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

Stsword · Dec 8, 2023

EgyptianDio said:
Wait… Lyra Hall? Isn't she the daughter of Wonder Woman?!

Valint covered the major points, but there were a couple of details I wanted to mention.

In New Earth continuity Lyta is the daughter of Helena Kosmatos who went insane and believed she was Queen Hippolyta's daughter. The queen humored her out of a desire to not upset her. So Lyta Hall is named after her "grandmother."

Post flashpoint they went back around and Fury of Earth-2, Donna, is the daughter of Diana and the New God Steppenwolf.

So yes, no, and yes again.

Rafin · Dec 8, 2023

Finally back and through the backlog.

Mr Zoat said:
I accept it as my place.

What does this mean? What does actual acceptance entail? Because it can't just be enough that Paul things a string of words while being all emo and bleak about it, can it?

Mr Zoat said:
Man shakes. Hard to judge precisely what sort of damage he's taken with the helmet throwing off my scans. Weak construct shove to the chest and he doesn't react. Stunned, flying in his sleep. Dodge down, back up to evade the woman's attack, tear off man's helmet and then shove him into Malvolio's holding cell and use the sonic cannon on her head at the last tested intensity.

Was there something preventing Illustress!Paul from just subspacing Justifier helmets using filaments? I forgot.

Mr Zoat said:
"And then there's the issue of one government or another half-inching them and doing something stupid with them. I'd rather not put temptation in their way."

I thought that OL had already (succesfully?) attempted to bring them to Earth market? Or if not them then at least the tech based on Starman rods.

Mr Zoat said:
I suppose, but the reverse is also true.

"The Chinese government would rather let their people suffer brown outs and black outs rather than have the people who invented a new form of power generation make money from their own work."

I'm so confused. Just a few chapters ago OL wasn't sure if money still had value and was thinking that the majority of the world's urban population should start farming. Like, I am more surprised that the PRC is still a thing at all than them being weird about energy generation.

Mr Zoat said:
"Israel is not interested.

With risk of getting too close to contemporary politics, I am surprised that Israel survived all of Earth's ordeals as an intact state. Especially Anti-Life.

More generally I feel like you are (until this chapter) either underestimating or underselling the aftereffects. Most of Western Europe should look like a third world country right now. Democracy, even if not dead, would have been taken offline anywhere where you didn't have someone akin to Adom shielding everything. Any country that used to be an unpopular dictatorship of some kind would have some kind of regime change as soon as people are organized enough again that government is even a thing anymore. Any country where nationality and geographic border doesn't overlap should expect massive changes in the near future.

Mr Zoat said:
He nods, slightly stunned. "I will need to discuss that with the full cabinet, and with parliament."

Greece has enough parliament members to form a quorum? A mere week after the Anti-Life? Despite not having forces that could fend off the Anti-Life? Quite frankly, I don't get how any nation that didn't manage to fully fend off the Justifiers is currently not in a position comparable to being freshly liberated from the Nazis in WW2. Or worse. Because the way you described it I would have thought that the vast majority of Earth's population had a worse time than European countries had under Nazi occupation. Maybe even worse than Ethiopia under Mussolini.

Mr Zoat said:
**If you can hear me-!"

me-!**

Mr Zoat said:
Or turn hearts off?

Strange syntax.

Mr Zoat said:
He feel that further ork DNA would serve no useful function

feels

Mr Zoat said:
kroot mercenaries don't have that sort of resources

those

Mr Zoat said:
"Do you want it enough to allow your world to fall to Apokolips?"

you not want

Mr Zoat said:
and wrench then back.

them

Mr Zoat said:
He looks up at me with a depressing combination is despair and hope.

combination of despair

Mr Zoat said:
But the Jews have taken a harder line against 'pagan magic' then most Muslims.

than most

Mr Zoat said:
The country collapsed under the affect of the Anti-Life.

effect

Mr Zoat · Dec 8, 2023

Rafin said:
me-!**
Strange syntax.
feels
those
you not want
them
combination of despair
than most
effect

Thank you, corrected.

Doccer · Dec 9, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"You might have a point. But with the gods absent there is no one who can order me to stop. So I don't care."

By your own logic I sentence you to damnation!

Prince Charon · Dec 9, 2023

Doccer said:
By your own logic I sentence you to damnation!

People who are that angry are often not very good at logic.

Mr Zoat · Dec 9, 2023

5th March 2013
08:53 GMT +3

When fighting certain types of magical opponent, it's important not to do things that make them stronger. For example, when fighting a being who embodies retribution, don't strike the first blow unless you've got really good lawful authority.

"By the authority vested in me-"

My girder-constructs shatter as she tears them apart.

"-by the government of the Hellenic Republic-"

I drop a swarm of x-ionised knives between her and her target just as the rock she threw at my face shatters on my construct armour because I'm not a moron.

"-I am placing you under arrest."

And obviously you have to state it clearly in a way that the person you're talking to can't pretend they didn't know about, because the point isn't to make you stronger but to make them weaker.

Tisiphone jumps the knives, putting her in line with my railgun in a position where she can't dodge.

Fire. At low power because I'm trying to knock Tisiphone out of Mrs. Hall, not kill her.

And there's a knife in front of my eyes! She-. She grabbed a x-ionised knife and threw it-.

Construct lost.

One at me and another through the mage slayer and into the construct hard enough to wreck it. X-ionised weapons don't work especially well as throwing weapons but if she takes it upon herself to use them in melee then that might be a problem.

So I lift the lightning-thrower off the ground and out of 'super jumping' range before she can throw all of them at me, and stick construct armour around him as well. Now, this will be easiest if I can just break her out of whatever rage let Tisiphone take control in the first place, but since I don't know what that is… Quick check on the 'persons of interest' list…

"Missus Hall, Hector and Daniel are doing as well as can be expected. I'm sure they'll be-"

And there are the rest of the knives, biting into the armour but failing to penetrate. And…

And she's gone.

Ring, where is she?

Not found.

Darn it. I turn to my rescuee. "If you know anything-?"

"I don't know where he went! I am… Ugh. I'm not cut out to be a superhero. I would have-. Would have sold him out if she-."

I nod. "Is she focusing on particular people?"

"She said something-. She's working through.. everyone who actually worked with Alpha Centurion. But-but most of us barely met him!"

"It's-."

"She knew him better than we did!"

That makes an unfortunate amount of sense. I don't know what the Anti-Life would have said to Mrs. Hall to make her fall under its sway-. Or…

"Do you know where your former comrades are?"

"Some of them. There was only one Alliance base in Greece, but I worked with a lot of people from other places and…" He twitches. "When we were Justified… Personal stuff didn't matter."

So she almost certainly doesn't know either, unless-.

"Was she teaching classes?"

"I don't know. She was.. there, though. I remember because I thought it was strange that an American superhero spoke Greek."

Which means that Mrs. Hall probably does have a list. Does Tisiphone get everything in her head? Don't know.

Ah. It's a long shot, but, ring? Access Alliance records.

Partial records recovered.

Did she teach any classes?

Hippolyta Hall taught 'Introduction to Super Strength'. Recorded attendees list available. Warning, list is incomplete.

Compare list to post-Anti-Life confirmed deaths?

Updating.

There aren't that many people with superstrength in the world. And jokes aside most of them don't accidentally rip their surroundings apart, except when under stress. But if you want to be a superhero then you have to avoid accidentally ripping suspects apart while under stress. Or if your small child develops superstrength like Cassandra, whenever they're over-excited. So it was a great class for her to teach, as she'd had superstrength for most of her life as well as plenty of experience of living around superheroes.

"What can you do?"

Okay, she's fast but she's not Flash-fast. Next closest person I know that she met-

"I can throw lightning. I can-. Sort of fly, but I'm not very good at it yet. She knocked me out of the air and I couldn't get up again."

-is in Thessaloniki.

"What are you calling yourself?"

"Son of Zeus?"

I raise my eyebrows. "Are you?"

"No. Not literally."

"Alright Zeusson, I don't know where Fury went, so we're about to check a lot of places really quickly. If you think of anything relevant, pipe up."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Avoid dying. Two, one."

A house-. The street is completely intact. One woman inside matching the description. Not under attack, not under stress.

"Hey, that's-"

Next location. And start monitoring news sites and street journalism sites. If she's wrecking places then there should be signs.

"-Titaness."

Another street in another part of Greece. No Mrs. Hall. Another. Another. And that's it as far as Greeks who are still alive go. Access police reports. Compare autopsies to the results of Tisiphone's prior rampages.

Matches available.

Compare to Alliance classes. Did Marcus pick his co-workers from anywhere in particular?

Matches available.

Great, basically pure luck. Nothing from media sources. Try anyway. Transition. Nothing. Transition, nothing. Transition, nothing. Tran-.

I slam face first into the ground!

Vaermina · Dec 9, 2023

Why doesn't he just call Wonder Woman to deal with this?

Darko · Dec 9, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"I don't know where he went! I am… Ugh. I'm not cut out of being a superhero

Maybe "cut out to be a"

Mr Zoat said:
She knew him better than we did

Either it's some power to know about guilty people, or she worked with the Alliance.

Mr Zoat said:
"I can throw lightning. I can-. Sort of fly

I'm now picturing Stormfront from the TV show and how she flied.

Mr Zoat said:
"Son of Zeus?"

I raise my eyebrows. "Are you?"

"No. Not literally

Good because you're not getting any help from him.

Mr Zoat said:
"Alright Zeusson

Nice, but it may be more appropriate if he was from a Nordic country.

Mr Zoat said:
"What do you want me to do?"

"Avoid dying

Nice pep talk.

moralrelativity · Dec 9, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
One woman inside watching the description.

watching -> matching

Chojin Patriarch · Dec 9, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
5th March 2013
08:53 GMT +3

When fighting certain types of magical opponent, it's important not to do things that make them stronger. For example, when fighting a being who embodies retribution, don't strike the first blow unless you've got really good lawful authority.

"By the authority vested in me-"

I hope that works even if the person in question doesn't recognise said authority, because I doubt the Kindly Ones care much for the laws of mortal men. Their jobs worked well enough back in antiquity, because the laws of men and the divine edicts usually aligned, but these days? Not so much.

My girder-constructs shatter as she tears them apart.

"-by the government of the Hellenic Republic-"

Another case of a country's most well-known name not quite being the one they call themselves. Like the United States of Mexico.

I drop a swarm of x-ionised knives between her and her target just as the rock she threw at my face shatters on my construct armour because I'm not a moron.

"-I am placing you under arrest."

Well, some might disagree, but I think that's more a case of bad publicity.

And obviously you have to state it clearly in a way that the person you're talking to can't pretend they didn't know about, because the point isn't to make you stronger but to make them weaker.

Tisiphone jumps the knives, putting her in line with my railgun in a position where she can't dodge.

Good to see him starting to get his head around the concept of Narrative Combat in the New God manner. The empowering or weakening of an entity's narrative role affecting their very being. Something which even the gods of Earth are affected by.

Fire. At low power because I'm trying to knock Tisiphone out of Mrs. Hall, not kill her.

And there's a knife in front of my eyes! She-. She grabbed a x-ionised knife and threw it-.

Now that's impressively fast. Well past the level of a Danner Enhancile, at least.

Construct lost.

One at me and another through the mage slayer and into the construct hard enough to wreck it. X-ionised weapons don't work especially well as throwing weapons but if she takes it upon herself to use them in melee then that might be a problem.

Odd. I would have thought they'd be better because of the sharpness aiding aerodynamics. Or is it a matter of balance, hmm?

So I lift the lightning-thrower off the ground and out of 'super jumping' range before she can throw all of them at me, and stick construct armour around him as well. Now, this will be easiest if I can just break her out of whatever rage let Tisiphone take control in the first place, but since I don't know what that is… Quick check on the 'persons of interest' list…

"Missus Hall, Hector and Daniel are doing as well as can be expected. I'm sure they'll be-"

Good to know. I expect losing her family might well have been enough to drive he3r into this sort of rage. Just look what her 'Sandman' counterpart did when she thought her son was dead...

And there are the rest of the knives, biting into the armour but failing to penetrate. And…

And she's gone.

Evidently decided sticking around to fight him would reduce her host's rage too much, eh? So she's off after another target.

Ring, where is she?

Not found.

Because arcane-empowered entity. Pity, that would have made this easier.

Darn it. I turn to my rescuee. "If you know anything-?"

"I don't know where he went! I am… Ugh. I'm not cut out to be a superhero. I would have-. Would have sold him out if she-."

People being tortured will often say anything to make the pain stop, after all. Not that Tisiphone would care whether said information was accurate as long as he suffered.

I nod. "Is she focusing on particular people?"

"She said something-. She's working through.. everyone who actually worked with Alpha Centurion. But-but most of us barely met him!"

Maybe she started with the closest connections and is working her way down...

"It's-."

"She knew him better than we did!"

...Or not. So a big chunk of this is just Tissy playing with her prey.

That makes an unfortunate amount of sense. I don't know what the Anti-Life would have said to Mrs. Hall to make her fall under its sway-. Or…

"Do you know where your former comrades are?"

I doubt Greece had as many recruits as the US did. Wonder if they were stronger or weaker on average?

"Some of them. There was only one Alliance base in Greece, but I worked with a lot of people from other places and…" He twitches. "When we were Justified… Personal stuff didn't matter."

So she almost certainly doesn't know either, unless-.

...She's got a line on the locations of Alliance members.

"Was she teaching classes?"

"I don't know. She was.. there, though. I remember because I thought it was strange that an American superhero spoke Greek."

Joy of a shared ancestry. Relatively speaking, since I doubt this guy had any relation to her directly.

Which means that Mrs. Hall probably does have a list. Does Tisiphone get everything in her head? Don't know.

Ah. It's a long shot, but, ring? Access Alliance records.

It would seem inefficient to not have that kind of set-up...

Partial records recovered.

Did she teach any classes?

Hippolyta Hall taught 'Introduction to Super Strength'. Recorded attendees list available. Warning, list is incomplete.

So not everyone recorded their details, or were the details lost because of everything that's happened?

Compare list to post-Anti-Life confirmed deaths?

Updating.

It would be an easy selection of targets to start with.

There aren't that many people with superstrength in the world. And jokes aside most of them don't accidentally rip their surroundings apart, except when under stress. But if you want to be a superhero then you have to avoid accidentally ripping suspects apart while under stress. Or if your small child develops superstrength like Cassandra, whenever they're over-excited. So it was a great class for her to teach, as she'd had superstrength for most of her life as well as plenty of experience of living around superheroes.

Passing on her hard-earned knowledge, eh? Lots of little tips like 'Cars are not a good melee weapon. Just hit them with your fist.'

"What can you do?"

Okay, she's fast but she's not Flash-fast. Next closest person I know that she met-

Unless she can teleport while Tissy in in charge.

"I can throw lightning. I can-. Sort of fly, but I'm not very good at it yet. She knocked me out of the air and I couldn't get up again."

-is in Thessaloniki.

One thing you rarely see in comics: people who aren't perfectly in control of their powers. Unless it's about a training group like 'New Mutants'. Then you see lots of 'how do I shot web?' moments.

"What are you calling yourself?"

"Son of Zeus?"

...Not the best idea, you know. That sort of assumed connection has lots of baggage.

I raise my eyebrows. "Are you?"

"No. Not literally."

...Lucky you. Maybe go with a more generic name like 'Thunderbolt' or something.

"Alright Zeusson, I don't know where Fury went, so we're about to check a lot of places really quickly. If you think of anything relevant, pipe up."

"What do you want me to do?"

Besides try not to die? A well-timed lightning bolt might be useful.

"Avoid dying. Two, one."

A house-. The street is completely intact. One woman inside watching the description. Not under attack, not under stress.

Well, that's good.

"Hey, that's-"

Next location. And start monitoring news sites and street journalism sites. If she's wrecking places then there should be signs.

"-Titaness."

...Honestly, what is it with people picking names with all kinds of mythological or cultural baggage?

Another street in another part of Greece. No Mrs. Hall. Another. Another. And that's it as far as Greeks who are still alive go. Access police reports. Compare autopsies to the results of Tisiphone's prior rampages.

Matches available.

Should be pretty obvious injuries. Mostly battering and tearing by super-strong hands...

Compare to Alliance classes. Did Marcus pick his co-workers from anywhere in particular?

Matches available.

So, did he favour former Roman-controlled countries or Mediterranean nations in general, or was he more globally-minded, i wonder...

Great, basically pure luck. Nothing from media sources. Try anyway. Transition. Nothing. Transition, nothing. Transition, nothing. Tran-.

I slam face first into the ground!

Hopefully his little buddy was fast enough to get his flight in working order.

That's certainly a fast reaction, if Tisiphone caught him popping out of a Transition like that. Assuming that is Tissy. Not impossible that OL managed to blunder into someone else's trouble, but it would seem unlikely. Hopefully they did arrive in time to head off any further assaults. Now, how to pin Fury down long enough to sort matters out and banish her passenger?

Darko · Dec 9, 2023

Chojin Patriarch said:
Lucky you. Maybe go with a more generic name like 'Thunderbolt' or something.

Gonna pull a Paul here and say that that's inaccurate.

The accurate name would be Lightningbolt, since thunder is sound and this guy shoots lightning.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Honestly, what is it with people picking names with all kinds of mythological or cultural baggage?

Hey, they're cool.

Plus these people come from a country that's practically famous for its ancient heroes and magical beings.

Chojin Patriarch said:
So, did he favour former Roman-controlled countries or Mediterranean nations in general, or was he more globally-minded, i wonder

The first time we met him he didn't seem to care about Rome all that much since while it was the same place, the culture has changed in many, many ways that it didn't feel like home.

Chojin Patriarch said:
That's certainly a fast reaction, if Tisiphone caught him popping out of a Transition like that. Assuming that is Tissy. Not impossible that OL managed to blunder into someone else's trouble, but it would seem unlikely

If some Alliance member has advanced tech or knows magic then they may have been able to do it.

Mr Zoat · Dec 9, 2023

Darko said:
Maybe "cut out to be a"

Thank you, corrected.

I'm now picturing Stormfront from the TV show and how she flied.

flew

moralrelativity said:
watching -> matching

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Odd. I would have thought they'd be better because of the sharpness aiding aerodynamics. Or is it a matter of balance, hmm?

No, it's because while the cutting edge will go through just about anything, the blade can still lose kinetic energy due to friction on the flat surface. An on-the-ball Lantern can lock the knife in place that way, but you could actually stop them with sufficient quantities of plasticine.

Finagle007 · Dec 9, 2023

Vaermina said:
Why doesn't he just call Wonder Woman to deal with this?

Diana's got no authority over Tisiphone. And getting hold of her may take too long.

Sockmonkey · Dec 9, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
No, it's because while the cutting edge will go through just about anything, the blade can still lose kinetic energy due to friction on the flat surface. An on-the-ball Lantern can lock the knife in place that way, but you could actually stop them with sufficient quantities of plasticine.

That's an issue with any thrown weapon tho, not specifically X-ionized ones. It's more accurate to say that they're not as good as guns or bows (unless thrown by a speedster or someone with supernatural abilities) because they travel much slower, get telegraphed, and might be dodged.

Someguy Somewhere · Dec 9, 2023

Chojin Patriarch said:
...Lucky you. Maybe go with a more generic name like 'Thunderbolt' or something.

That one is Taken Twice Over.

Stsword · Dec 9, 2023

Someguy Somewhere said:
That one is Taken Twice Over.

Thrice over, there's also Thunderbolt Jaxon.

Someguy Somewhere · Dec 9, 2023

You could count 'Thunderbolt' Ross from Marvel as well, but I was sticking to DC for their versions of characters using the name.

EDIT: But any time you can use 'Thrice' is a good time. Kudos.

Stsword · Dec 9, 2023

Someguy Somewhere said:
You could count 'Thunderbolt' Ross from Marvel as well, but I was sticking to DC for their versions of characters using the name.

EDIT: But any time you can use 'Thrice' is a good time. Kudos.

Wildstorm was a DC label, so the 2006 Thunderbolt Jaxon series mentioned at the bottom of the page is a DC series, it's a spin off of Albion, which was Zoat's inspiration for including all those British characters like the Spider, Steel Claw, or the Eye of Zoltec.

Someguy Somewhere · Dec 9, 2023

You got me there, didn't spot the DC buyout on that one.

Signaller · Dec 9, 2023

Good thing Paul got rid of the Red ring. If he still had it on him, it might've reacted to the Fury's anger?

Old Knife · Dec 10, 2023

Wonder where zeus is.
Zeusson. Eh.

Mr Zoat · Dec 10, 2023

5th March 2013
08:56 GMT +3

Armour! And phone-!

Someone yanks on my arm and throws me-. Uh, throws me into a wall. Solid stone. My kinetic barrier flares on impact, and then… Shuts down? Causing me to drop to the floor.

Phone Daniel Hall.

Compliance.

Arms into a defensive pose prepare cold gun-.

"Lantern?"

Take in my environment and lower my arms. "Centurion?"

Marcus's armour had… Visibly been upgraded with Apokoliptian technology, and there's a young man with a lighter version behind him sharing nervous looks with Son of Zeus.

"Yes." He looks around the room. "Automator, you must reset your traps as quickly-"

The young man nods and darts over to.. some sort of sparking device built into the wall.

"-as possible."

"You were trying to trap Fury."

"To trap and calm her, yes. I was too slow to save-."

"I've read the reports. Why are you still wearing Apokoliptian armour?"

"I've been… Busy. Was Fury following you?"

"No, she got away from me and I was trying-."

"Trying to-" He nods. "-get ahead of her."

"Y-yeah?"

"Excuse me. Daniel? Orange Lantern here."

"What is it?"

"We've found your mother. Unfortun-"

"Where?"

"-ately, she's being controlled by Tisiphone. Greece."

"You need me to try and talk her down? It's not always that easy."

"I'd appreciate it if you could try anyway. Please stay on the line."

"Sure, yeah."

"Centurion, do you know what set her off?"

"Yes. She was useful. To me. When I was leading the Justifiers. Strength, endurance, speed… And the magic of one of the Eumenides. One of the few acts of true initiative I was permitted was to try to infect Tisiphone herself with the Anti-Life."

"Were you successful?"

"I was never certain, but I made her suffer greatly."

He pauses for a moment.

"She has killed other Justifiers, hasn't she?"

"Apparently her idea of what constitutes a murderer doesn't make allowances for mind control. They're valid targets."

"I do not believe that."

"Learning her motive might help get her out of Fury. What do you think?"

"I hardly think that Fury murdered anyone before the Anti-Life took her. Do you know what happens when a person blessed by the Furies offends against them?"

"No."

"This."

Marcus flies across the room, smashing into Automator and whatever he was building! Son of Zeus steps back so that his back is against the solid stone wall and generates a plasma field around himself. Good. I throw out construct cables and electrify them, because power armour is insulated while Fury is-

"Eh."

-wearing her usual minimalistic costume.

Construct lost.

Though it's not enough to take her down, given how tough she is.

"Lyta, Daniel for you!"

"Mom? Are you there?"

Construct lost. / Construct lost. / Construct lost.

My construct armour fractures and the armour beneath deforms from the force of her strike! As my ring speeds up my thoughts I can sort of make out the blur that is Mrs. Hall's face, and send out cables-.

Construct lost.

She's moving position, not staying still to hit me because she knows that speedsters can be caught in area attacks like that. Marcus is picking himself up-.

He's down again, his helmet cratered by a kick.

"Mom, lots of people did-. Did stuff when the Anti-Life got into their heads. Going crazy isn't gunna help. And you know Tisiphone just likes killing people."

She hits me and the outer armour around my left arm fractures, held together by the flexible inner layer. Another strike is angled at my neck but is partly deflected by the fact that my armour has a dome rather than a helmet.

I try-. Agh! Right, shielded, goddess of vengeance. What else? Can't use gas because Son of Zeus isn't wearing a gas mask and Mrs. Hall would need lots of gas to put her down.

Perhaps trying to calm Mrs. Hall down is the wrong approach?

"Tisiphone, you shouldn't hold yourself responsible for what the Anti-Life made-"

Alert! Construct Lanterns-

Orange hands grab me and shove me to the ground, the Construct Lanterns faces contorted into expressions of murderous wrath! I didn't even kill those-.

"-you do!"

Tisiphone slows, picking up-. Picking up the demonically enhanced Nabu helmet and walking towards me.

"They should."

"You saw Darkseid's wrath as being righteous, didn't you? That's what it did to you, how it got to you."

"Go on, put me on him. We can make everyone suffer as they deserve!"

Tisiphone shoves her left hand through the base of my dome helmet and rips it off!

"We've all felt it. We all know what it's like. I've seen other gods be taken by it as well. There's always a stronger power out there somewhere, and you ran into one that likes to use other people as tools. Likes to make them go against their most cherished ideals."

Her face twitches, but she stops moving.

"Marcus was in the same place as you. The others as well, for the most part. Do you really see Marcus-?"

A lightning bolt hits her in the side of the head, and she collapses to the ground.

Darko · Dec 10, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
sparking device built into the wall.

-as possible."

Add a " at the second sentence.

Mr Zoat said:
one of the a Eumenides.

Remove "a"

Mr Zoat said:
know Tisiphone just like killing

"likes"

Mr Zoat said:
Orange hands grab me and shove me to the ground, the Construct Lanterns faces contorted into expressions of murderous wrath! I didn't even kill those

You did however enslave them.

Lord Ernest · Dec 10, 2023

How fast is Fury? Is she Speedster level or just really fast? 'Cause I can't follow what's going on all that well, seems disjointed to me and I don't know if that's a failure on my reading comprehension or just the writing, no offense.

And where did these Construct Lanterns and specially the Demonic Nabu Construct Lantern come from, anyway?

Everything is happening so abruptly that I feel I lost the thread of events since the previous segment.

Chojin Patriarch · Dec 10, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
5th March 2013
08:56 GMT +3

Armour! And phone-!

Someone yanks on my arm and throws me-. Uh, throws me into a wall. Solid stone. My kinetic barrier flares on impact, and then… Shuts down? Causing me to drop to the floor.

Powerful, then. Could Fury manage that? Maybe, she is as strong as a classical pre-crisis Amazon, when they were all Wonder Woman-tier powerhouses... Nothing to sneeze at, even if there are stronger heroes and villains out there. But would Tisiphone simply wrestle when she could break and rip and tear?

Phone Daniel Hall.

Compliance.

Ah, planning to use him to break through the rage?

Arms into a defensive pose prepare cold gun-.

"Lantern?"

...And that is not the voice of a raging Kindly One.

Take in my environment and lower my arms. "Centurion?"

Marcus's armour had… Visibly been upgraded with Apokoliptian technology, and there's a young man with a lighter version behind him sharing nervous looks with Son of Zeus.

So, glowing Tron lines in evidence. I suppose it's still useful, even if he can't make full use of its power.

"Yes." He looks around the room. "Automator, you must reset your traps as quickly-"

The young man nods and darts over to.. some sort of sparking device built into the wall.

Ah, a tech-type hero. With an electric trap set up. Wise rule: Never attack a science-type in their own lab.

"-as possible."

"You were trying to trap Fury."

And instead they got OL and the other kid. Not as planned, I guess.

"To trap and calm her, yes. I was too slow to save-."

"I've read the reports. Why are you still wearing Apokoliptian armour?"

Who knows what hidden devices and traps are in there, after all?

"I've been… Busy. Was Fury following you?"

"No, she got away from me and I was trying-."

...She's on her way right now, isn't she?

"Trying to-" He nods. "-get ahead of her."

"Y-yeah?"

Great minds think alike, I guess. It helps that Marcus is a master tactician.

"Excuse me. Daniel? Orange Lantern here."

"What is it?"

Ah, the inevitable peril of being a superhero's family member: the dreaded 'It's about your <family member>' call...

"We've found your mother. Unfortuan-"

"Where?"

Deep concern, I see. I can't imagine the weeks since the cleansing has been easy for either him or his father...

"-ately, she's being controlled by Tisiphone. Greece."

"You need me to try and talk her down? It's not always that easy."

Still, anything that can slow her down will help.

"I'd appreciate it if you could try anyway. Please stay on the line."

"Sure, yeah."

Hopefully he wasn't busy, but given the importance of this...

"Centurion, do you know what set her off?"

"Yes. She was useful. To me. When I was leading the Justifiers. Strength, endurance, speed… And the magic of one of the Eumenides. One of the few acts of true initiative I was permitted was to try to infect Tisiphone herself with the Anti-Life."

...Ooh, that's not great. I'm guessing that's why she's in full no-excuses Knight Templar mode.

"Were you successful?"

"I was never certain, but I made her suffer greatly."

Which he no doubt regrets badly know, I see.

He pauses for a moment.

"She has killed other Justifiers, hasn't she?"

Given she's been at liberty for weeks, that's a given.

"Apparently her idea of what constitutes a murderer doesn't make allowances for mind control. They're valid targets."

"I do not believe that."

Believe it or not, it's happening, and she's especially pissed at you.

"Learning her motive might help get her out of Fury. What do you think?"

"I hardly think that Fury murdered anyone before the Anti-Life took her. Do you know what happens when a person blessed by the Furies offends against them?"

I would bet they're especially harsh on them.

"No."

"This."

Oh, great timing, Tissy, they were just talking about you...

Marcus flies across the room, smashing into Automator and whatever he was building! Son of Zeus steps back so that his back is against the solid stone wall and generates a plasma field around himself. Good. I throw out construct cables and electrify them, because power armour is insulated while Fury is-

"Eh."

-wearing her usual minimalistic costume.

True, basic spandex leotards aren't known for their insulating properties, especially with pieces of metal armour on top.

Construct lost.

Though it's not enough to take her down, given how tough she is.

So, Danner-tier or better, then. Which makes it even harder to hold her.

"Lyta, Daniel for you!"

"Mom? Are you there?"

Sadly, I doubt she'll believe it's really Daniel. Easy to assume that OL could and would fake his voice.

Construct lost. / Construct lost. / Construct lost.

My construct armour fractures and the armour beneath deforms from the force of her strike! As my ring speeds up my thoughts I can sort of make out the blur that is Mrs. Hall's face, and send out cables-.

Running on overdrive under Tisiphone's control, eh? I suspect she's not normally this powerful, thanks to instinctively holding back...

Construct lost.

She's moving position, not staying still to hit me because she knows that speedsters can be caught in area attacks like that. Marcus is picking himself up-.

Great, fast and smart to boot. But she still only has melee attacks, right? Time to rig a contact shock.

He's down again, his helmet cratered by a kick.

"Mom, lots of people did-. Did stuff when the Anti-Life got into their heads. Going crazy isn't gunna help. And you know Tisiphone just likes killing people."

Let's hope hearing his voice does give Lyta the strength to wrestle down the rage...

She hits me and the outer armour around my left arm fractures, held together by the flexible inner layer. Another strike is angles at my neck but is partly deflected by the fact that my armour has a dome rather than a helmet.

I try-. Agh! Right, shielded, goddess of vengence. What else? Can't use gas because Son of Zeus isn't wearing a gas mask and Mrs. Hall would need lots of gas to put her down.

Like I said: Contact shock. Something that causes her to be zapped any time she touches you... It does mean letting her beat on you until she catches on, though.

Perhaps trying to calm Mrs. Hall down is the wrong approach?

"Tisiphone, you shouldn't hold yourself responsible for what the Anti-Life made-"

Not just pushing her berserk button, but headbutting it repeatedly...

Alert! Construct Lanterns-

Orange hands grab me and shove me to the ground, the Construct Lanterns faces contorted into expressions of murderous wrath! I didn't even kill those-.

...And now she's got his own allies working against him.

"-you do!"

Tisiphone slows, picking up-. Picking up the demonically enhanced Nabu helmet and walking towards me.

Oh, hell. Literally. If she puts that on, things will have passed the Godzilla Threshold.

"They should."

"You saw Darkseid's wrath as being righteous, didn't you? That's what it did to you, how it got to you."

Unfortunately, Tissy enjoys the rage, doesn't she?

"Go on, put me on him. We can make everyone suffer as they deserve!"

Tisiphone shoves her left hand through the base of my dome helmet and rips it off!

...Okay, that blows clean past the Godzilla Threshold. The best hope if that happens is that OL can overpower alt!Nabu...

"We've all felt it We all know what it's like. I've seen other gods be taken by it as well. There's always a stronger power out there somewhere, and you ran into one that likes to use other people as tools. Likes to make them go against their most cherished ideals."

Her face twitches, but she stops moving.

Ah, there's Lyta. But she's not strong enough yet to overcome her passenger...

"Marcus was in the same place as you. The others as well, for the most part. Do you really see Marcus-?"

A lightning bolt hits her in the side of the head, and she collapses to the ground.

Ah, Son of Zeus taking the opportunity shot.

I think they were getting through to Lyta there, but not quickly enough. Especially after Tisiphone forced the Construct Lanterns to manifest. Which is a nasty trick, by the by. Hopefully a Thiunderbolt upside the head shakes Tissy enough for her host to push back. Hopefully it also gives OL the moment he needs to tug the leashes of the Construct Lanterns and remove them from this situation...

"We've found your mother. Unfortuan-"

"We've found your mother. Unfortun-"

Another strike is angles at my neck but...

Another strike is angled at my neck but...

Darko · Dec 10, 2023

Lord Ernest said:
And where did these Construct Lanterns and specially the Demonic Nabu Construct Lantern come from, anyway

I'm guessing Fury here can summon the spirits of people her target has wronged in some way and gave them help her.

Duke Long · Dec 10, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"We've all felt it We all know what it's like.

Missing full stop in the middle?

Idkusername · Dec 10, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
And you know Tisiphone just like killing people.

like —> likes

Mr Zoat · Dec 10, 2023

Darko said:
Add a " at the second sentence.
Remove "a"
"likes"

Chojin Patriarch said:
"We've found your mother. Unfortun-"
Another strike is angled at my neck but...

Duke Long said:
Missing full stop in the middle?

Thank you, corrected.

Zig · Dec 10, 2023

Lord Ernest said:
How fast is Fury? Is she Speedster level or just really fast? 'Cause I can't follow what's going on all that well, seems disjointed to me and I don't know if that's a failure on my reading comprehension or just the writing, no offense.

And where did these Construct Lanterns and specially the Demonic Nabu Construct Lantern come from, anyway?

Everything is happening so abruptly that I feel I lost the thread of events since the previous segment.

Seems to be faster than a speeding bullet rather than full on speedster fast.

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