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

[Bud-E]

At least he apparently stopped wearing the underpants.
.

Click to shrink...

I'm pretty sure he still wears those. I remember it being mentioned Batman gave him a pair of indestructible underwater as a gift.

 

[Doccer]

"No. I have flown over it, but Hitler was minded to leave it alone during the war. I was introduced to their ruler at a diplomatic reception, but I have met a great many people."

Click to shrink...

So some black people did survive?

 

[Darko]

So some black people did survive?

Click to shrink...

Overgirl mentioned that black people from Europe were exiled, and the same may be true of black people from America, so those statements of there not being any black people could just mean that there aren't any in Europe or America.

 

[Mr Zoat]

So some black people did survive?

Click to shrink...

I think that's just the lighting. I mean, her genetic heritage is almost entirely Italian.

 

[Vaermina]

Truggs was yoinking people with job offers of living in Notshitholistan.

Click to shrink...

Which means... Truggs was once more doing good...

 

[Doccer]

Counterpoint: Truggs, for all his posturing, is a supervillain. The single defining feature of a supervillain, the thing that separates them from regular criminals and terrorists, is that they're the kind of bugfuck crazy who think that doing things like training butterflies to be racist, murdering a hero's family to make them snap, or stealing from Demon Superman World is a good idea.

Click to shrink...

But where is his presentation?!
At most he's just a villain.
Without ✧✪Presentation!✪✧ he can't be a a supervillain.

 

[Coda]

Europe appears to have been less effected.

Click to shrink...

affected

 

[Impartial Panic]

Truggs was yoinking people with job offers of living in Notshitholistan.

Click to shrink...

Honestly if he is doing that instead of stealing tech my opinion of him would actually go up.

Wait Superman's costume isn't a one-piece suit?

Click to shrink...

Even Kryptonians need to poop and a one piece makes that a bit harder to do even with super speed.

 

[Mr Zoat]

affected

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

 

[Doccer]

Notshitholistan

Click to shrink...

Not shit holy Stan? Am I saying this right? What's the joke?

 

[Galacticplumber]

Not shit holy Stan? Am I saying this right? What's the joke?

Click to shrink...

Istan is a common ending suffix. From context a silent e is being removed.

Not Shit Hole Istan.

 

[Mr Zoat]

16th September 2012
19:59 GMT +1

Prague has suffered raging fires that destroyed most of the historic parts of the town, spreading out from the sites of meteorite impacts. Though the fires have long since burned themselves out, between the flames and the shockwaves, there isn't much left but rubble.

Unless you know where to look.

I shove another pile of rubble to the side, and… Yes, here we are. I don't know where all of Doctor Sivana's hidey-holes are, but I know quite a few. Unlike the rest of the city, his bases are designed to take a pounding. Nothing that Superman couldn't force his way through with dedicated effort -very few hardened locations can make that boast, and fewer still make it honestly- but enough to survive near misses.

Superman takes a not entirely approving breath.

"Do I want to know how much time you spent with Sivana?"

"Probably not."

But 'survive' and 'survive untouched' aren't the same things. There's a clunk as my filaments shift a part of the door's mechanism, and then the hatch swings open.

"Okay, so unlike back home, the defences here aren't programmed to limit themselves in attacking me."

"They still attacked you when you were… Friends?"

"It was a sort of test."

"A test to find out what you could do?"

"A test to see whether it would drive me away." Hm. "I don't think they had any specifically anti-Kryptonian weapons here, but I-."

He raises his right hand to stop me. "I'll go first."

He leaps down the hole, his flying abilities keeping him from touching the floor once he's cleared the shaft. Nothing attacks him right away, which probably means that the guns are charging. I-.

My armour doesn't fit through the hole. Ah. I switch my heavy armour out for my medium suit and make doubly sure that my construct armour is in place, then drop down after him.

"I'm not seeing any sign that someone's been here."

"Can you see through the walls?"

"No. I'm guessing that the Sivanas use something a little more sophisticated than lead."

"Li-ttle bit." I take a look around the emergency exit. Not too much security here, because it's where they would go in an emergency. "Information request. Is Doctor Thaddeus Bodog Sivana in residence?"

Nothing happens. Superman looks around cautiously.

"How long does it usually-?"

The air turns blue as plasma initiators deploy from the floor and ceiling, liberated electrons crackling harmlessly around my construct shield. Superman appears to be mildly in pain-.

He turns his head around the room, red rays flashing out from his eyes to destroy the initiators. I wave my left hand and pull the one closest to me out of the ceiling, taking the time to scan it in detail. Looks pretty much the same as what our Sivana uses.

"Is that the friendly greeting version, or the actively hostile version?"

"Depends whether there's robot follow-"

The door between us and the rest of the facility drops into the floor, revealing a bulky robot with multi-barrelled pulse plasma guns.

"-up."

"Die!"

Superman takes the majority of its wrath as he flies at it, fists extended! Each side has twelve guns on a single mount, and the green plasma washes over-.

And now there's a Superman-shaped hole in the middle. Interesting. No force field.

I fly closer to give it a thorough scan. Yes, that is odd. Usually I wouldn't be able to scan the interior mechanism unless they were deliberately letting me, but here there's no problem.

"Did you feel a force field bubble?"

"No. Should we expect more of them?"

"Yes. Ah, actually, they should already be here." Oh. That explains the lack of force field. "This has been in combat recently. See here?"

I point and Superman nods.

"The emitters were already burned out."

"There's more charring on the interior. I'd guess an EMP grenade, but… They'd be shielded against that."

Ring?

"There are weapons that could bypass the shielding that Sivana uses on this model. Can't.. think of anyone who uses them on Earth, mind."

Superman frowns, sniffing-. And he's gone.

Ring, air analysis? Ah.

I float after him, conducting a continual scan of my environment. Nothing like as hard as it is back home, most likely because they didn't have much contact with Lanterns here. As I follow in Superman's wake I see increased signs of battle damage unrelated to the impacts which destroyed the city above us; drone guns destroyed in their mounts, burns on the walls, ceiling and floor from plasma and laser shots. Someone working for Demon Superman? Local people just trying to find somewhere to hide out?

Another corner and there are two broken robots. Damage patterns consistent with EMP charring and anti-tank rocket impacts. The main warehouse…

Superman's checking the bodies, human bodies. They're wearing unmarked body armour and carrying the sort of science fiction armaments the actual military would give their eyeteeth to own. No unit markings. Their armour has taken repeated hits which have burned through the metal/ceramic composite plates, but…

It looks like they achieved their objective. The place has been looted.

Two are crouched next to the main computer access with cables plugged it, their own computer burned out from the defensive electrical discharge. A little further along the survivors have tried again; the floor has been removed and the cables stripped. No bodies there.

"Why did they leave the bodies?" Superman shakes his head in bewilderment. "I understand stealing from Sivana, but if they took out all this equipment, why not take the bodies with them?"

"Hell is in the ascendancy. They couldn't take the risk of bringing something back with them, or giving… Something, a channel to follow."

I take hold of a spare EMP grenade and give it a detailed scan. Not exactly the same wards that have entered common circulation back on our Earth, but similar enough in principle that I think I can conclude that they came from a common source. And the weapon itself bears more than a little resemblance to what I saw when I visited the subterranean parts of LexCorp.

"We'll need pictures of their faces. If Truggs is raiding other worlds… This has the potential to get very nasty."

 

[Ngamer11]

"Depends whether there's robot follow-"

Click to shrink...

I think that should say 'Depends on whether or not'.

Why am I now dreading an alliance of evil Earths who want revenge on Truggs and decide to take it by destroying Earth 16?

 

[Darko]

"A test to see whether it would drive me away." Hm. "I don't think they had any specifically anti-Kryptonian weapons here, but I-."

Click to shrink...

Though they probably have Captain Marvel defences, so they do have ones to fight those with super strength and durability.

Yes. Ah, actually, they should already be here." Oh. That explains the lack of force field. "This has been in combat recently. See here?"

Click to shrink...

I'm getting the feeling that this was Truggs' doing.

wards that he entered common circulation back on our Earth

Click to shrink...

'have entered'

in principle that I thing I can

Click to shrink...

'that I think'

And the weapon itself bears more than a little resemblance to what I saw when I visited the subterranean parts of LexCorps.

Click to shrink...

Two, Truggs.

We'll need pictures of their faces. If Truggs is raiding other worlds… This has the potential to get very nasty."

Click to shrink...

Wonderful, now we may find out that there are other worids that are gunning for revenge.

 

[hance1986]

I feel like at the end of this arc Truggs needs to be captured and remanded to Overman to take back with him to National Socialist Earth. They have Kryptonian tech so they're not behind. They would hopefully actually imprison him and take him out from play and not be distracted by his rambling about advancement.

 

[Silverias]

Yeah, I feel like the cost-benefit of keeping Truggs alive is becoming strained.

I don't mean "Oh yeah, put him in the dirt, he deserves it." but instead "He is becoming dangerous enough to reality in his meddling that he can't be allowed to continue."

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

16th September 2012
19:59 GMT +1

Prague has suffered raging fires that destroyed most of the historic parts of the town, spreading out from the sites of meteorite impacts. Though the fires have long since burned themselves out, between the flames and the shockwaves, there isn't much left but rubble.

Unless you know where to look.

Click to shrink...

And with a Power Ring, there's not much that can stay hidden... Unless you know the holes in its capabilities. Imagine if Truggs had been paranoid enough to leave behind disposable Scry-Wards at any site he raided?

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

I shove another pile of rubble to the side, and… Yes, here we are. I don't know where all of Doctor Sivana's hidey-holes are, but I know quite a few. Unlike the rest of the city, his bases are designed to take a pounding. Nothing that Superman couldn't force his way through with dedicated effort -very few hardened locations can make that boast, and fewer still make it honestly- but enough to survive near misses.

Superman takes a not entirely approving breath.

Click to shrink...

Yes, I can see him not approving of OL's association with 'Super-villains'. Spin it as 'rehabilitation efforts' all you want, some of the heroes just seem to be stuck on 'they did bad stuff'...

"Do I want to know how much time you spent with Sivana?"

"Probably not."

Click to shrink...

Enough that he's probably close to being one of Sivana Senior's actual friends... A circle with very few openings, I would hazard.

But 'survive' and 'survive untouched' aren't the same things. There's a clunk as my filaments shift a part of the door's mechanism, and then the hatch swings open.

"Okay, so unlike back home, the defences here aren't programmed to limit themselves in attacking me."

Click to shrink...

On the up side, they're less likely to specialise in anti-Lantern weaponry? Probably a bit more arcano-tech, though, especially if the Doc and his kids were focusing on resisting the daemons.

"They still attacked you when you were… Friends?"

"It was a sort of test."

Click to shrink...

After all, it's the easiest way for them to test weaponry without using it on people who might not be prepared for it...

"A test to find out what you could do?"

"A test to see whether it would drive me away." Hm. "I don't think they had any specifically anti-Kryptonian weapons here, but I-."

Click to shrink...

I mean, I wouldn't put it past them to have something... Though whether they'd install it as standard after the Demon-Superman thing...

He raises his right hand to stop me. "I'll go first."

He leaps down the hole, his flying abilities keeping him from touching the floor once he's cleared the shaft. Nothing attacks him right away, which probably means that the guns are charging. I-.

Click to shrink...

I'm sure he'd notice any ominous hums inside the walls...

My armour doesn't fit through the hole. Ah. I switch my heavy armour out for my medium suit and make doubly sure that my construct armour is in place, then drop down after him.

"I'm not seeing any sign that someone's been here."

Click to shrink...

Well, if they could fly, there'd be no footsteps. And if they could hack the security, there'd be no signs of defensive combat... So it's not a guarantee.

"Can you see through the walls?"

"No. I'm guessing that the Sivanas use something a little more sophisticated than lead."

Click to shrink...

Maybe in his first hideout. Any super-scientist worth their salt would never stop improving things.

"Li-ttle bit." I take a look around the emergency exit. Not too much security here, because it's where they would go in an emergency. "Information request. Is Doctor Thaddeus Bodog Sivana in residence?"

Nothing happens. Superman looks around cautiously.

Click to shrink...

To be fair, I doubt their systems would accept requests from any tom, dick or harry that walked in the door.

"How long does it usually-?"

The air turns blue as plasma initiators deploy from the floor and ceiling, liberated electrons crackling harmlessly around my construct shield. Superman appears to be mildly in pain-.

Click to shrink...

Since electricity is one of the few things his body isn't hardened against. So that's to be expected.

He turns his head around the room, red rays flashing out from his eyes to destroy the initiators. I wave my left hand and pull the one closest to me out of the ceiling, taking the time to scan it in detail. Looks pretty much the same as what our Sivana uses.

"Is that the friendly greeting version, or the actively hostile version?"

Click to shrink...

I mean, it would probably leave Captain Marvel a little singed. I doubt Sivana would throw his good stuff away on an attacker if he knew they weren't an actual threat, like the 'Big Red Cheese' isn't.

"Depends whether there's robot follow-"

The door between us and the rest of the facility drops into the floor, revealing a bulky robot with multi-barrelled pulse plasma guns.

"-up."

Click to shrink...

Still friendly, or is it getting serious?

"Die!"

Superman takes the majority of its wrath as it he flies at it, fists extended! Each side has twelve guns on a single mount, and the green plasma washes over-.

Click to shrink...

A passable amount of Dakka, but hardly sufficient for the task... Though the colour suggests it's tuned a little more towards the Kryptonite end of the spectrum.

And now there's a Superman-shaped hole in the middle. Interesting. No force field.

I fly closer to give it a thorough scan. Yes, that is odd. Usually I wouldn't be able to scan the interior mechanism unless they were deliberately letting me, but here there's no problem.

Click to shrink...

Again, Sivana usually doesn't mess with the Lanterns. No reason to develop defences against them except as thought experiments.

"Did you feel a force field bubble?"

"No. Should we expect more of them?"

"Yes. Ah, actually, they should already be here." Oh. That explains the lack of force field. "This has been in combat recently. See here?"

Click to shrink...

So they're not the first visitors. The Truggs theory is looking more likely.

I point and Superman nods.

"The emitters were already burned out."

"There's more charring on the interior. I'd guess an EMP grenade, but… They'd be shielded against that."

Click to shrink...

Sounds like Truggs, or more likely some of his goons using supertech, knew what they'd find and came prepared.

Ring?

"There are weapons that could bypass the shielding that Sivana uses on this model. Can't.. think of anyone who uses them on Earth, mind."

Click to shrink...

This Earth, or Earth in general? I don't doubt the Weaponers could manage it, after all.

Superman frowns, sniffing-. And he's gone.

Ring, air analysis? Ah.

Click to shrink...

Super-senses at work. Looks like he's found something.

I float after him, conducting a continual scan of my environment. Nothing like as hard as it is back home, most likely because they didn't have much contact with Lanterns here. As I follow in Superman's wake I see increased signs of battle damage unrelated to the impacts which destroyed the city above us; drone guns destroyed in their mounts, burns on the walls, ceiling and floor from plasma and laser shots. Someone working for Demon Superman? Local people just trying to find somewhere to hide out?

Click to shrink...

Or Truggs' people, seeking loot from an abandoned site... I doubt the Demon-Superman's followers would be this subtle.

Another corner and there are two broken robots. Damage patterns consistent with EMP charring anti-tank rocket impacts. The main warehouse…

Superman's checking the bodies, human bodies. They're wearing unmarked body armour and carrying the sort of science fiction armaments the actual military would give their eyeteeth to own. No unit markings. Their armour has taken repeated hits which have burned through the metal/ceramic composite plates, but…

Click to shrink...

And there's the goons. Looks like it didn't all go their way.

It looks like they achieved their objective. The place has been looted.

Two are crouched next to the main computer access with cables plugged it, their own computer burned out from the defensive electrical discharge. A little further along the survivors have tried again; the floor has been removed and the cables stripped. No bodies there.

Click to shrink...

At least this Sivana is paranoid enough to have heavy defences on his equipotent even inside secure sites. But then, there's plenty of other super-genius criminals willing to try to loot his stuff on most DC Earths..

"Why did they leave the bodies?" Superman shakes his head in bewilderment. "I understand stealing from Sivana, but if they took out all this equipment, why not take the bodies with them?"

"Hell is in the ascendancy. They couldn't take the risk of bringing something back with them, or giving… Something, a channel to follow."

Click to shrink...

That is a good point. An unwarded corpse? Probably possible for a wandering demon to occupy, at least for a while.

I take hold of a spare EMP grenade and give it a detailed scan. Not exactly the same wards that he entered common circulation back on our Earth, but similar enough in principle that I thing I can conclude that they came from a common source. And the weapon itself bears more than a little resemblance to what I saw when I visited the subterranean parts of LexCorps.

"We'll need pictures of their faces. If Truggs is raiding other worlds… This has the potential to get very nasty."

Click to shrink...

Probably tweaked for different thaumospheres. I doubt this Earth was idential to Earth-16 even before the demons moved in.

Dammit, OL. You really have to set aside a few days to hunt down Truggs once and for all. Messing with one Earth is bad enough, but this? This is how you trigger apocalypses. I don't mean a full-on Crisis, but even minor crossovers can have big risks and big consequences. And Earth-16 isn't as used to them as, say Pre-Crisis Earth-One and Earth-Two...

 

[Darko]

Yes, I can see him not approving of OL's association with 'Super-villains'. Spin it as 'rehabilitation efforts' all you want, some of the heroes just seem to be stuck on 'they did bad stuff

Click to shrink...

To be fair some of those villains don't have any interest in being rehabilitated or atoning for any wrongdoing.

And Sivana doesn't feel any guilt for all the horrible things he's done, so yeah.

Would you exactly be welcoming to someone that has done horrible things but shows no regret?

the colour suggests it's tuned a little more towards the Kryptonite end of the spectrum

Click to shrink...

I don't think it was kryptonite, probably more of a coincidence that it was green.

 

[NightmareWarden]

Doesn't look like any of these troops were affected by a Dial. Or anything that used a Dial survived and returned home with Truggs…

 

[Bud-E]

Superman takes a not entirely approving breath.

"Do I want to know how much time you spent with Sivana?"

"Probably not."

Click to shrink...

Didn't Superman and the League know about Paul's relationship with Sivana? I know Paul told them during the Sheeda invasion.

 

[Ngamer11]

Didn't Superman and the League know about Paul's relationship with Sivana? I know Paul told them during the Sheeda invasion.

Click to shrink...

The League knows. That doesn't mean they approve.

 

[Vaermina]

"We'll need pictures of their faces. If Truggs is raiding other worlds… This has the potential to get very nasty."

Click to shrink...

If Trugg's is raiding other worlds, those are no doubt mercenaries from a non-Earth 16 world that he hired to further muddy his tracks.

 

[Mr Zoat]

I think that should say 'Depends on whether or not'.

Click to shrink...

That's probably a more proper way of saying it, but the way it's written is how it's often spoken.

'have entered'
'that I think'

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

I feel like at the end of this arc Truggs needs to be captured and remanded to Overman to take back with him to National Socialist Earth. They have Kryptonian tech so they're not behind. They would hopefully actually imprison him and take him out from play and not be distracted by his rambling about advancement.

Click to shrink...

They wouldn't imprison him. He might get a show trial.

Enough that he's probably close to being one of Sivana Senior's actual friends... A circle with very few openings, I would hazard.

Click to shrink...

Plenty of openings. Very few applicants.

/Modern politics.

 

[deccan2008]

I don't get it, Demon Superman shot them once from the other side of the planet and then went back to brooding?

 

[DrThoth]

It's really past time to take down Lex, I feel. Though I imagine/hope when Paragon informs the Earth-16 Sivanas about what's going on, the Light are in for a bit of a shitshow. (which reminds me, Georgia finished or at least collected a bunch of data about the sociology regarding limited implementation of super-tech and magic, right? I seem to remember her saying something was odd to Paragon before they were interrupted by a narrativium explosion aka plot interruption).

What, if anything, are the angels of the Silver City in Demon Superman's dimension doing regarding Hell-Earth? Endless debating?

 

[Mr Zoat]

What, if anything, are the angels of the Silver City in Demon Superman's dimension doing regarding Hell-Earth? Endless debating?

Click to shrink...

I refer you to the Book of Job. It's not like there isn't precedent.

 

[Darko]

which reminds me, Georgia finished or at least collected a bunch of data about the sociology regarding limited implementation of super-tech and magic, right? I seem to remember her saying something was odd to Paragon before they were interrupted by a narrativium explosion aka plot interruption).

Click to shrink...

Yep, paragon asked her to do that and I think she found something weird, but something else came up.

 

[Ngamer11]

Yep, paragon asked her to do ghat and I think she found something weird, but something else came up.

Click to shrink...

I hope Mr Zoat will come back to that in the future. That seems like the start of a chain of events that will lead to confronting Boss Smiley again.

 

[Darko]

I hope Mr Zoat will come back to that in the future. That seems like the start of a chain of events that will lead to confronting Boss Smiley again.

Click to shrink...

Most likely.

 

[DrThoth]

I refer you to the Book of Job. It's not like there isn't precedent.

Click to shrink...

Yes but in that case God explicitly gave the go-ahead for Satan to torment Job (putting aside the fact that Satan at that point may have been a job title for a prosecutor-figure working under God and not an actual antagonist, in real-life anyway). Unless there's a DC version of Job with a variation of the story.

In this case it's a Kryptonian demon responsible for Superman's corruption, right? I think there was a wiki link a few chapters back that talked about it. Not that DC angels seem to particularly care about breaches of divine or diabolical jurisdiction, admittedly. I forget if the Demons Three are going to show up at some point (or already did and I forgot).