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

Darko · Oct 12, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
And anyone still here is either too poor to leave, too stubborn or too stupid. Or is The Question.

Or just crazy.

Which..I guess the Question kinda is.

Chojin Patriarch said:
So, he doesn't know about or has forgotten about Hush Tubes, huh.

Or didn't think to mention them.

Chojin Patriarch said:
And walking slowly lets His foes attack Him without success, to show them that they can do nothing to stop Him.

I'm reminded of a Brave and the Bold episode where the League attacks him with everything and he just takes it without a scratch.

Chojin Patriarch said:
To be fair, he did generally use it responsibly. Only employing it against those with extremely dangerous metaphysical abilities... And trying to kill him with them.

Yes, but it would be kinda stupid of them to give such a powerful weapon to someone that doesn't like them and would have no problem killing them all.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Given his musical-themed abilities... This place must feel like listening to Skrillex-wannabes at max volume. With a different track playing in each direction. A cacophony of chaos and pain...

I'm thinking emo music, since Darkseid is an emo.

Chojin Patriarch said:
On the other hand, Freedom can take many forms, good and bad. Freedom from restraint. From culpability. From caring or consequences. From Morality...

Yeah, I'm reminded of something Obloquy wrote in their story about how New Gods that embody the same concept can embody different aspects of it, both good and bad.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Not surprised he's thinking of the Presence as a minor local deity.Like someone coming from the big city and assuming they know better, but not realising the locals know tricks they don't...

I don't think he considers him a minor deity, but his personal experience with Darkseid makes him prone to think of the big grey asshole as top dog, even if the Presence could get rid of Darkseid like he was just getting rid of a bad smell.

Coda · Oct 12, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
It doesn't offer enough high-order services any more. It's having small amount of revitalisation.

Two corrections: "anymore" and "having a small amount"

mastermenthe said:
and the city services pyramid, completely upside down!

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Mr Zoat · Oct 12, 2022

Darko said:
'a small'

Coda said:
"anymore"

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · Oct 13, 2022

31st December 2012
14:11 GMT -5

The dully incurious front desk attendant blinks at us as we walk or fly through where the front wall used to be.

"Yeah?"

I look closer. Now that I know what I'm looking for, I can see where the Anti-Life has engrafted upon his soul. It's not a great deal: he's a Hub City native and at this point I'm mildly impressed that he's functioning at all. But it's there.

"Doctor, one for you."

"And… Someone's probably gunna yell at you about that door."

Mr. Free looks at him as Dr. Balewa marches closer. "He feels like a Lowly."

The man manages an awkward smile. "You work a reception desk too?"

Dr. Balewa raises his right hand, the man's eyes rolling back in his head as he goes limp in his chair. The familiar mist rises from his body for a few moments, then Dr. Balewa offers it to Zauriel who sings it into nothingness.

"I needed to strengthen his spirit so that the separation did not kill him. We should be aware of thet for all future victims."

Mr. Free nods as I study the ceiling above us. "Does that mean he's been like that for a long time?"

"Thet would be my guess."

"Look on the bright side."

Orange streamers shoot upwards, punching through plaster, wood and steel. Where they encounter flesh they wrap around and bind the owner. Can't scan a thing here but the upper part of the building at least doesn't have any actual construct disruptors.

"This means that when we finally kill Darkseid, we can fix the Lowlies."

"That-. Yeah, that is actually kind of uplifting. I can't see it happening-."

"Sure you can. New Gods live indefinitely, right?"

"Unless something kills us."

I tear a hole in the ceiling and begin conveying the people I've grabbed down. They're dressed as office workers, but I've only found eight, and that's far less than the number a building this size would normally house.

"In a circle, if you please."

I deposit them around him, mist already rising from them as he starts his spell. None of them are really resisting, only pulling back slightly when the tendrils first touched them.

"Then it's inevitable that you'll see it, because he's the next target after the Reach."

"You… Shouldn't say things like that out loud. And not because of any sort of narrative rules; I'm pretty sure Darkseid can actually hear it."

"I'm sure he's heard it before."

A quick anti-note from -heh- Zauriel, and I stack the newly liberated office peons behind the reception desk.

"That doesn't mean he won't send someone after you."

I send ribbons of orange light down, through concrete and-.

And they fizzle out.

"I don't wear glowing orange clothes because I'm hiding, Mister Miracle. There's a construct disrupting effect below us."

Dr. Balewa gestures upwards and a circle of floor crumbles into chunks which float upwards and form a ball in the air. Floor tiles, concrete, wires and ceiling tiles fly out of the hole until the spell ends with our path cleared.

"You should probably let me do that. You need to conserve power to purge people. I can keep going until we actually hit the construct disruptors."

"I am extending my power through the building. This does not drain me; it makes my power more readily available."

"Ah, alright then. Thank you."

I drift towards the hole, but Zauriel holds up his right hand to stop me.

"If your constructs are unreliable, then I am the most resilient among us. I should take the lead."

He draws his sword, which burns with golden fire.

"As you will. I'll go second."

He does a semi-flap, drifting over the floor and descending down through the hole.

"None are here."

I fly down after him. Emergency lights only, most of the illumination coming from Zauriel himself. Lockers line the walls, and ring scans show them as mostly empty. I open each of them just in case, but the scan was accurate.

Mr. Free comes down next, wincing slightly.

"New God technology. This whole area's connected up to something."

"Can you turn it off?"

"Ping."

"No. Not from here. We'll need to find the core, and whoever's controlling it now."

"Bottom level?"

"Or close by."

"Then allow me."

The flooring vomits itself up and we go down again. A relatively normal looking workshop, somewhat disused, a layer of dust covering the machine tools. And again, into a laundry, washing machines and dryers partially dismantled. The next level-.

My constructs shimmer and fail as I see a chirurgical suit. My armour registers the presence of cleaning chemicals in the air, and without a ring scan I can't easily identify biological residue. So at least they cleaned up after whatever horrifying experiments they performed were complete.

Zauriel bows his head for a moment.

"Mister Miracle?"

He closes his eyes for a moment. Where There Is Need.

"I think… This way."

He floats towards the door to the west, Mother Box pinging as it unlocks the security door. He pushes through, hands at the ready-.

Ah. This part of the building is very clearly New God technology. Strange colours, arcs and tron lines replace the more human textures of the rest of the building. Mr. Free flies faster, down a corridor and through another security door. All Are Free Or None Are.

And there's the central hub. Strange technology, at least two-. No, three, people visibly wired into it. That's Victor Sage, naked and with pieces of Apokoliptian technology piercing his flesh in a dozen places. A young woman I immediately recognise as Anita Fite. Her body appears to be intact, and is covered in a chirurgical gown. Her head has not been so fortunate, and several cables appear to be plugged directly into her skull. Her mouth is moving weakly and her eyes stare at nothing. The third 'person' appears to be the upper part of Black Orchid's body.

Mr. Free looks the horrifying assemblage over, then shakes his head.

"I'll get to work." Freedom Is The Right Of All Sentient Beings.

"No. You won't."

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 13, 2022

Few spots of Godspeech, all together. Roll out!

He closes his eyes for a moment. Where There Is Needs.

"I think… This way."

He floats towards the door to the west, Mother Box pinging as it unlocks the security door. He pushes through, hands at the ready-.

Ah. This part of the building is very clearly New God technology. Strange colours, arcs and tron lines replace the more human textures of the rest of the building. Mr. Free flies faster, down a corridor and through another security door. All Are Free Or None Are.

And there's the central hub. Strange technology, at least two-. No, three, people visibly wired into it. That's Victor Sage, naked and with pieces of Apokoliptian technology piercing his flesh in a dozen places. A young woman I immediately recognise as Anita Fite. Her body appears to be intact, and is covered in a chirurgical gown. Her head has not been so fortunate, and several cables appear to be plugged directly into her skull. Her mouth is moving weakly are her eyes stare at nothing. The third 'person' appears to be the upper part of Black Orchid's body.

Mr. Free looks the horrifying assemblage over, then shakes his head.

"I'll get to work." Freedom Is The Right Of All Sentient Beings.

(Edit: Odd, the bottom part was cut off when in the quote box. Gonna remove the quote. TY, Lazurman.)

Lazurman · Oct 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"I'll get to work." Freedom Is The Right Of All Sentient Beings.

This too.

Handlewithcare · Oct 13, 2022

Reminds me of the Hyron from Deus Ex.

Where did we see Sage and Fite again?

thebishop8 · Oct 13, 2022

Victor Sage is The Question, for those who don't recall. Anita Fite was a missing member of the Alliance, and I think Black Orchid was supposed to have been a member of the Alliance killed by the lady with the possessed handguns.

Someguy Somewhere · Oct 13, 2022

I see that Mr Free is a fan of Optimus Prime.

Ganurath · Oct 13, 2022

Odd that this is Part 13, when the previous update was Part 11.

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
31st December 2012
14:11 GMT -5

The dully incurious front desk attendant blinks as us as we walk or fly through where the front wall used to be.

"Yeah?"

I was half expecting. "Is this some kind of joke? After all, when an Orange Lantern, a White Mage, a New God and an Angel walk into a hotel... Guy must be really jaded if seeing the front door disintegrated doesn't faze him...

I look closer. Now that I know what I'm looking for, I can see where the Anti-Life has engrafted upon his soul. It's not a great deal: he's a Hub City native and at this point I'm mildly impressed that he's functioning at all. But it's there.

"Doctor, one for you."

Sounds like this city was the perfect place to hide an Apokaliptian stronghold. Who'd notice slightly more depression, gloom and sloppiness?

"And… Someone's probably gunna yell at you about that door."

Mr. Free looks at him as Dr. Balewa marches closer. "He feels like a Lowly."

Not feeling nostalgic, are we?

The man manages an awkward smile. "You work a reception desk too?"

Dr. Balewa raises his right hand, the man's eyes rolling back in his head as he goes limp in his chair. The familiar mist rises from his body for a few moments, then Dr. Balewa offers it to Zauriel who sings it into nothingness.

Guy's got a sense of humour, if nothing else.

"I needed to strengthen his spirit so that the separation did not kill him. We should be aware of thet for all future victims."

Mr. Free nods as I study the ceiling above us. "Does that mean he's been like that for a long time?"

So the longer it's in place, the more dependent the person's soul becomes on it to hold together? Explains so much about the Lowlies of Apokalips. I remember that animated scene where they go to Darkseid's aid when the League throws him into their midst.

"Thet would be my guess."

"Look on the bright side."

Orange streamers shoot upwards, punching through plaster, wood and steel. Where they encounter flesh they wrap around and bind the owner. Can't scan a thing here but the upper part of the building at least doesn't have any actual construct disruptors.

Ah, the good old dungeon bypass. It's not quite Nanoha's method, but it does the job. (Sadly, there are damn few clips of that moment vs Quattro online.)

"This means that when we finally kill Darkseid, we can fix the Lowlies."

"That-. Yeah, that is actually kind of uplifting. I can't see it happening-."

Still, the hope of it is a powerful motivator, isn't it?

"Sure you can. New Gods live indefinitely, right?"

"Unless something kills us."

And He might take threats against His person personally. Assuming He takes it seriously at all. I'm sure He's heard His name uttered in oaths of vengeance often.

I tear a hole in the ceiling and begin conveying the people I've grabbed down. They're dressed as office workers, but I've only found eight, and that's far less than the number a building this size would normally house.

"In a circle, if you please."

So probably local guards in mufti. No doubt with only conventional weapons close at hand to keep the disguise effective.

I deposit them around him, mist already rising from them as he starts his spell. None of them are really resisting, only pulling back slightly when the tendrils first touched them.

"Then it's inevitable that you'll see it, because he's the next target after the Reach."

Careful, OL. Loose lips sink ships. Then again, it'll take years before they're ready. No doubt Darkseid will have people working on modifying their Anti-Lantern techniques to counter them.

"You… Shouldn't say things like that out loud. And not because of any sort of narrative rules; I'm pretty sure Darkseid can actually hear it."

"I'm sure he's heard it before."

A classic Divination spell, after all. 'If my name be spoken, tell me where and by who.' Advanced versions even let you listen to the words spoken.

A quick anti-note from -heh- Zauriel, and I stack the newly liberated office peons behind the reception desk.

"That doesn't mean he won't send someone after you."

Bet that'll make them confused when they wake up. Like 'What did I do last night?' turned up to eleven.

I send ribbons of orange light down, through concrete and-.

And they fizzle out.

Ah, there's the real defences. Time to dig a hole.

Diggy Diggy Hole... Such a catchy song...

"I don't wear glowing orange clothes because I'm hiding, Mister Miracle. There's a construct disrupting effect below us."

Dr. Balewa gestures upwards and a circle of floor crumbles into chunks which float upwards and form a ball in the air. Floor tiles, concrete, wires and ceiling tiles fly out of the hole until the spell ends with our path cleared.

Fancy work. Bet he even capped the water and sewerage lines and live cables...

"You should probably let me do that. You need to conserve power to purge people. I can keep going until we actually hit the construct disruptors."

"I am extending my power through the building. This does not drain me; it makes my power more readily available."

...And also provides an avenue of attack, given a decent amount of magical skill. Law of Sympathy and all that.

"Ah, alright then. Thank you."

I drift towards the hole, but Zauriel holds up his right hand to stop me.

Ah, gonna play tank for this raid, Zee? Probably a good idea, OL's kind of squishy, and he takes a while to respawn.

"If your constructs are unreliable, then I am the most resilient among us. I should take the lead."

He draws his sword, which burns with golden fire.

Resilient until someone dumps anti-theurgistic weapons at him... And I would not be surprised to find there are such.

"As you will. I'll go second."

He does a semi-flap, drifting over the floor and descending down through the hole.

Ah, the joy of being able to tell gravity to go suck a lemon. In song!

"None are here."

I fly down after him. Emergency lights only, most of the illumination coming from Zauriel himself. Lockers line the walls, and ring scans show them as mostly empty. I opens each of them just in case, but the scan was accurate.

After all, his scans can be fooled.

Mr. Free comes down next, wincing slightly.

"New God technology. This whole area's connected up to something."

Good to know. But is it the heart, or just a remote station...

"Can you turn it off?"

"Ping."

"Sorry, they're blocking remote network access. How rude."

"No. Not from here. We'll need to find the core, and whoever's controlling it now."

"Bottom level?"

Why would it not? Deeper the better. More defensible that way.

"Or close by."

"Then allow me."

Looks like the whole party love to play the 'dungeon bypass' spell card.

The flooring vomits up itself and we go down again. A relatively normal looking workshop, somewhat disused, a layer of dust covering the machine tools And again, into a laundry, washing machines and driers partially dismantled. The next level-.

My constructs shimmer and fail as I see a chirurgical suit. My armour registers the presence of cleaning chemicals in the air, and without a ring scan I can't easily identify biological residue. So at least they cleaned up after whatever horrifying experiments they performed were complete.

Gee, how mundane. And polite of them to clean up. After all, even an evil genius should have some standards of hygiene.

Zauriel bows his head for a moment.

"Mister Miracle?"

He closes his eyes for a moment. Where There Is Needs.

Useful. Like a sniffer dog.

"I think… This way."

He floats towards the door to the west, Mother Box pinging as it unlocks the security door. He pushes through, hands at the ready-.

'Check your corners!'

Ah. This part of the building is very clearly New God technology. Strange colours, arcs and tron lines replace the more human textures of the rest of the building. Mr. Free flies faster, down a corridor and through another security door. All Are Free Or None Are.

And there's the central hub. Strange technology, at least two-. No, three, people visibly wired into it. That's Victor Sage, naked and with pieces of Apokoliptian technology piercing his flesh in a dozen places. A young woman I immediately recognise as Anita Fite. Her body appears to be intact, and is covered in a chirurgical gown. Her head has not been so fortunate, and several cables appear to be plugged directly into her skull. Her mouth is moving weakly are her eyes stare at nothing. The third 'person' appears to be the upper part of Black Orchid's body.

And confirmed! Empress is being used as the human brain of the machine. And Black Orchid too? Interesting that the Question is in there, though. He must have found this place and the mastermind decided 'waste not, want not.'

Mr. Free looks the horrifying assemblage over, then shakes his head.

"I'll get to work." Freedom Is The Right Of All Sentient Beings.

"No. You won't."

Urge to Quote Transformers lines... Rising...

Scot's last line of Godspeech makes me wonder what it'd be like to have Cybertronians running around a DC Earth... There's at least one Marvel Earth with them. At any rate! They've found bad shit going down. And it looks like the person behind it is here, ready to fight. Black quotation marks, though? That can't be good...

I opens each of them just in case, but the scan was accurate.

I open each of them just in case, but the scan was accurate.

The flooring vomits up itself and we go down again.

The flooring vomits itself up and we go down again.

...a layer of dust covering the machine tools And again...

Missing Full Stop.

Her mouth is moving weakly are her eyes stare at nothing.

Either 'as' or 'and', I think?

Relyt33 · Oct 13, 2022

Ganurath said:
Odd that this is Part 13, when the previous update was Part 11.

Actually I just checked the threadmark list they're two Part 11s so the second 11 should be Part 12

The Froggy Ninja · Oct 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Victor Sage

The Question. Local hero with detective skills approaching Batman's. Makes sense he'd find out about this, at least. Not sure why they'd plug him in other than general sadism though.

Mr Zoat said:
Anita Fite

Empress, a heroine powered by an Anti-Life fragment. Totally makes sense why she'd be used as a vector of infection.

Mr Zoat said:
Black Orchid

Not sure why here. Maybe trying to exploit her connection to the Green?

B00ki5h · Oct 13, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
Few spots of Godspeech, all together. Roll out!

He closes his eyes for a moment. Where There Is Needs.

"I think… This way."

He floats towards the door to the west, Mother Box pinging as it unlocks the security door. He pushes through, hands at the ready-.

Ah. This part of the building is very clearly New God technology. Strange colours, arcs and tron lines replace the more human textures of the rest of the building. Mr. Free flies faster, down a corridor and through another security door. All Are Free Or None Are.

And there's the central hub. Strange technology, at least two-. No, three, people visibly wired into it. That's Victor Sage, naked and with pieces of Apokoliptian technology piercing his flesh in a dozen places. A young woman I immediately recognise as Anita Fite. Her body appears to be intact, and is covered in a chirurgical gown. Her head has not been so fortunate, and several cables appear to be plugged directly into her skull. Her mouth is moving weakly are her eyes stare at nothing. The third 'person' appears to be the upper part of Black Orchid's body.

Mr. Free looks the horrifying assemblage over, then shakes his head.

"I'll get to work." Freedom Is The Right Of All Sentient Beings.

(Edit: Odd, the bottom part was cut off when in the quote box. Gonna remove the quote. TY, Lazurman.)

Scott Free's god speech reminds me of liberty prime was waiting to hear down with communism in there

Someguy Somewhere · Oct 13, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
Scot's last line of Godspeech makes me wonder what it'd be like to have Cybertronians running around a DC Earth...

About that.....

This was gonna be a thing before New52....
https://www.cbr.com/justice-league-transformers-rejected-story/

NightmareWarden · Oct 13, 2022

Mr Zoat, this is a little much, y'know? Orange quotes, black quotes at the end there, invisitext, AND Nommo Balewa's accent? I'm concerned on your behalf, not complaining.

Mr Zoat said:
Victor Sage,

They got Question?! Fiends!

Duke Long · Oct 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
The dully incurious front desk attendant blinks as us as we walk or fly

'at'

Vaermina · Oct 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Mr. Free looks the horrifying assemblage over, then shakes his head.

"I'll get to work." Freedom Is The Right Of All Sentient Beings.

"No. You won't."

LePaul is very very lucky he brought along people who can actually handle this...

Because if he didn't he would be fuuucked.

Stsword · Oct 13, 2022

The Froggy Ninja said:
The Question. Local hero with detective skills approaching Batman's. Makes sense he'd find out about this, at least. Not sure why they'd plug him in other than general sadism though.

Empress, a heroine powered by an Anti-Life fragment. Totally makes sense why she'd be used as a vector of infection.

Not sure why here. Maybe trying to exploit her connection to the Green?

The Question is an urban shaman. In his 2005 series Metropolis asks him to prevent Superman's assassination by a shaman hit man who uses his psychopomp powers to send his victim's souls to a Hell that never lets go. Zoat was inspired by that to make him a student of the monks of Nanda Parbat, sort of making him a Shadow expy.

As for Black Orchid, Flora Black had mind control pheromones that makes Pamela Isley seem like just a woman who smells kind of nice.

So my first assumption is that no, Anita isn't the vector, she's source of the anti-life equation, and Question and Black Orchid are the vectors, on the spiritual (Victor) and biological (Black Orchid) level.

Or since Black Orchid as a nymph is a spiritual being, perhaps both Black Orchid and the Question are being used to broadcast the ALE over the spiritual plane.

AmericanNumbers · Oct 13, 2022

Paragon Paul reminding us he ain't quite right by casually going "I'm gonna kill Darkseid" in the middle of a building with Anti-Life'd people.

Mr Zoat · Oct 13, 2022

Ganurath said:
Odd that this is Part 13, when the previous update was Part 11.

I had two part 11s.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Where There Is Needs.
I open each of them just in case, but the scan was accurate.
The flooring vomits itself up and we go down again.
Missing Full Stop.
Either 'as' or 'and', I think?

Duke Long said:
'at'

Thank you, corrected.

BR549 · Oct 13, 2022

Someguy Somewhere said:
About that.....

Optimus, IMHO, really should have a blue ring.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Scot's last line of Godspeech makes me wonder what it'd be like to have Cybertronians running around a DC Earth... There's at least one Marvel Earth with them.

The original Marvel Transformers comics were technically part of Earth-616 at some point, weren't they? Then again at one point IIRC everything was no matter how much snarling it caused to continuity.

There was also, in the later IDW comics run, a Transformers/Avengers crossover with the famous shot of Spidey webbing up Megatron. That one was technically canon for the entire IDW run, although the legal issues meant that 'the Avengers happened' was quietly never mentioned again - it was the aftermath that had consequences though...

(To wit,Spotlight: Ramjet by the crossover's author. Ramjet, who made his first real-world-timeline appearance in IDW2005 continuity in the crossover - with the altmode of a quinjet - decided he had the smarts and the means to overthrow Megatron. Given this was Ramjet, this worked out about as well as you'd expect, and Megatron left the ripped-apart bits and pieces of the now-very-very-offlined conehead scattered about the planet, pour encourageur les autres.

Much, much later, this came around to bite everybody in the skidplate when those bits - along with those of Thrust - were used to build an army of automaton Seeker clones for the Earth Defense Corps...)

m_d · Oct 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
washing machines and driers partially dismantled

dryers - not strictly an error, but more common, even in British and Canadian usage. Usually 'drier' is used for the adjective form describing the relative state, and 'dryer' for the noun for the thing or process that makes the change.

I wonder why they're partially dismantled. Spillover from Doctor Mist's disassembly of barriers, or were they like this already after someone was took parts for something?

Mr Zoat · Oct 13, 2022

m_d said:
dryers - not strictly an error, but more common, even in British and Canadian usage. Usually 'drier' is used for the adjective form describing the relative state, and 'dryer' for the noun for the thing or process that makes the change.

I wonder why they're partially dismantled. Spillover from Doctor Mist's disassembly of barriers, or were they like this already after someone was took parts for something?

Thank you, corrected.

BartlettMagic · Oct 13, 2022

thebishop8 said:
Victor Sage is The Question, for those who don't recall.

what a coincidence! i was just wondering where the Question had been when we were still working with Constantine a few chapters ago. didn't i read in this fic somewhere that Question and Constantine are synchronicity surfers or otherwise connected to fate/luck/what-have-you?

Darko · Oct 13, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
The dully incurious front desk attendant blinks at us as we walk or fly through where the front wall used to be.

"Yeah?"

I look closer. Now that I know what I'm looking for, I can see where the Anti-Life has engrafted upon his soul. It's not a great deal: he's a Hub City native and at this point I'm mildly impressed that he's functioning at all. But it's there

I'm kinda reminded if that scene in Gravity Falls where the mind erasing gun didn't work.

Can't break what's already broken.

Mr Zoat said:
The dully incurious front desk attendant blinks at us as we walk or fly through where the front wall used to be.

Is this the same guy from the last time Paul visited Hub City.

Mr Zoat said:
"Then it's inevitable that you'll see it, because he's the next target after the Reach."

"You… Shouldn't say things like that out loud. And not because of any sort of narrative rules; I'm pretty sure Darkseid can actually hear it."

"I'm sure he's heard it before."

A quick anti-note from -heh- Zauriel, and I stack the newly liberated office peons behind the reception desk.

"That doesn't mean he won't send someone after you

True, Darkseid may consider Paul a potential actual threat, but also think he can safely kill him, unlike say someone like Highfather.

Mr Zoat said:
And there's the central hub. Strange technology, at least two-. No, three, people visibly wired into it. That's Victor Sage, naked and with pieces of Apokoliptian technology piercing his flesh in a dozen places. A young woman I immediately recognise as Anita Fite. Her body appears to be intact, and is covered in a chirurgical gown. Her head has not been so fortunate, and several cables appear to be plugged directly into her skull. Her mouth is moving weakly and her eyes stare at nothing. The third 'person' appears to be the upper part of Black Orchid's body

Hmm, like Stsword said, maybe their using Sage and Orchid to broadcast this thing using plants and shaman magic.

I'm also reminded of the weird plants Quinn had in the Tower and I'm wondering if he was helping the bad guys research this.

Vaermina · Oct 13, 2022

AmericanNumbers said:
Paragon Paul reminding us he ain't quite right by casually going "I'm gonna kill Darkseid" in the middle of a building with Anti-Life'd people.

It's especially funny because stronger beings then him have tried.

Stsword · Oct 13, 2022

Darko said:
I'm also reminded of the weird plants Quinn had in the Tower and I'm wondering if he was helping the bad guys research this.

Hmm, I hadn't thought of that.

Maybe because Black Orchid didn't actually have plant manipulation powers in the comics that I can recall, but she is a creature of the Green, so I guess there's no reason to state it's theoretically impossible, especially with New God tech involved.

Mr Zoat · Oct 13, 2022

Darko said:
Is this the same guy from the last time Paul visited Hub City.

Do you mean the mortuary attendant? No, but they have a lot in common.

Windona · Oct 13, 2022

Well then, that answers quite a few questions and leaves even more.

Vic Sage is interesting, since he can be very Objectivist. But between him, Black Orchid, and Anita Fite, well.

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

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Apologizes For Nothing

Veteran Lurker

Know what you're doing yet?

The Blade Will Never Die

Verified: Oddball, Lurker, and Dabbler

The Critical Fumbler

Versed in the lewd.

Glomerulus

Well worn.

Versed in the lewd.

Not too sore, are you?

Dedicated ragequitter

This is filth! FILTH!!

Fascinated by storytelling

Dedicated ragequitter

peekaboo, you fucks you!

Connoisseur.

Well worn.

Versed in the lewd.

Dedicated ragequitter

Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

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