that what you are doing is more important than doing the socially acceptable, why should you let society stop you?

 

[Mr Zoat]

She points her right arm at me, forefinger extended accusatorially.

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[DrThoth]

but it may, not april ?

or it is just a Zoat thing where he does it a month later

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My bad, edited.

 

[NightmareWarden]

Are... Are we going to see OL visiting other Lantern SI's in future? How deep will the Fanfic recursion go? Is a meeting with Professor Black in the cards, given that they've actually mentioned a certain Orange Lantern in passing?

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.

I'd get a feeling of resolution/closure if Paul (or Renegade Paul/Grayven) tore into Black for his mass-murder. I respect Paul, Blue-Paul (based on his role pre-honeymoon), and Renegade-Paul for their talks with governments compared to Professor Black's pseudo-rationalist breakdown.

Gromweld's Worm/Exalted story is a blast, but that lantern story is not my cup of tea.

 

[cookiemontser]

Definition 2. 'Irresistable Compulsion or Greater Force'.

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Yes, but the dictionary definition is misleading. I have never seen the term used outside of the legal context when referring to contractual obligations. The force being referred to is one outside your control. To use the term force majeure is to suggest that some event beyond your ability to resist (an act of god) has prevented you from doing something. You can't say you will do something with "force majeure". It kind of fundamentally goes against the concept as being something beyond control.

 

[Mr Zoat]

I'd get a feeling of resolution/closure if Paul (or Renegade Paul/Grayven) tore into Black for his mass-murder. I respect Paul, Blue-Paul (based on his role pre-honeymoon), and Renegade-Paul for their talks with governments compared to Professor Black's pseudo-rationalist breakdown.

Gromweld's Worm/Exalted story is a blast, but that lantern story is not my cup of tea.

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Black? No. Black already occupies that space. And besides, that story might update again.

Yes, but the dictionary definition is misleading. I have never seen the term used outside of the legal context when referring to contractual obligations. The force being referred to is one outside your control. To use the term force majeure is to suggest that some event beyond your ability to resist (an act of god) has prevented you from doing something. You can't say you will do something with "force majeure". It kind of fundamentally goes against the concept as being something beyond control.

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"How in control do you feel, right now?"

 

[Darko]

Hence Bullock's asshole behaviour here. He may be one of the cleaner cops on the force politically, but even he would get annoyed by the yelling of Union reps...

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Plus even though Bullock is not corrupt, he's still an asshole.

And here's where things Diverge. The question I have is, is this an Alternate Paul native to this universe, or our wonderful Paragon making a flying visit across significant levels of meta? (Not quite Internship levels of Meta, mind...)

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My guess is that this is future paragon or some other version of Paul, either future or present, who achieved enlightenment.

To save reading time, that's her 'cure all ails' healing power. Healing is something Teal Lanterns are extremely good at, being a Blue-Green hybrid.

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But killing is out of the cards.

I think someone once wrote an omake where Teal Paul tried to snipe Ras, but the ring wouldn't let him.

To quote a good movie: You came, You saw, You kicked his arse. Though it was more of a scry-and-restrain tele-nabbing. I mean, did Larfleeze even wake up?

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If this is paragon then Larfleeze did wake up after Paul restrained him, but he was unresponsive and Paul just let him hold the Light Fountain.

See? Oh, this is definitely a future Paragon. He'll make the world better, even if he has to kick everyone's arse to do it.

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Or it could be future Tangseid. Though I'm hoping it isn't.

Buh-huh-wha-? Okay. Now, Tangseid might be a better target for that accusation, but wow.

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Wouldn't it be funny if in tomorrow's chapter, or any other chapters focusing on this universe in this episode, we learn that this is Tangseid.

Okay, so less funny and more depressing.

Then again, this OL must have been dealing with typical DC people for centuries. Imagine having to cope with all that instinctive foolishness.

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To be fair to her and other superheroes, destroying the old order and installing a new one by force may sound appealing, but will probably end up with everything set on fire.

A lot of superheroes probably don't have knowledge on how to govern.

For reference, this stuff gets her a place on the Team, courtesy of assuming Bruce Wayne was a supervillian (He would have turned up a in a few minutes.)

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Don't remember this, but I'm reminded of an idea the criminals in Gotham from the Bruce Has a Problem story had, where they though Bruce was secretly a crime lord controlling Gotham and Batman and his sidekicks were his enforcers for metahuman crime, while Matches was for mundane crime.

? Is a meeting with Professor Black in the cards, given that they've actually mentioned a certain Orange Lantern in passing?

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Yeah, I think Eris mentioned or hinted about Paul, and the author said that Black has read WTR, so knew to attack and destroy the Light before they could adapt like they did with Paul.