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

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 1, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
30th December 2012
16:14 GMT -5

"Hm-hmmmm-hmmmm hm hmm-hmm-hmm-."

I frown as I pick up the letter in the letter basket inside Jade's flat's door. From the Alliance, apparently. Not sure why they're writing to me. My home address isn't a exactly a secret, but I've been spending more time in my own home in Bir Tawil lately. I've had a few people writing to me, but for the most part they don't bother.

To be fair, anyone wanting to get in touch with you could try a phone call, contact the League, or otherwise poke the super-powered community. And given how often you're off-planet, it's not impossible that attempts to get in touch could go unanswered for days or weeks.

That's actually a little sad. I know that letter writing has dropped off immensely since the invention of e-mail, but surely there are at least a few people desperate to write to me? I honestly get more advertising fliers than requests for help.

Quick check for anything untoward-

Hey, be glad it's not a sheaf of bills to be paid. I expect the apartment is functionally independent of all city services, though...

Letter clear.

-and I open it up. Ah… Oh, the first part of their teleportation array is going to be put into operation tomorrow. When was this-? Ah, yes, I suppose that I haven't been checking the door-. I mean, if I'm just coming here to sleep I just appear in the bedroom, so…

The joy of direct transport. For all you knew, someone could have been laying dying at the door one of those nights, and you'd probably not have noticed... Unless the Ring has standing programming for that sort of thing.

I sigh.

Not only am I invited to the grand unveiling, but they want to give me access to their network just in case I ever need it. I've got a big enough reputation that they think a background check is redundant; I'm clearly not going to use it for cheap holiday travel or anything.

...I mean, it's probably not going to be a useful offer, given all your other options. But if you're trapped on Earth one day, without a ring or access to the Honden, like last Christmas...

And I haven't RSVPed.

I mean, I don't need it, but it's a nice thing for them to do.

Yeah. And you never know... After all, you are the crazy prepared guy...

I turn to the second page. The itinerary. It's… Only a couple of hours, start to finish. I should put in an appearance. I mean, I'd honestly prefer it if this sort of international effort was organised by a government, but I spend most of my time in America. The superheroic tradition here is passionately independent, and… So am I. And if the private sector wants to fill a need the government won't, good for them.

Ring, contact Alpha Centurion.

Plus, government controlled super-teams tend to end up getting subverted or misused by whoever ends up in control of them. Or simply rebel against said bad leadership and go independent.

Compliance.

Might be worth me checking in with Blitzen beforehand. I honestly don't think there's any skulduggery going on. At least, no more than in any large organisation. Everyone I've looked at who's joined the Alliance has been pretty well motivated-.

...If occasionally concerning on other aspects of their behaviour <cough>White Dragon<cough>. But that sort of thing tends to be self-correcting thanks to peer pressure.

I need to nag Batman about the Small League model again. And probably the others. With another organisation doing the Big League model, the choice of the correct way to organise the League is…

More obvious. Should I give Vincent Edge a copy of the JSI's files? He doesn't seem like the sort to create that sort of organisation, but he's an old man, and the people around him might… Not be malevolent, exactly, but they might want to focus on efficiency at the expense of morality…

If only for them to have an example of what can go wrong, anyway.

I still haven't really worked that one through in my own mind. But I don't think that someone as afraid of Old Testament retribution as he is will go too far wrong deliberately.

"Alpha Centurion."

Never make assumptions. Who knows what he might be thinking at any moment. Or any of the people under his leadership.

"Orange Lantern here."

"Ah! You're back on Earth!"

And it has been a few days since the last time we saw him. I guess nothing special-slash-screen-worthy happened in that time...

"Yes. Um, sorry, I just picked up my post-."

"Did you know that there's no postal carrier in the world that delivers to Bir Tawil?"

I imagine the international postage costs would be a bit rough, if nothing else. And using a courier might be a challenge.

"I didn't, but I'm not surprised. As I said, sorry. If it's not too late, I'd like to attend."

"Not at all. We'd be delighted to have you. Could we persuade you to use the relay system itself?"

Well, he can always show it's safe to use, if nothing else. ...He should have a backup clone ready on Earth, right?

"I don't really… Yeah, yeah, okay. I can do that. Are you having problems with people not wanting to use it?"

"A few. You and I both know that the technology is safe, but almost everyone speaks of 'telefragging'."

Pfft. As long as you're careful and the system has good safety programming, you should be safe enough.

"When if anything goes wrong what would actually happen is the person being transported and any local matter being turned into an undifferentiated plasma field."

"That's hardly likely, within the confines of a single planet and with a network of towers to regulate the terminus."

Yeah, coordinate drift isn't going to be too big of an issue at the local scale. A few centimetres at most? Best to have them pop into mid-air and drop a bit than appear too low, and... Pop.

"I know. But if it did… "

"And they could be knocked down by a car crossing the street. Are you truly concerned about the safety of the system?"

And given the travelling habits of some capes, I'd be more worried about falling from a rooftop anyway.

"No, no. It's not the system I would have gone for, but I know it has clear advantages."

Mostly, in that it makes mass deployment from varying locations far easier. The League's more of a 'one riot, one hero' organisation, but if you need teams for everything then it's actually a better system.

Since the Alliance probably isn't going to be working with multi-talented individuals on the scale of Superman, after all.

"Is this actually the first time that it's been used, or..?"

"Of course not! This just marks it being put into service. We've sent both test samples and superheroes a dozen times now. It would be extremely foolish of us to risk anything going on at the public unveiling!"

...Well, that sounds reassuring enough.

"Yes, I suppose it would. So should I just turn up..?"

"Yes, I'll let security know that you're expected. I appreciate you putting in the time."

To be fair, I doubt security could stop him if he wanted in anyway. But that goes for just about any superhero with more-than-human capabilities... Barring the guards having their own powers.

"Happy to help. Orange Lantern out."

Ring, contact Alan.

One Lantern would be good. Two? Well, if anything goes wrong...

Compliance.

"Hey Paul. Forget something?"

"No, I just found out that I've got an invitation to that… Alliance of the Just unveiling, and I was wondering if you were going?"

I could see them inviting every big name cape they could, just on principle. Wonder what the League's collective opinion on it is?

"I thought I might as well. Everyone on the League got an invite, though I don't know how many are actually gunna turn up. Are you going?"

"Yes. Alpha Centurion's even going to let me go through. I've never been teleported in this exact way before. And if there are any problems, I'm probably the best person to find them."

After all, it's not the first time you'd have suffered total physical dissolution.

"True. You know, something like this happening was kind of a dream for me, back in the forties. And now, rather than Captain Comet or Superman doing it, it's Vincent Edge of all people."

"Would you prefer it was Lex Luthor?"

...God, I can just imagine him putting a genetic sensor in it that denies people with active metagenes or nun-human DNA.

"God, no. And I'm glad that Edge has found religion and straightened himself out. It's just not how I saw it happening."

"Did you ever read that thing I wrote for Batman about structures for the League's expansion?"

Though others have explained it better, the choice of a single small, power-heavy squad versus a distributed low-power, local-focused large organisation just feels a bit too binary. If nothing else, it's probably a good idea to have close ties between large- and small-scale groups to avoid any misunderstandings...

"Paul, everyone on the League reads everything you send us. Fool us twice… Let us fool ourselves twice, shame on us."

"Did you have any thoughts on it?"

I expect he'd be more on the side of small units. He remembers the larger organisations during World War II, of course. But that represents a wide spread of power levels, and it's easy fro the big names to dominate operations...

"That's a worryingly vague way to put it."

"I mean, now that the Alliance has gotten this far, I think that the Small League model is the one to go for."

So, keep the Big 7 as the core, with a rotating guest seat, and send the rest off to local branches?

"A small, elite team? Yeah, I see what you mean. You wanna tell Ollie?"

"If he doesn't want to augment himself, he can just… Be grandfathered in."

And to be fair, an ordinary guy with a bow and arrow... Won't be useful in a lot of the situations the League tends to find themselves in.

"Honestly? I prefer it the way the Alliance is handling things. But if they're doing that then I guess you're right. See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow."

New Year's Eve, huh? I guess 2013 will be a big year for capes.

Well, there's a big event that's just begging for all manner of things to go wrong. Place your bets now, readers: How will things 'pete tong'? Teleport accident? Secret plot by someone involved in the group? Random dimensional intrusion? 5th-Dimensional Imp trickery? Some unknown write-in? So many possibilities, and so many ways for Mr Zoat to defy all our expectations...

Duke Long · Oct 1, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
My home address isn't a exactly a secret

Extraneous 'a'

Mr Zoat · Oct 1, 2022

Duke Long said:
Extraneous 'a'

Thank you, corrected.

moralrelativity · Oct 1, 2022

All the discussion of the teleportation method makes me feel that something has got to mean something's up. But it's as subtle as a sledgehammer so maybe Zoat's doing a bait and switch and everything will go perfectly?

BartlettMagic · Oct 1, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
It would be extremely foolish of us to risk anything going on at the public unveiling!

have i just grown overly cynical or is this triggering a sense of foreboding to anyone else?

Windona · Oct 1, 2022

It is a public unveiling that had a decent amount of set up in one update. It would be a plot twist if nothing went wrong.

RIP Ollie for being grandfathered in. Though hey, maybe his business/political connections could be helpful.

Khornelius · Oct 1, 2022

BartlettMagic said:
have i just grown overly cynical or is this triggering a sense of foreboding to anyone else?

It reminds of the 'We shouldn't make our own Super villains!' moment were Kord made a sentient invisible super monkey and accidentally gave him power armor and a telekinesis helmet.

Are we sure Murphy isn't an Endless?

mastermenthe · Oct 1, 2022

Khornelius said:
Are we sure Murphy isn't an Endless?

Destruction Of The Endless abandoned his post.
In his ennui, I suppose he manifested the force of Murphy as an expression of that ennui: unstoppable destruction at all scales, each one equally impossible, each one equally pointless, everywhere.

Imagine being actually omnipresent, and knowing that you need only interact thoughtlessly for your nature to imbue the target of interaction with Destruction.

Destruction, now Murphy for a time, where he walks the janitor misses those spots, where he talks people's smartphones bungle their voice commands, where he pokes at a nifty device a crack goes unseen, where he mocks jokes become horrifically ironically timed.

Destruction absolutely has a grudge against Boss Smiley, whether he recognizes the demon or not.

Someguy Somewhere · Oct 1, 2022

Seems like things are coming to a head with the Alliance of the Just.

Given the comics history with Edge and a few bread crumbs getting scattered around, this is should be ... interesting.

Stsword · Oct 1, 2022

Khornelius said:
It reminds of the 'We shouldn't make our own Super villains!' moment were Kord made a sentient invisible super monkey and accidentally gave him power armor and a telekinesis helmet.

Are we sure Murphy isn't an Endless?

You're thinking of Vext.

God of mishap and misfortune.

Son of Textacl, patron deity of the perpetually cuckolded and Shrike M'ota, patron deity of emasculating shrews, on and off boyfriend of Paramour, goddess of relationships gone hellishly wrong.

He took a trip on a ship called the Titanic and was enjoying the fresh air in a garden when some lady decided to listen to a talking snake.

Considered a minor deity, but that has probably more to do with the fact that his powers target him just as much as they do anybody, considering he is effectively the embodiment of Murphy's law.

Mr Zoat · Oct 2, 2022

31st December 2012
09:23 GMT -5

"Orange Lantern! Blue Lantern!"

Vincent Edge is smiling with teeth that glow a disturbingly brilliant white. I'm not sure if he's had some sort of coating put on them or if they're dentures. Whatever magic defence he had when we first met has been improved enough to throw off my normal scans. Nice to see a man in his position taking his personal defence so seriously.

"Mister Edge."

Alan steps forward to shake his hand. The two of them narrowly missed being adversaries; Vincent Edge only rose to a senior position in his syndicate after Alan semi-retired from superheroism, but there was enough of an overlap in their areas of operation that they'd have been fighting each other if he hadn't.

Alan's actually old enough to be his father. It feels weird to think that.

"Oh, call me Vinny. At my age there doesn't seem much point standing on ceremony."

Ah, looks like Alan thinks it feels weird as well.

"Mister Edge."

He takes my hand, laying his left over the top. "Thank you for coming. Marcus said you wanted to check the place over?"

"I want to check everything over. But I've had a lot of contact with cutting edge super science going badly wrong-. Did I ever tell you about when KordTech gave a chimpanzee invisible power armour and an intelligence augmentation?"

"No, that… That sounds like a barrel of fun."

"Oh, Bobo's a lovely fellow most of the time. It's just that the augmentation messed up his head for a few days. But the point is, it's sometimes worth having someone outside of the bubble taking a look at things."

"Oh, there's no harm in it. Why don't we all head this way, you can give it the once-over. Put your mind at ease."

"Thank you."

There are a few television crews setting up inside, and a few cameras track us as we're led through the briefing room towards the more technically-orientated parts of the complex. Alan and I are both pretty big deals, but the fact is that footage of us isn't exactly hard to come by. Alan spends quite a lot of his time in New York, and… I've been everywhere.

"Do you use a ring terminus..?"

"Oh, no. Technically, this whole building is the terminus. We've got an assembly room; that's where we're holding the demonstration, but that's for when we want to send groups of people together. One little monitor-"

He reaches across with his left hand and pulls up his right sleeve a little way, showing a device built into a bracer.

"-and it can just pick people up and drop them off, no trouble. This thing also monitors vital signs, and it's a smart communicator. Anywhere in the world, if there's any way to get a message through this thing will do it." He lets his sleeve fall. "Cheap, too, and reliable. Uses a combination of computer circuitry and geomancy."

"Sounds useful. Does the Alliance have a commercial development arm?"

"No, no. We're just using it to give the company who came up with it advertising in exchange for using them. It's a sponsorship thing." He glances back at us. "Legal, we checked."

"I'm sure it is."

"Well, it pays to be sure. I'd be an embarrassment if I did all this and then broke the law by accident."

He's not wrong, there.

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask… I doubt that you'll remember if, but… Do you remember meeting my father?"

Alan shakes his head. "I can't say I do."

"Would have been about sixty years ago? You broke his arm after you caught him purse snatching and he drew a gun."

Alan's eyebrows go up slightly at the news, then his eyes drift to the side as he tries to remember.

"I… I'm sorry, nothing comes to mind. If you want to be sure, I can check my old files and see if I wrote anything down that might jog my memory."

"No, no, it's hardly that important. I was just curious."

"Did he straighten himself out afterwards?"

"I've got no idea. He got stabbed to death in prison." Alan looks a little awkward. "Oh, he had it coming. Mean son of a…" He shakes his head. "My mother was better without him. He did teach me one lesson though. Like it says in The Godfather: a lawyer can steal more with a briefcase than a thief can with a gun."

He slows for a moment, touching his forehead with his right hand.

"It was a good lesson to learn in the practical sense. Not the moral sense. I don't know if I'd have gotten a clue earlier if I'd stuck to being a thug like him, or if they'd have buried me next to him in the prison graveyard."

"You turned things around in the end."

Mister Edge makes an amused exhalation. "Not quite at the end, yet. Doctor says I could live another twenty years if I eat right and live clean, and I'm all about that these days. And I… I believe that the Alliance of the Just will be the salvation of my soul."

Not exactly how it works. It's becoming the sort of person who would create something like this that would get him into the Kingdom of Heaven in the Christian sense, because you're judged for who you are and not what you've done. Though I suppose he didn't actually say what religion he practiced. Could be something a little more result-orientated.

"Though if you can both stay after the main demonstration, I'd like you both to meet my sponsor."

"Your sponsor?"

Mr. Edge shrugs. "I was in a bad place, mentally as well as spiritually. The Lord had shown me what awaited me, but… But my sponsor's the man who helped me keep at it. I've got a whole bunch of instincts that come from being a career criminal, and to become the man I want to die as I've had to… I've had to fight them every day."

"Ah. Sure. Sounds like a good man."

"Surely is. You know how it is when you've got a really good preacher, who just makes the lessons click in your head? I didn't have that growing up, but it's never too late."

"I'm afraid I'm a Hellenist, myself."

"Oh, don't worry. He won't be offended. And he told me that he's a fan of your work in particular."

"Ah, I… That's nice. Sure, I've got time to meet him. What's his name?"

"Bruno. Father Bruno."

"Must be a remarkable man to have such an effect on you."

Mr. Edge nods. "Him and the Lord who stands behind him. And…"

He swipes his ID card and pushes the door open.

"Here's the heart of the machine. Check to your heart's content."

Katillno · Oct 2, 2022

I'm getting horror movie vibes

Ngamer11 · Oct 2, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"Bruno. Father Bruno."

"Must be a remarkable man to have such an effect on you."

Mr. Edge nods. "Him and the Lord who stands behind him. And…"

He swipes his ID card and pushes the door open.

"He's the heart of the machine. Check to your heart's content."

At least we now have an idea of how this can go all wrong. Please tell me Paul is also thinking of Bruno Mannheim.

JeckJack · Oct 2, 2022

It's been a while since we checked in on that whole religion of crime subplot, huh?

BlackCoat13 · Oct 2, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"You're sponsor?"

Your

Also, here comes the sudden but inevitable betrayal?

Bud-E · Oct 2, 2022

I thought we didn't talk about Bruno

Ganurath · Oct 2, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"He's the heart of the machine. Check to your heart's content."

Here's the heart?

moralrelativity · Oct 2, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
and a few camera track us

camera -> cameras

Handlewithcare · Oct 2, 2022

So, a most likely corrupt preacher, geomantic comm devices and a giant teleporter that now contains two superheroes...WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

jasonh23761 · Oct 2, 2022

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if there was a spontaneous interview with good old G Gordon Godfrey.

Darko · Oct 2, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
when we first met had been improved

"has been"

Mr Zoat said:
"Though if you can both stay after the main demonstration, I'd like you both to meet my sponsor

Can't wait to see how this is connected to the coming shit show.

Mr Zoat said:
"Ah, I… That's nice. Sure, I've got time to meet him. What's his name?"

"Bruno. Father Bruno

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

Mr Zoat said:
Must be a remarkable man to have such an effect on you."

Remarkable is one way to put it.

Mr Zoat said:
Mr. Edge nods. "Him and the Lord who stands behind him. And

Yes, his "Lord" really is something.

Ngamer11 · Oct 2, 2022

jasonh23761 said:
At this point I wouldn't be surprised if there was a spontaneous interview with good old G Gordon Godfrey.

Due to the fact that Scott and Barda are around, he can't do that, as the two of them would probably recognize him.

Mquz · Oct 2, 2022

Ngamer11 said:
At least we now have an idea of how this can go all wrong. Please tell me Paul is also thinking of Bruno Mannheim.

Considering the only other Bruno is the trans lady with swastika boobs… probably?

Darko · Oct 2, 2022

jasonh23761 said:
At this point I wouldn't be surprised if there was a spontaneous interview with good old G Gordon Godfrey.

Ngamer11 said:
Due to the fact that Scott and Barda are around, he can't do that, as the two of them would probably recognize him.

True, but there may be nothing stopping him from using a pawn to manipulate people or potentially using some disguise.

BR549 · Oct 2, 2022

jasonh23761 said:
At this point I wouldn't be surprised if there was a spontaneous interview with good old G Gordon Godfrey.

We might be a little early for Glorious Godfrey to have set up shop.

But given Mannheim -> Intergang -> Apokalips...

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 2, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
31st December 2012
09:23 GMT -5

"Orange Lantern! Blue Lantern!"

Vincent Edge is smiling with teeth that glow a disturbingly brilliant white. I'm not sure if he's had some sort of coating put on them or if they're dentures. Whatever magic defence he had when we first met had been improved enough to throw off my normal scans. Nice to see a man in his position taking his personal defence so seriously.

At his age and demographic, I'd be surprised if they were his natural teeth. Still, it seems... Iffy that he's so heavily defended, especially in a way that foils OL's perceptions. I know he's trying to think the best of him, but there's always room for paranoia.

"Mister Edge."

Alan steps forward to shake his hand. The two of them narrowly missed being adversaries; Vincent Edge only rose to a senior position in his syndicate after Alan semi-retired from superheroism, but there was enough of an overlap in their areas of operation that they'd have been fighting each other if he hadn't.

Lucky for Vincent. When you're up against a Lantern, even one with no VI support in their ring, there's quite the power disparity. Like cracking nuts with a piledriver.

Alan's actually old enough to be his father. It feels weird to think that.

"Oh, call me Vinny. At my age there doesn't seem much point standing on ceremony."

...At your age, Vinny does not really fit you. That's the nickname of an under-twenty-five dude-bro.

Ah, looks like Alan thinks it feels weird as well.

"Mister Edge."

Yeah, Alan's old-fashioned that way. Old men who aren't close friends should be called 'sir' or 'mister', not... Vinny.

He takes my hand, laying his left over the top. "Thank you for coming. Marcus said you wanted to check the place over?"

"I want to check everything over. But I've had a lot of contact with cutting edge super science going badly wrong-. Did I ever tell you about when KordTech gave a chimpanzee invisible power armour and an intelligence augmentation?"

It sounds funnier than it is, especially when said monkey was also suffering from something of a brain-storm. And thus running on full super-villain logic.

"No, that… That sounds like a barrel of fun."

"Oh, Bobo's a lovely fellow most of the time. It's just that the augmentation messed up his head for a few days. But the point is, it's sometimes worth having someone outside of the bubble taking a look at things."

Something you sometimes need, yet forget about, OL. At least you do have people to rein you in...

"Oh, there's no harm in it. Why don't we all head this way, you can give it the once-over. Put your mind at ease."

"Thank you."

And if it's particularly novel compared to anything N.E.M.O. has, perhaps OL can make scans of the schematics for Dox or the Sivanas to inspect.

There are a few television crews setting up inside, and a few camera track us as we're led through the briefing room towards the more technically-orientated parts of the complex. Alan and I are both pretty big deals, but the fact is that footage of us isn't exactly hard to come by. Alan spends quite a lot of his time in New York, and… I've been everywhere.

"Do you use a ring terminus..?"

Ah, the good old 'circular portal' trope. Good enough for Stargate, good enough for OL's Dolmen Gates, good enough for them.

"Oh, no. Technically, this whole building is the terminus. We've got an assembly room; that's where we're holding the demonstration, but that's for when we want to send groups of people together. One little monitor-"

He reaches across with his left hand and pulls up his right sleeve a little way, showing a device build into a bracer.

...That seems a little... Risky? And possibly an invasion of privacy.

"-and it can just pick people up and drop them off, no trouble. This thing also monitors vital signs, and it's a smart communicator. Anywhere in the world, if there's any way to get a message through this thing will do it." He lets his sleeve fall. "Cheap, too, and reliable. Uses a combination of computer circuitry and geomancy."

"Sounds useful. Does the Alliance have a commercial development arm?"

Man, if this isn't legit, then it feels like it was tailored to pique OL's interest.

"No, no. We're just using it to give the company who came up with it advertising in exchange for using them. It's a sponsorship thing." He glances back at us. "Legal, we checked."

"I'm sure it is."

Hey, he's gone straight. Not going to risk his golden years getting in trouble with the law now.

"Well, it pays to be sure. I'd be an embarrassment if I did all this and then broke the law by accident."

He's not wrong, there.

It would bring the tone of the enterprise down a tad if the founder got arrested or at least sued for something that mundane.

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask… I doubt that you'll remember if, but… Do you remember meeting my father?"

Alan shakes his head. "I can't say I do."

Alan's met a lot of fellows who couldn't stand the light...

The Light of the Green Lantern.

"Would have been about sixty years ago? You broke his arm after you caught him purse snatching and he drew a gun."

Alan's eyebrows go up slightly at the news, then his eyes drift to the side as he tries to remember.

Hard to remember one nut under the piledriver...

"I… I'm sorry, nothing comes to mind. If you want to be sure, I can check my old files and see if I wrote anything down that might jog my memory."

"No, no, it's hardly that important. I was just curious."

Odd thing to bring up at a time like this, if at all. "Hey, you busted my old man. You remember that?"

"Did he straighten himself out afterwards?"

"I've got no idea. He got stabbed to death in prison." Alan looks a little awkward. "Oh, he had it coming. Mean son of a…" He shakes his head. "My mother was better without him. He did teach me one lesson though. Like it says in The Godfather: a lawyer can steal more with a briefcase than a thief can with a gun."

Karma's a bitch, I guess?

He slows for a moment, touching his forehead with his right hand.

"It was a good lesson to learn in the practical sense. Not the moral sense. I don't know if I'd have gotten a clue earlier if I'd stuck to being a thug like him, or if they'd have buried me next to him in the prison graveyard."

And if the latter, they'd be lamenting 'Like father, like son...'

"You turned things around in the end."

Mister Edge makes an amused exhalation. "Not quite at the end, yet. Doctor says I could live another twenty years if I eat right and live clean, and I'm all about that these days. And I… I believe that the Alliance of the Just will be the salvation of my soul."

Well, at least he's earnest about it. That sort of thing probably helps them believe he's being honest...

Not exactly how it works. It's becoming the sort of person who would create something like this that would get him into the Kingdom of Heaven in the Christian sense, because you're judged for who you are and not what you've done. Though I suppose he didn't actually say what religion he practiced. Could be something a little more result-orientated.

"Though if you can both stay after the main demonstration, I'd like you both to meet my sponsor."

...And then there's that little tidbit...

"Your sponsor?"

Mr. Edge shrugs. "I was in a bad place, mentally as well as spiritually. The Lord had shown me what awaited me, but… But my sponsor's the man who helped me keep at it. I've got a whole bunch of instincts that come from being a career criminal, and to become the man I want to die as I've had to… I've had to fight them every day."

Well, one more bit of good to come out of last year's little kerfuffle between OL and the Silver City.

"Ah. Sure. Sounds like a good man."

"Surely is. You know how it is when you've got a really good preacher, who just makes the lessons click I your head? I didn't have that growing up, but it's never too late."

Well, if it works, it works, I guess?

"I'm afraid I'm a Hellenist, myself."

"Oh, don't worry. He won't be offended. And he told me that he's a fan of your work in particular."

...Curiouser and curiouser.

"Ah, I… That's nice. Sure, I've got time to meet him. What's his name?"

"Bruno. Father Bruno."

...As in Bruno Mannheim? Or are we all just jumping to conclusions with a +20 enhancement bonus?

"Must be a remarkable man to have such an effect on you."

Mr. Edge nods. "Him and the Lord who stands behind him. And…"

Now, see, that sounds innocuous, but... Sometimes that's a bad thing.

He swipes his ID card and pushes the door open.

"Here's the heart of the machine. Check to your heart's content."

So, are we about to discover another bit of Kirby-tech or..?

Boy, a couple of red flags raised here, if you know anything about DC comics in the Noughties. Still, it could just be coincidence and happenstance.

We could be jumping at shadows, like in any good horror story, letting our imaginations run away with us. And all the while, Mr Zoat is sitting at his keyboard, chuckling as we panic. I'm sure tomorrow will bring some clarification...

Bloodalchemy · Oct 2, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
I'm sure tomorrow will bring some clarification...

Time to go see how things are in The Wasteland.

Duke Long · Oct 2, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
showing a device build into a bracer.

'built'

Mr Zoat said:
who just makes the lessons click I your head?

'in'

Mr Zoat · Oct 2, 2022

BlackCoat13 said:
Your

Ganurath said:
Here's the heart?

Darko said:
"has been"

Duke Long said:
'built'
'in'

Thank you, corrected.

Duke Long · Oct 2, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Thank you, corrected.

Damn, I'm disappointed that 'he's the heart of the machine' was a typo. It was a neat twist.

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

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