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

Prognostic Hannya · Jan 20, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
I may be fine with 'Jamestown' and 'New York' and 'Londonderry'

Fun fact did you know that "Londonderry" has the most silent letters out of any word in the English language?

Mr Zoat · Jan 20, 2022

BlueMangoAdea said:
Oh. So this is a Constantine Episode.

No.

Darko said:
Zoat i think this should be 28th September, since in the spoiler box that's the date shown.

Thank you, corrected.

When I read this I couldn't help but think that it was named after Jason Bourne.

Bournville is not named after Jason Bourne.

So how is Odym like in universe -14?

Is there a Blue Lantern Corps there?

If there is then how do they operate, since I'm getting the feeling they primarily would try to bring hope to criminals so they can continue their crimes?

How is Saint Walker on universe -14 like?

How is Vega like?

And what about Tamaran -14 and the princesses?

The SI doesn't know any of that.

Chojin Patriarch said:
...the Ophidian is personally looking out of my eyes.

Thank you, corrected.

Prince Charon · Jan 20, 2022

Prognostic Hannya said:
Fun fact did you know that "Londonderry" has the most silent letters out of any word in the English language?

Well, I didn't, because I haven't heard it pronounced except in an episode of Benny Hill, where an actress playing a Frenchwoman pronounced it the way it's spelled (EDIT: so it sounded like she was saying 'London dairy').

Doccer · Jan 20, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"That depends on whether he's secretly a supervillain or not."

I shake my head.

"Come on Jade. That's not very likely, is it?"

Genre savy, lost.
Murphy interest, found.
Sorry Jade. But it seems we finally stumbled into whatever John Constantine is up to.

Ngamer11 · Jan 20, 2022

Doccer said:
Genre savy, lost.
Murphy interest, found.
Sorry Jade. But it seems we finally stumbled into whatever John Constantine is up to.

Mr Zoat said that this isn't a Constantine episode. As such, at best we may learn that he was there with his nephew but isn't anymore.

Bud-E · Jan 20, 2022

Isn't Constantine a Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos? John Quinn just has Nabu's helmet and the ability to use Order magic Constantine didn't actually give him his status as a Lord of Order.

Darko · Jan 20, 2022

Ngamer11 said:
Mr Zoat said that this isn't a Constantine episode. As such, at best we may learn that he was there with his nephew but isn't anymore.

Though this could be a set up for a future episode and the doctor plays a part in it.

Bud-E said:
Isn't Constantine a Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos? John Quinn just has Nabu's helmet and the ability to use Order magic Constantine didn't actually give him his status as a Lord of Order.

Not sure.

Paragon once mentioned that he's a Lord of both, but other times it seems to be just Chaos.

Paul may also not have the best knowledge of it since aside from a short conversation that they had, he hasn't seen Constantine since then.

Also Constantine was having trouble with both types of magic and got rid of the Helmet because of that.

It's possible that it didn't work and he still has both, or it could be that it reduced the level of Order magic he had.

We know he's a Lord of Chaos, but whether he's a Lord of both Order and Chaos is a bit ambiguous.

Ngamer11 · Jan 20, 2022

Darko said:
Not sure.

Paragon once mentioned that he's a Lord of both, but other times it seems to be just Chaos.

Paul may also not have the best knowledge of it since aside from a short conversation that they had, he hasn't seen Constantine since then.

Also Constantine was having trouble with both types of magic and got rid of the Helmet because of that.

It's possible that it didn't work and he still has both, or it could be that it reduced the level of Order magic he had.

We know he's a Lord of Chaos, but whether he's a Lord of both Order and Chaos is a bit ambiguous.

Based on what Richard Simpson said to Gemma, John Constantine is indeed a Lord of Chaos and Order, something that was previously considered impossible in-universe. John Quinn has also stated that he isn't a Lord or Order; he just uses the equipment of one. As such John Quinn has plenty of raw power, but nowhere near the skill or experience that other Lords would have. Since no new Lord of Order or Chaos has shown up, we can probably assume that both roles are still being filled by John Constantine.

Radix · Jan 20, 2022

Prognostic Hannya said:
Fun fact did you know that "Londonderry" has the most silent letters out of any word in the English language?

Wait how are you suppoaed to pronounce it?

Hell's Razer · Jan 20, 2022

Radix said:
Wait how are you suppoaed to pronounce it?

Just for fun I'm guessing 'o'on'ery .

Also "supposed"

P.S. I have no idea of how it is supposed to be pronounced apart from how it would appear based on its spelling.

Stsword · Jan 20, 2022

Bud-E said:
Isn't Constantine a Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos? John Quinn just has Nabu's helmet and the ability to use Order magic Constantine didn't actually give him his status as a Lord of Order.

That's what people keep trying to claim, but since it was established that it was literally impossible to do to Nabu what Constantine did to Klarion because Nabu never took a second anchor, and since the braindead Nabu is apparently still in the helmet empowering Quinn, I have no idea how people think Constantine supposedly did it.

With Nabu braindead, anyone who wears the helmet can use Nabu's connection to the Plane of Order to empower their magic, making them a pseudo-lord of order. Constantine claimed the helmet, giving him a connection to both Order and Chaos, and if Quinn was telling the truth, if, then Constantine found the experience unsustainable, and so gave the helmet to Quinn.

Now Richie claimed Constantine was a Lord of Order and Chaos, but since he was apparently so uninformed that he didn't know that Lords of Chaos and Order claim territories so therefore Nabu and Constantine would not be tolerated on the same planet, his expertise on the subject seems quite lacking.

Because Richie was looking for Constantine on Earth. Earth, which is Nabu's territory, and with Quinn acting in his stead is effectively still covered by Nabu.

Sure, Quinn could be lying, but if he's lying about Nabu still being in the helmet then he'd need to be able to fake that power up. Sure, I have no problem believing there are people who could do that, but not many.

Darko · Jan 20, 2022

Stsword said:
That's what people keep trying to claim, but since it was established that it was literally impossible to do to Nabu what Constantine did to Klarion because Nabu never took a second anchor, and since the braindead Nabu is apparently still in the helmet empowering Quinn, I have no idea how people think Constantine supposedly did it.

With Nabu braindead, anyone who wears the helmet can use Nabu's connection to the Plane of Order to empower their magic, making them a pseudo-lord of order. Constantine claimed the helmet, giving him a connection to both Order and Chaos, and if Quinn was telling the truth, if, then Constantine found the experience unsustainable, and so gave the helmet to Quinn.

Now Richie claimed Constantine was a Lord of Order and Chaos, but since he was apparently so uninformed that he didn't know that Lords of Chaos and Order claim territories so therefore Nabu and Constantine would not be tolerated on the same planet, his expertise on the subject seems quite lacking.

Because Richie was looking for Constantine on Earth. Earth, which is Nabu's territory, and with Quinn acting in his stead is effectively still covered by Nabu.

Sure, Quinn could be lying, but if he's lying about Nabu still being in the helmet then he'd need to be able to fake that power up. Sure, I have no problem believing there are people who could do that, but not many.

There is the possibility that by being braindead, Nabu effectively lost his status as a Lord, and while he may be in the Helmet, his...spiritual body no longer has a Lord of Order status, so while he can still channel Order magic, it's not on the level of a Lord of Order, with Constantine inheriting his position as a Lord of Order.

I think Zoat once mentioned that the Lords of Order are waiting for the new Lord of Order for universe 16 to present themselves, so that could point to Constantine being a Lord of Order.

Also, Lords aren't restricted to planets.

If there is a Lord of Order and Lord of Chaos in the universe then those two Lords will be the only ones that can exist in the universe, no matter the planet.

For example, after Mordru was banished somewhere and Klarion took his place, Klarion was the only Lord of Chaos in the universe.

After Klarion in the Renegade universe died, Mordru was able to reenter the material universe, which he was not able to do before that.

It is somewhat possible for other Lords to exist, but there seem to be some restrictions.

When they were looking into ways to free Giovanni from Nabu, Paul, Zatanna and Constantine summoned a Lord of Order to ask him to remove Nabu, and later Constantine apparently summoned Shade the Changing Man to ask him what Lords actually are.

By these examples it seems that it's possible for more that two Lords to exist, but they may need to be summoned by someone in the material universe and it's possible that they have restrictions on their powers and what they can do while there.

BlueMangoAdea · Jan 20, 2022

BlueMangoAdea said:
Oh. So this is a Constantine Episode.

Mr Zoat said:
No.

Michael Vonica · Jan 20, 2022

For the rule on territory restriction, I was pretty sure that it wasn't a one per universe deal, but a one per magically active area of space deal.

To be a true lord of order or chaos, you need a claim and a connection. How the claim is made is unclear, but it seems the basics are not having a competitor, embodying the concept, and having the necessary skill and knowledge. And in order to maintain a connection to a plane of order or chaos, you need a physical anchor. For Klarion, he used Teekl. When he lost Teekl, he maintained his status as lord of chaos, but wasn't able to do all that much.

For Constantine, when he became a lord of chaos, he had all the necessities. He was a very chaotic person, he was a talented mage, and he had a fish balloon granted by a princess of chaos. He got the final bit by soundly defeating Klarion, rendering Klarion brain dead, and demonstrating that Constantine didn't have anyone who could compete against him for the title.

For Nabu, his connection was his helmet, which was also where his magical consciousness was stored. Constantine also defeated Nabu, rendering him brain dead as well, which I feel should be enough to remove Nabu from his status as a lord of order. Because he isn't brain dead in the sense that he has any chance to recover, but more so in the sense of someone literally scrambling his mind, and possibly soul. That's about as dead as Nabu can get, and I feel that it should be enough to remove him from his position as a lord of order.

Now, I don't believe that Constantine became a lord of order by defeating Nabu. While Constantine did manage to get the helmet afterwards, there is no way that he was orderly enough to be able to claim the title. And if he did claim the title, that means the helmet now has direct access into his soul. And then he handed it to John Quinn. And there's a lot of dangerous stuff that I'm sure an enemy mage could do to someone by having an artifact with direct access into their soul. And if that helmet did have that kind of access, I'm sure that Constantine would have known better than to hand it off to anyone, yet alone a mere acquaintance. So point is, I don't think Constantine ever became a lord of order.

Stsword · Jan 20, 2022

Actually I'd say that Zoat treats the soul as a spiritual body.

Constantine became a lord of chaos when he removed a spiritual organ, let's call it a planar lung, and grafted it into his own soul, giving him the connection to Chaos.

So planar lung = Lord status.

If Nabu lost his connection, then his planar lung is defunct, and then Quinn could not access the Plane of Order through the helmet.

He could presumably access Nabu's own innate energies, but it would not be the infinitely renewable energy source that Lords have.

Has it ever been demonstrated if Quinn can run out of magic?

Likewise New God apotheosis seems to basically be the spiritual equivalent of those Human Growth Hormone shots that doctors give really short kids so they'll grow.

Reminds me of the World of Prime setting for DnD, in which experience points are in fact residual soul energy left behind after the soul leaves in death, and leveling up is the result of someone grafting that soul energy onto their soul in set patterns, aka classes. So a 10th level Fighter is basically Wolverine as far as normal people, aka 1st level commoners, are concerned.

Darko · Jan 20, 2022

Michael Vonica said:
For the rule on territory restriction, I was pretty sure that it wasn't a one per universe deal, but a one per magically active area of space deal.

Nope, it's a one per universe deal.

After Mordru was banished and Klarion took his place, Mordru wasn't able to return to any area of the material universe.

His own planet spent decades without him there.

Michael Vonica said:
For Constantine, when he became a lord of chaos, he had all the necessities. He was a very chaotic person, he was a talented mage, and he had a fish balloon granted by a princess of chaos. He got the final bit by soundly defeating Klarion, rendering Klarion brain dead, and demonstrating that Constantine didn't have anyone who could compete against him for the title

If you're saying that the balloon is his anchor then I don't think that's true.

During his fight with Nabu, Nabu mentioned his coat as being his anchor.

I think he just used the balloon to beat Klarion, but did not turn it into an anchor.

Though it's possible that Nabu could be wrong, but he may have sensed the mystic properties in the coat and concluded that it was the anchor.

Michael Vonica said:
Now, I don't believe that Constantine became a lord of order by defeating Nabu. While Constantine did manage to get the helmet afterwards, there is no way that he was orderly enough to be able to claim the title. And if he did claim the title, that means the helmet now has direct access into his soul. And then he handed it to John Quinn. And there's a lot of dangerous stuff that I'm sure an enemy mage could do to someone by having an artifact with direct access into their soul. And if that helmet did have that kind of access, I'm sure that Constantine would have known better than to hand it off to anyone, yet alone a mere acquaintance. So point is, I don't think Constantine ever became a lord of order

That's not necessarily the case.

It is possible for chaotic beings to channel Order magic in this fic, so it's possible that John got the Lord of Order position.

And the Helmet may no longer be necessary for him to have since he's channeling the magic himself instead of the through the Helmet.

And I doubt John would have handed it over to someone if it could be used to hurt him, but he can be pretty irresponsible and he was apparently having difficulty with the two different energies, so it's possible that in his desperation he gave it up hoping it would either several his connection to Order, or at least reduce it to a lesser level.

Stsword said:
If Nabu lost his connection, then his planar lung is defunct, and then Quinn could not access the Plane of Order through the helmet

Unless he still can get energy from it, but not on the same level as a Lord.

Stsword said:
Has it ever been demonstrated if Quinn can run out of magic?

Nope.

Though we haven't seen him do anything too big.

He was literally in one fight and while he lost it wasn't because he ran out of juice.

Most of the time he was just acting as transportation or doing something else.

When he beat Dr. Gotham it was through a clever spell instead of overwhelming might.

BlueMangoAdea · Jan 20, 2022

Isn't Nabu-16 braindead but still connected to the plane of order?

Stsword · Jan 20, 2022

BlueMangoAdea said:
Isn't Nabu-16 braindead but still connected to the plane of order?

That would be the assumption, but as you can see some disagree with that conclusion.

Michael Vonica · Jan 20, 2022

I would say the helmet is connected, not Nabu. After Klarion went braindead, he wasn't really connected to the plane of chaos anymore, was he?

Stsword · Jan 20, 2022

Michael Vonica said:
I would say the helmet is connected, not Nabu. After Klarion went braindead, he wasn't really connected to the plane of chaos anymore, was he?

Why wouldn't he be? As I've already stated, the connection is literally a part of his soul.

Klarion's connection was only able to be ripped out of his soul because he chose a second anchor, something Nabu never did.

Mr Zoat · Jan 21, 2022

29th September 2012
18:35 GMT +3

"I'm looking for Doctor Brady?"

The woman manning the reception desk looks at the pair of us with a mild frown, then her eyes jerk to something on the wall to my left. It's out of my line of sight, but I can guess from the sudden flash of recognition what it shows.

When her eyes return to me, I smile and raise my left hand to display my ring, and she's already phoning through to the office.

"I will call heem at once."

I smile as Jade turns to look at the wall display. "Thank you."

The receptionist looks away from me for a moment as the phone rings, then looks back at me.

"Sia? Orange Lantern just walked een."

I smile, then turn away to join Jade. The display she's looking at includes images of the roads being laid down and some building work being done on the town. There's one of the Dolmen Gates being air lifted in, and… There's a rather nice one of me in full heroic raiment. Not completely sure where it's from. I've never been here before, but the League has released official publicity photos of most members of the team and plenty of people have taken less authorised images.

Oh, and there's one of some of the… Board? Or managers, possibly, of Cadbury's. I don't point out Oliver Queen because I haven't had it confirmed that Jade has seen through his tiny mask yet, but he's actually joining in with the road builders. Though to be fair to most of the Cadbury's executives, given their respective builds, he's probably the only one really suited to that sort of work.

"Looks like you're pretty popular."

"Give it a few centuries."

"Of course, now that you're here, they might get to see the real you."

"Less fan mail. Great! But…" I skim over the writing associated with the image. It's pretty much just a press release, though I recognise two phrases as coming directly from me. "But this is… For me, this is what success looks like. Superman's got a statue in Metropolis, and it's not because he donated to the right election campaign or because someone wanted to wind up Lex Luthor. It's the city saying 'we would literally all be dead if it wasn't for this guy'."

"'This town wouldn't be here if not for this guy'."

"Superman's a good man, but he doesn't build things that last. I don't care about statues or pictures, but I do care about the town. I mean… Unlike some of its neighbours, Kenya had itself reasonably in order before the Sheeda attack. Preserving that order once people accept it isn't all that hard. But you do actually need to do it."

"Or you leave a vulnerability that someone like the Reach could exploit."

"N-. Well, yes, obviously-."

"But that's not why you do it."

"It wasn't hard." I sigh. "I remember hearing a report on… I don't remember whether it was television or radio, that charity donations of clothing to Africa had basically killed off mass produced native textile production. Below cost production is hard to beat. There's no real reason why Africa can't be as wealthy as other parts of the world, it just needs… Some problems dealt with. Africa's actually got terrible rivers and coastlines, so it needs better transportation links. And law and order."

"And Cadbury's chocolate?"

"I fully support people's right to choose their chocolate brand, even if that means that their choice is objectively suboptimal and involves fake cheese or rotten milk that has no business being in chocolate."

"Rotten milk?"

"American chocolate. I have no interest in ruling the world but I certainly wouldn't mind running every purveyor of lipolysised chocolate out of business. Why any sane person would deliberately make chocolate that tastes like vomit-."

The door beside the reception desk bursts open and a somewhat dishevelled-. Blond man with what is either a close cropped beard or… I'd say about a ten o'clock shadow. Sideburns extend to his jaw line and his left ear is pierced with a hoop earring.

"Orange Lantern. Finn Brady, good to meet you."

He… Smiles, and for a moment I'm forced to blink and suppress my empathic vision further as I'm confronted by a man who genuinely wants to do nothing but help those around him. I reach out to take his hand and my environmental shield glitches out where he touches me.

We lucked out when we got this guy. And I'm probably staring a little long.

"Doctor Brady, likewise." I release his hand and gesture to Jade. "This is Jade Nguyen, my girlfriend."

"Pleased to meet you, Miss."

"Doctor."

He keeps smiling. "No one told me you were coming. Trying to keep things quiet?"

I shrug. "Sort of. This is supposed to be a holiday, but I'd feel like a bit of a heel if I didn't at least pop in and say hello."

"So it's not a surprise audit?"

Jade's face goes completely neutral. "Why? Do you need one?"

"No, but I've tried running these things before and it's amazing how much cash goes on graft if you don't watch it."

I shrug. "I'm sure that the foundation has people keeping an eye out. But I'm pretty sure that I don't have anything to worry about where you're concerned."

"Of course not. Ah, do you want a look around while you're here?"

"Yes please. And naturally you can use this opportunity to bypass your entire reporting chain and bring any problems at all to my attention."

He shrugs. "I don't really have any. Deliveries are all on time, we're getting all the vaccines we need… Are you planning on setting up a hospital?"

"Me personally? No. But that will probably happen at some point. None of the towns or villages we've set up so far are really big enough."

"Why does that matter? You've got those… gateways, so you can move anyone from wherever they are."

"We've also got a Gate in the capital, and within driving distance of quite a few other major cities." I shrug. "I can-."

Jade's eyebrow is raised.

"After my holiday is over, I can-" He smiles and nods. "-talk to people about it, but these clinics are designed to be able to cope with anything that happens on a regular basis. Any resistance to the purple healing ray?"

"No, everyone's fine about that. I had to have a word with a few kids who were daring each other to cut themselves so they could use it. Ah, listen, Sia and I were about to go and get dinner. Do you want to come along?"

doug89 · Jan 21, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
I don't point out Oliver Queen because I don't like that I've had it confirmed that Jade has seen through his tiny mask yet

Should that have been that she hasn't seen through his tiny mask yet?

Darko · Jan 21, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"I'm looking for Doctor Brady?"

The woman manning the reception desk looks at the pair of us with a mild frown, then her eyes jerk to something on the wall to my left. It's out of my line of sight, but I can guess from the sudden flash of recognition what is shows.

When her eyes return to me, I smile and raise my left hand to display my ring, and she's already phoning through to the office

Seeing a picture of her boss, most likely.

Mr Zoat said:
'. I don't point out Oliver Queen because I don't like I've had it confirmed that Jade has seen through his tiny mask yet

This sentence feels weird.

Maybe 'like that I've had it confirmed that Jade has seen through his tiny mask'

Mr Zoat said:
Though to be fair to most of the Cadburys' executives, given their respective builds, he's probably the only one really suited to that sort of work.

The other ones may just show up for publicity.

Mr Zoat said:
Of course, now that you're here, they might get to see the real you."

And become disillusioned.

Mr Zoat said:
Less fan mail. Great!

Though a lot more hate mail.

Mr Zoat said:
He… Smiles, and for a moment I'm forced to blink and suppress my empathic vision further as I'm confronted by a man who genuinely wants to do nothing but help those around him. I reach out to take his hand and my environmental shield glitches out where he touches me.

We lucked out when we got this guy. And I'm probably staring a little long

Hmm, I remember Zoat once mentioning a magic user that taps into the Elemental Plane of Compassion to power his healing magic.

I'm getting the feeling that it may be this guy.

Or he's going to somehow be involved with the Indigo Tribe.

Mr Zoat said:
Please to meet you, Miss."

'Pleased'

moralrelativity · Jan 21, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
He smiles and nods.

He -> She ? It seems to me it may be more appropriate if that response is from Jade.

Mr Zoat said:
but these clinics are designed to be able to cope with anyone that happens on a regular basis.

anyone -> anything

Mr Zoat · Jan 21, 2022

doug89 said:
Should that have been that she hasn't seen through his tiny mask yet?

Darko said:
'Pleased'

Thank you, corrected.

Darko · Jan 21, 2022

moralrelativity said:
He -> She ? It seems to me it may be more appropriate if that response is from Jade.

I think it fits with him, since it can be said that he understood what Paul meant so he smiled and nodded.

Though it can also work with Jade.

NightmareWarden · Jan 21, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"But this is… For me, this is what success looks like. Superman's got a statue in Metropolis, and it's not because he donated to the right election campaign or because someone wanted to wind up Lex Luthor. It's the city saying 'we would literally all be dead if it wasn't for this guy'."

"'This town wouldn't be here if not for this guy'."

"Superman's a good man, but he doesn't build things that last. I don't care about statues or pictures, but I do care about the town. I mean… Unlike some of its neighbours, Kenya had itself reasonably in order before the Sheeda attack. Preserving that order once people accept it isn't all that hard. But you do actually need to do it."

"Or you leave a vulnerability that someone like the Reach could exploit."

"N-. Well, yes, obviously-."

"But that's not why you do it."

"It wasn't hard." I sigh. "I remember hearing a report on… I don't remember whether it was television or radio, that charity donations of clothing to Africa had basically killed off mass produced native textile production. Below cost production is hard to beat. There's no real reason why Africa can't be as wealthy as other parts of the world, it just needs… Some problems dealt with. Africa's actually got terrible rivers and coastlines, so it needs better transportation links. And law and order."

I don't expect everyone to write a SI fic. I don't expect everyone to try thought experiments where they have a significant amount of power in a vaguely consistent, stable setting like DC Earth. But if the above quote tickles the moral parts of your brain… throw your own hat into the ring.

Where do you fall on the Superman/Paragon!Paul/Dr.Doom spectrum, if you aren't able to live as a hermit or normal civilian with your new powers? What would help you find fulfillment? I suppose a full time scientist, magic researcher, or sponsor would also fit into that spectrum. Obviously bypassing age-based mortality may change your answer a great deal, so focus as much or as little on it as you feel comfortable with.

Chojin Patriarch · Jan 21, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
29th September 2012
18:35 GMT +3

"I'm looking for Doctor Brady?"

The woman manning the reception desk looks at the pair of us with a mild frown, then her eyes jerk to something on the wall to my left. It's out of my line of sight, but I can guess from the sudden flash of recognition what is shows.

Ah, it took a moment for her to recognise 'the Cake Man', eh? Or there's a picture of him on the wall back there as 'Our CEO'. I suppose she wouldn't expect a celebrity to turn up all the way out there, after all.

When her eyes return to me, I smile and raise my left hand to display my ring, and she's already phoning through to the office.

"I will call heem at once."

Oh, no rush, I think. If he's with a patient...

I smile as Jade turns to look at the wall display. "Thank you."

The receptionist looks away from me for a moment as the phone rings, then looks back at me.

Heh, no time to schmooze with the big name, there's work to do.

"Sia? Orange Lantern just walked een."

I smile, then turn away to join Jade. The display she's looking at includes images of the roads being laid down and some building work being done on the town. There's one of the Dolmen Gate being air lifted in, and… There's a rather nice one of me in full heroic raiment. Not completely sure where it's from. I've never been here before, but the League has released official publicity photos of most members of the team and plenty of people have taken less authorised images.

At least this one isn't too embarrassing. I'm pretty sure there are all manner of websites in the DC Universe devoted to.. candid pictures of heroes, especially female ones.

Oh, and there's one of some of the… Board? Or managers, possibly, of Cadburys'. I don't point out Oliver Queen because I don't like I've had it confirmed that Jade has seen through his tiny mask yet, but he's actually joining in with the road builders. Though to be fair to most of the Cadburys' executives, given their respective builds, he's probably the only one really suited to that sort of work.

"Looks like you're pretty popular."

True, the heroing business doesn't lend itself to unhealthiness or being overweight. Unless that's your super-power.

"Give it a few centuries."

"Of course, now that you're here, they might get to see the real you."

...It's not too late to back out. Don't want to tarnish those images they might have of you.

"Less fan mail. Great! But…" I skim over the writing associated with the image. It's pretty much just a press release, though I recognise two phrases as coming directly from me. "But this is… For me, this is what success looks like. Superman's got a statue in Metropolis, and it's not because he donated to the right election campaign or because someone wanted to wind up Lex Luthor. It's the city saying 'we would literally all be dead if it wasn't for this guy'."

"'This town wouldn't be here if not for this guy'."

And I suspect you can guess which side OL comes down on...

"Superman's a good man, but he doesn't build things that last. I don't care about statues or pictures, but I do care about the town. I mean… Unlike some of its neighbours, Kenya had itself reasonably in order before the Sheeda attack. Preserving that order once people accept it isn't all that hard. But you do actually need to do it."

"Or you leave a vulnerability that someone like the Reach could exploit."

Like a small nation desperate to seem powerful who invites the aliens or supervillains in to increase their political punch. Or worse, said aliens or supervillains move in and take over, openly or behind the scenes.

"N-. Well, yes, obviously-."

"But that's not why you do it."

To be fair, if he has anything to say in the matter, things like the Reach will not be problems for all that much longer. It's a pretty simple rule, really: "Don't fuck with what is mine."

"It wasn't hard." I sigh. "I remember hearing a report on… I don't remember whether it was television or radio, that charity donations of clothing to Africa had basically killed off mass produced native textile production. Below cost production is hard to beat. There's no real reason why Africa can't be as wealthy as other parts of the world, it just needs… Some problems dealt with. Africa's actually got terrible rivers and coastlines, so it needs better transportation links. And law and order."

"And Cadburys' chocolate?"

Of course, when you don't need to traverse the wide open spaces or inhospitable coastlines... Things suddenly become much easier.

"I fully support peoples' right to choose their chocolate brand, even if that means that their choice is objectively suboptimal and involves fake cheese or rotten milk that has no business being in chocolate."

"Rotten milk?"

Ah, yes. His whole raison d'etre for buying Cadbury's: saving his favourite brand of chocolate... Orange Lanterns: turning little, petty things into big, good things.

"American chocolate. I have no interest in ruling the world but I certainly wouldn't mind running every purveyor of lipolysised chocolate out of business. Why any sane person would deliberately make chocolate that tastes like vomit-."

The door beside the reception desk bursts open and a somewhat dishevelled-. Blonde man with what is either a close cropped beard or… I'd say about a ten o'clock shadow. Sideburns extend to his jaw line and his left ear is pierced with a hoop earring.

...No rush, mate. As for why American chocolate is made that way? Money.

"Orange Lantern. Finn Brady, good to meet you."

He… Smiles, and for a moment I'm forced to blink and suppress my empathic vision further as I'm confronted by a man who genuinely wants to do nothing but help those around him. I reach out to take his hand and my environmental shield glitches out where he touches me.

My word. Amazing to see that level of compassion in a Constantine. ...Imagine what he could do with an Indigo Ring. Too bad the Tribe would never select him for one. Also a pity Kalmin's given other colours a big 'No sir!'...

We lucked out when we got this guy. And I'm probably staring a little long.

"Doctor Brady, likewise." I release his hand and gesture to Jade. "This is Jade Nguyen, my girlfriend."

Indeed. He looks like a great guy. The biggest concern is if the Constantine luck bred true...

"Please to meet you, Miss."

"Doctor."

He keeps smiling. "No one told me you were coming. Trying to keep things quiet?"

...Something like that...

I shrug. "Sort of. This is supposed to be a holiday, but I'd feel like a bit of a heel if I didn't at least pop in and say hello."

"So it's not a surprise audit?"

...Do you have something to hide from an audit?

Jade's face goes completely neutral. "Why? Do you need one?"

"No, but I've tried running these things before and it's amazing how much cash goes on graft if you don't watch it."

Sad to say, that is apparently very true of any operation in nearly any African nation...

I shrug. "I'm sure that the foundation has people keeping an eye out. But I'm pretty sure that I don't have anything to worry about where you're concerned."

"Of course not. Ah, do you want a look around while you're here?"

I suppose being able to look into people's emotions makes it easier to spot indiscretions. Just follow the acrid tang of fear...

"Yes please. And naturally you can use this opportunity to bypass your entire reporting chain and bring any problems at all to my attention."

He shrugs. "I don't really have any. Deliveries are all on time, we're getting all the vaccines we need… Are you planning on setting up a hospital?"

Huh. That sounds almost strange to hear about a European-backed operation in Africa. They must have really good security.

"Me personally? No. But that will probably happen at some point. None of the towns or villages we've set up so far are really big enough."

"Why does that matter? You're got those… gateways, so you can move anyone from wherever they are."

Just because you might want something doesn't mean you need it immediately. Besides, the bigger the operation, the more paperwork there'd be.

"We've also got a Gate in the capital, and within driving distance of quite a few other major cities." I shrug. "I can-."

Jade's eyebrow is raised.

OL, focus. And not on the distractions. Right now, your only 'Greater Good' is your lady.

"After my holiday is over, I can-" He smiles and nods. "-talk to people about it, but these clinics are designed to be able to cope with anyone that happens on a regular basis. Any resistance to the purple healing ray?"

"No, everyone's fine about that. I had to have a word with a few kids who were daring each other to cut themselves so they could use it. Ah, listen, Sia and I were about to go and get dinner. Do you want to come along?"

Ooh, a double-date. Should be entertaining.

There, see? Everyone was worried over nothing. The fact he's a Constantine has nothing to do with today's plot. Still, amusing to picture the kids lining up with not-so-little nicks and scratches to get zapped by the 'magic doctor gun'... Let's hope OL can continue to enjoy himself, though. I can feel his 'want to poke my nose in' reflex tingling already, after about a week.

Darko · Jan 21, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
At least this one isn't too embarrassing. I'm pretty sure there are all manner of websites in the DC Universe devoted to.. candid pictures of heroes, especially female ones

And by reading the Eros thread we know that there are sex costumes that share a resemblance to his uniform.

Chojin Patriarch said:
My word. Amazing to see that level of compassion in a Constantine. ...Imagine what he could do with an Indigo Ring. Too bad the Tribe would never select him for one. Also a pity Kalmin's given other colours a big 'No sir!'...

The Trobe may start recruiting compassionate people in the future.

They want to help people, and what better way than giving power to those that also want to help.

And Kalmin xoild be potentially convinced.

Chojin Patriarch said:
There, see? Everyone was worried over nothing. The fact he's a Constantine has nothing to do with today's plot

Maybe, but it could be a set up for a future episode.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Let's hope OL can continue to enjoy himself, though. I can feel his 'want to poke my nose in' reflex tingling already, after about a week.

And when the month is over he's going to poke his nose everywhere he can.

Ngamer11 · Jan 21, 2022

Darko said:
Hmm, I remember Zoat once mentioning a magic user that taps into the Elemental Plane of Compassion to power his healing magic.

I'm getting the feeling that it may be this guy.

Or he's going to somehow be involved with the Indigo Tribe.

That's actually a scary thought. Think about it, a Constantine out in the universe with access to one of the greatest tools in the universe. That could very well unintentionally lead to mass extinctions of various species across the universe if you consider the worse case scenario.

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