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

Lord Ernest · Jan 6, 2024

I had completely forgotten about Ritchie Simpson! It makes sense that he would be around the Odium and in the Paragon timeline he was allied with Satanus as well, right? I suppose that without Satanus' ascension to prominence and more developed network of alliances in Hell, he has to get by. And being the secret point of contact and influence for a Lord of Hell, while trying to establish his own powerbase or whatever is better than getting shafted for being John Constantine's once friend/ally.

Darko · Jan 6, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
I've fine if I can see it going in."

"I'd be fine"

Chojin Patriarch · Jan 6, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Day 20
26th March 2013
15:30 GMT

""Oh-hoh-hoh yeah!"

The pink face vanishes, and then a hatch opens with a slight hiss as the pressure equalises.

Whatever lies beyond, there's evidently some noticeable pressure differential there. Though what that means in Hell, I can't say. At least it looks like the disguise worked. ...Or this guy's been a while without company.

"Give me a second while I-." Several runes flicker or die completely. "Okay, security's off. Come on in!"

Hm. I walk closer to the hatch and see that it's a narrow tube with rungs set into the side. There's no way that I'd fit down there at full size-. And neither could Neron or the First, assuming that they can't reduce their size. Ayelle can fit fairly easily, as height isn't really an issue, though… Given her character…

A fairly sensible trick, especially if those hiding in there can alter their shape.

Plot route…

I step over the tube and drop, rungs flashing past a centimetre from my face as my ring corrects my angle without reducing my speed.

Alert! Brace!

Style points for the descent. Let's see if he can stick the landing.

I fall to a crouch as the tunnel suddenly ends, mild pain flaring in my legs for a moment before fading. Ayelle's regeneration is nothing like as good as mine, but we are surrounded by magic and human misery. The.. entrance is… Triangular, with the tunnel exit at one point and the door out on the opposite flat surface. Designed to force someone breaching it to confront several defenders at once if they managed to get out of the obvious choke point the tunnel itself represents. Three crude demonpunk robots stand at the ready between me and the door, two with glowing blades and the other with…

Yes, very much a killzone. Though a sufficiently powerful demon wouldn't be overly bothered.

With a gun like a larger version of what the people in Purgatory were using.

Okay, we're learning something.

...Whoever's in charge here, they've been trading with Satanus. Are they buying or selling the tech, though?

The robots study me for a moment, then step aside to allow me entry.

"Pretty good, aren't they?"

Elegant, but it remains to be seen how they'd fight.

"Do they feel pain?"

"Hah, one track mind. Nice landing, by the way."

Well, at least he approves. I bet the lack of pain makes them tougher.

I strut past and shove open the inter door. Not sure if he's watching, but I add as much of a hip-roll as this armour allows to my walk, swing the tail to add emphasis-.

Have you done this before, Lantern?

...Now where the heck is that drum beat coming from?

My soul is plugged into a demon made of this. It would be more weird if I didn't know how to do this.

Wait. He said that he didn't marry Arin, not that he wasn't interested.

I suspect he'd need to be dead to not be interested in Arin Sur...

Didn't-?

Arin Sur did not display herself in such a fashion. She had class.

Fair enough. I meant no offence.

Yeah, even if he's an AI, you do not insult the love of the man's life.

The interior of the bunker is metal, a brass-colour that I assume isn't actually brass because that's a terrible material for armour. Fewer runes here than on the exterior, but I can see the similarity in structure and intent. There are a couple of doors leading off to my right, and they put me in mind of submarine doors: handwheel in place of a handle and the door designed to form a seal when closed. Probably not for water, so… Thaumic isolation? It would also form another choke point.

Multiple doors. Nice. Only thing missing is forcing those approaching to take multiple back-and-forth courses, say, through chain-link fences for maximum visible time.

"Just up ahead!"

That door is open, and I step into…

Huh.

Into the beast's lair...

A demonpunk mechanical workshop. Things which look like modern factory robots move around conveyor belts, only the power cables are replaced by plates covered in demonic runes and the coloured plastic or metal cowling is replaced by more bare brass. There's a certain… Organic structure to the thing, as if it was made by breaking up robot animals, or… Trying to make an animal statue using scrap metal. All very effective-looking. And there's more than one conveyor belt. I can see once smaller setup making cybernetics while another appears to be working on robot, another on guns-. And that one is actively applying enchantments, that's brilliant!

Modern-style assembly lines, eh? Now, who do we know in Hell who would...

And up there in the control pulpit…

"Hey!"

Ah, the man themself. No doubt enjoying the view.

A… Sort of spiky outline of a man made of purple and pink light waves from his seat. I can see white lines like… Lightning or circuitry under his 'skin', and there's a jagged corona around his head-. Is that a beard?

"What do you think?!"

...Well, that description... Hello there, Ritchie.

"It's very… Mechanical."

"Yeah!" His body bends and contorts and… Sort of transmits itself down to floor level before reforming. Some of the machines slow for a moment, then he waves a hand at it. Tiny flecks of pink fire leap onto them, merging with their runic power units and causing them to swing into action again. "You don't see that in other places, do you?"

Not the most unusual demon around. There are other incorporeal and amorphous types around, but few would deign to power things that way.

"No."

"This could have been everywhere by now. Fucking Renderers. Can't take competition!"

And in another timeline, it is.

I make a point of looking upwards. "Is that what happened to the workshop?"

"My workshop." He reaches up with his right hand and scratches his head. "But… I can rebuild. I am rebuilding. Then I'll get that stick insect bastard."

Not ringing a bell, but Mr Zoat does have a remarkable talent for locating obscure Hellblazer characters...

"Good luck with that."

He scratches his head again. "Good luck? Surprisingly… Upbeat?"

Just because 'she's a demon doesn't mean she can't be perky.

"I do physical pain, . If you want emotional torment, get a girlfriend."

"Heh, right." He goes to scratch his head again, then yanks his hand down. "Sorry, don't have… Nits or anything. But ever since Agony and Ecstasy did my.. induction, if I go too long without one or the other..."

No doubt he overcame that in the Paragon timeline. Or paid it off.

I nod sympathetically. "Imaginable suffering is part of any sensible work/life balance."

"Honestly, I thought he'd forgotten, you know? Or was it her?"

Really, the two of them are kind of... Entangled. I'm not so sure they're really separate souls anymore.

Whoever it is he thinks hired me, presumably.

"I didn't ask. Professional ethics."

Ah, right. Making those bluff checks. Not easy without much information...

"Be nice to know. Not much I can do about it either way right now, but-. It's like needles, y'know? I'll be fine if I can see it going in."

I nod. "So, blindfolds with the needles?"

Honestly, being surprised is better when getting a shot, Seeing it approach makes you tense up, and makes the process tougher.

"Maybe. See how it goes." He glance around and then takes a few steps away from the machinery. "Here alright?"

I smile cruelly, sauntering closer as I pull a nutcracker off my belt with my right hand and shove him back against the wall with my left.

...Kinky.

"Sure." I take my left off his shoulder, take hold of my soul cage amulet with it and pull it off, my real form bubbling outwards. "Anywhere's fine."

He looks up at my real face.

Just a bit bigger than you were expecting, Ritchie?

"Is this extra?"

"Technically? No."

...Why do I feel like he'd still be into it?

Somehow, I don't think Ritchie is going to enjoy this much.

...Or maybe too much. Either way, The Renegade is going to find out what he came looking for, and woe betide Ritchie if he tries to clam up. Though I doubt he'll destroy him. Heck, perhaps take him to the First, show him what the guy's been up to, and perhaps suggest looking into expanding his production facilities outside of a basement...

I strut past and shove open the inter door.

I strut past and shove open the inner door.

I can see once smaller setup making cybernetics...

I can see one smaller setup making cybernetics...

Darko · Jan 6, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
Why do I feel like he'd still be into it?

Because he's been around John Constantine for a prolonged period of time, so chances are high that he's into some weird shit.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Heck, perhaps take him to the First, show him what the guy's been up to, and perhaps suggest looking into expanding his production facilities outside of a basement...

Probably not, since that would mean Hell becomes more advanced and thus more dangerous.

Mr Zoat · Jan 6, 2024

Darko said:
"I'd be fine"

Chojin Patriarch said:
I strut past and shove open the inner door.
I can see one smaller setup making cybernetics...

Thank you, corrected.

I suspect he'd need to be dead to not be interested in Arin Sur...

There was a link I wanted to post there to a piece of art I found on deviatnart. It showed Arin complaining that her brother's house was disorderly and Sinestro falling in love at once.

Alas, the artist appears to have removed it.

Not ringing a bell, but Mr Zoat does have a remarkable talent for locating obscure Hellblazer characters...

He's talking about the chief Renderer. Who looks a bit like he's made of sticks.

Ardy · Jan 6, 2024

@Zoat, quick question.

Would the renegade kill this child?

Mr Zoat · Jan 7, 2024

Ardy said:
@Zoat, quick question.

Would the renegade kill this child?

Why kill the child? The old woman is the sadly misinformed one, and that's probably correctable.

Ardy · Jan 7, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Why kill the child? The old woman is the sadly misinformed one, and that's probably correctable.

Correctable via stabbing, no doubt.

Prince Charon · Jan 7, 2024

Ardy said:
Correctable via stabbing, no doubt.

That probably depends on how much utility he gets out of not stabbing her, in comparison to stabbing her.

EDIT: Wait, is Renegade still a utilitarian, or has he moved on to a different ethical structure?

Vaermina · Jan 7, 2024

Prince Charon said:
That probably depends on how much utility he gets out of not stabbing her, in comparison to stabbing her.

EDIT: Wait, is Renegade still a utilitarian, or has he moved on to a different ethical structure?

Grayven killed Renegade.

This is just Grayven with a few Renegade shaped holes in him.

Mr Zoat · Jan 7, 2024

Day 20
26th March 2013
15:36 GMT

"…like me being around because I wasn't a proper demon. I just hijacked Nergal's manifested structure and used it as a filter." As much as I can tell, he looks disgruntled. "For all of five seconds, until the Incest Twins told me that wasn't how it worked. Not like I really wanted to come to Hell in the first place. I mean, who does?"

He tries to make a gesture of helplessness with both arms, but the left doesn't really move as it's strapped to a board.

"You might-."

"Fucking Constantine. I mean, I know it wasn't like he actually meant any of it to happen, and he came to me in the first place because he didn't know how to hack computers with magic and I could have turned him down… But it's just that this shit happens too much around him."

"I under-"

I bring my thumb and forefinger together around the metacarpal of his left little finger. Despite his lack of a normal anatomy, I hear a crunch.

"-stand."

"AA-HHAOW, that's the stuff."

"So the lady Rosacarnis offered to sponsor you?"

"Uh…" That was more of an awkward pause than a thinking pause. "I was using her father's body. She was worried that he'd come back, so she sent some demons after me. They dragged me back because they didn't know what she wanted them to do with me. Sponsoring me came later."

I take a firmer grip on his little finger and bend it back, the broken ends of the bone grinding against the flesh. He gasps.

"Heh-eh. You know, I always wondered if people who were into bondage just didn't feel pain or something. If they had lower serotonin sensitivity or something. But it hurts, I don't, and I need you to keep going."

"And that got you started in Odium."

"No, no, I was operating out of her palace for a while. She wanted me to prove I could make something. You know, do something practical and not just waffle on about theory."

"And she was fine with you using her father's body?"

"Oh, yeah. She used that as an intimidation tactic at the start, about how much of an insult it was, but, I mean… I was already in Hell. I was already as intimidated as I could get."

"I didn't think you actually died."

"My body got burned to a crisp. I saw it in John's memories."

"Yes, but you weren't in it at the time. If you'd transferred yourself into a robotic body we wouldn't-."

"That's not how it works. A body, a normal human body, is a much better anchor for the soul than a robot body. That's what being alive is: anchoring. That's why my workshop has heavy duty runes physically attached to all of the moving parts rather than just running off a spell. Nergal's body had a load of links to ritual sites… Could have stayed on Earth for decades without… Y'know, redoing them."

"Ritually murdering a bunch of people and using them as magic fuel?"

"Yeah. I mean, Nergal mostly drove people mad and had them do the killing. It was just more practical. But if Agony and Ecstasy hadn't turned up… Well, they did."

I slowly close my right fist around his left hand, fracturing bones and mashing the flesh together. He'll regenerate quickly enough.

"Nummmmmmgh."

"But you were dead, and those external anchors weren't much use."

"Not now-. Not to me." I release his hand and he stares at it fixedly as the fingers gradually pull themselves-.

He's slowing it down. He's deliberately reducing the rate at which he regenerates to prolong the sensation.

I… Think that I might see about cloning him a human body. See if that… Helps, at all.

"Rosacarnis took control of them as part of her inheritance?"

"Yeah." He flexes the still-broken fingers, shuddering in pain that just makes him smile more. "I don't think she uses them herself, but I don't know what she actually uses them for."

"Alright, so you proved that you were the real thing, and she sponsored you for the workshop upstairs?"

"I wish. She got me a shed, and I had to pay her back. I had to work up to that warehouse. I was proud of it."

"You expected fair and honest competition in Hell?"

"I thought I had backers! Mutually assured destruction, balance of terror. You know? I thought that if I made myself useful to enough people that would be protection, even if I had to pay them back afterwards."

I nod sympathetically. "Did you die before the Dyson vacuum cleaner was invented?"

"I haven't heard of it, so I think so."

"Dyson had a similar problem with Hoover. They didn't want the market to change, either. Only because Earth has laws, they were limited to offering to buy his intellectual property and sitting on it, whereas down here it's a bit more nineteenth century."

"You're right there. Which is why I took Satanus's offer."

"You designed his cybernetics?"

"He had some stuff before. But I made real improvements, and I can make them much faster than he could. He could hook me up with raw materials and the teleportation system to bring them here."

"I assume this was your panic room? You came down here when the attack happened?"

"No. Built this later." He sighs. "Satanus could get me past the spells the Renderers put up. Lent me some of his people to dig this place out."

I nod. "I'm surprised. I thought that his cyborgs couldn't leave Purgatory."

"No, no. He's got demons, too. I mean, he's a Demon Lord. He's had plenty of time to get minions. I thought they'd be trouble, but they were hard workers."

"But why return to your folly?"

"Magic residue. This place is already covered in my magic, so they won't think anything of it if they keep feeling my magic. The only other place I could go would be Rosacarnis's palace, because I feel a bit like Nergal."

I nod. "Any further contact with Rosacarnis?"

"Yes. And not a word of apology. And now I have to cut in Satanus for a shipping fee, and I have to suck it up because there's no way I'd survive another attack like that." He sighs again. "They could have bought me out, or demanded a cut or something. I'd rather have gone along with it rather than have all my work ruined."

"I hate to put it this way, Mister Simpson, but they're demons. It's not even about self-interest, really. A lot of the time they're practically Kantian in their evil."

He nods. "So what happens now? Satanus isn't-."

"Oh." I shake my head. "I don't mind. Honestly, when I mention this to the First I'll be speaking in your favour. Innovation has to be enabled, or else how can Hell progress. But first, I'm going to finish working you over as I agreed."

He nods happily, stretching his newly healed fingers. "I wasn't sure I'd like having another man do it, but-."

"Don't… Make this weirder than it is already."

Mr Zoat · Jan 7, 2024

Prince Charon said:
That probably depends on how much utility he gets out of not stabbing her, in comparison to stabbing her.

EDIT: Wait, is Renegade still a utilitarian, or has he moved on to a different ethical structure?

Stabbing an old woman who was probably just making a joke, or at worst is a little racist against British people, would be pretty out of character for all currently featured versions of the SI.

Ngamer11 · Jan 7, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Fucking Constantine. I mean, I know it wasn't his like he actually meant any of it to happen, and he came to me in the first place because he didn't know how to hack computers with magic and I could have turned him down… But it's just that this shit happens do much around him."

I think this should be removed.

Darko · Jan 7, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Fucking Constantine

The mantra of many a demon.

Mr Zoat said:
happens do much around him

Remove "to"

Mr Zoat said:
regenerates so prolong the

"to prolong"

Mr Zoat said:
He nods happily, stretching his newly healed fingers. "I wasn't sure I'd like having another man do it, but

Gotta keep your mind open.

You're immortal now so you may want to add some variety to your life. Plus some studies suggest that most people are a little bit bi.

Mr Zoat said:
Don't… Make this weirder than it is already."

That ship has long sailed.

Chojin Patriarch · Jan 7, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Day 20
26th March 2013
15:36 GMT

"…like me being around because I wasn't a proper demon. I just hijacked Nergal's manifested structure and used it as a filter." As much as I can tell, he looks disgruntled. "For all of five seconds, until the Incest Twins told me that wasn't how it worked. Not like I really wanted to come to Hell in the first place. I mean, who does?"

Well, good to see he's talking, at least. I hope he isn't one of those people who gets chatty when they're nervous or panicking. I suspect that could get annoying. And I can't help but imagine a faint vocoder buzz to his voice, given his psuedo-electronic nature...

He tries to make a gesture of helplessness with both arms, but the left doesn't really move as it's strapped to a board.

"You might-."

Either he's being tortured... Or the Renegade is actually doing what Ritchie asked when he thought he was a she.

"Fucking Constantine. I mean, I know it wasn't like he actually meant any of it to happen, and he came to me in the first place because he didn't know how to hack computers with magic and I could have turned him down… But it's just that this shit happens do much around him."

"I under-"

Yes, that's the lament of many an associate of Constantine. Those that survive their association in some form, anyway.

I bring my thumb and forefinger together around the metacarpal of his left little finger. Despite his lack of a normal anatomy, I hear a crunch.

"-stand."

...Still not sure if interrogation or entertaining...

"AA-HHAOW, that's the stuff."

"So the lady Rosacarnis offered to sponsor you?"

...Okay, definitely entertaining him. I'm guessing Ritchie is a little... Starved for physical sensations, huh?

"Uh…" That was more of an awkward pause than a thinking pause. "I was using her father's body. She was worried that he'd come back, so she sent some demons after me. They dragged me back because they didn't know what she wanted them to do with me. Sponsoring me came later."

I take a firmer grip on his little finger and bend it back, the broken ends of the bone grinding against the flesh. He gasps.

So he's lucky she didn't kill Nergal again, sending him along for the ride. I guess the change in behaviour made it obvious it wasn't the old fellow.

"Heh-eh. You know, I always wondered if people who were into bondage just didn't feel pain or something. If they had lower serotonin sensitivity or something. But it hurts, I don't, and I need you to keep going."

"And that got you started in Odium."

Eh, Bondage is more about the play of dominance and submission. This is more masochism. (Also, those links are... Pretty much NSFW...)

"No, no, I was operating out of her palace for a while. She wanted me to prove I could make something. You know, do something practical and not just waffle on about theory."

"And she was fine with you using her father's body?"

I mean, it's not like he knew how to get in and out freely back then?

"Oh, yeah. She used that as an intimidation tactic at the start, about how much of an insult it was, but, I mean… I was already in Hell. I was already as intimidated as I could get."

"I didn't think you actually died."

Massive electrical feedback to the brain? That's generally fatal.

"My body got burned to a crisp. I saw it in John's memories."

"Yes, but you weren't in it at the time. If you'd transferred yourself into a robotic body we wouldn't-."

I mean, the whole situation was kind of sci-fi mixed with magic. Who's to say what would happen?

"That's not how it works. A body, a normal human body, is a much better anchor for the soul than a robot body. That's what being alive is: anchoring. That's why my workshop has heavy duty runes physically attached to all of the moving parts rather than just running off a spell. Nergal's body had a load of links to ritual sites… Could have stayed on Earth for decades without… Y'know, redoing them."

Which explains how he ended up in it, I guess? Riding the Sympathetic connections.

"Ritually murdering a bunch of people and using them as magic fuel?"

"Yeah. I mean, Nergal mostly drove people mad and had them do the killing. It was just more practical. But if Agony and Ecstasy hadn't turned up… Well, they did."

And now he's a demon, the morality of it doesn't phase him one bit, eh?

I slowly close my right fist around his left hand, fracturing bones and mashing the flesh together. He'll regenerate quickly enough.

"Nummmmmmgh."

Messy.

"But you were dead, and those external anchors weren't much use."

"Not now-. Not to me." I release his hand and he stares at it fixedly as the fingers gradually pull themselves-.

So not much likelihood of him becoming, say, an AI, then.

He's slowing it down. He's deliberately reducing the rate at which he regenerates to prolong the sensation.

I… Think that I might see about cloning him a human body. See if that… Helps, at all.

He might well decline it, claiming it's too weak as is. This is Hell, after all.

"Rosacarnis took control of them as part of her inheritance?"

"Yeah." He flexes the still-broken fingers, shuddering in pain that just makes him smile more. "I don't think she uses them herself, but I don't know what she actually uses them for."

Well, that's kind of worrying. All those useful things, just tucked away in the lady's secret confidences.

"Alright, so you proved that you were the real thing, and she sponsored you for the workshop upstairs?"

"I wish. She got me a shed, and I had to pay her back. I had to work up to that warehouse. I was proud of it."

Of course, once he got his assembly line started up, it was easier to scale up production, huh?

"You expected fair and honest competition in Hell?"

"I thought I had backers! Mutually assured destruction, balance of terror. You know? I thought that if I made myself useful to enough people that would be protection, even if I had to pay them back afterwards."

Pfft, no. If you proved yourself useful, you'd just make yourself a target. Hell is basically a crab bucket metaphor in action.

I nod sympathetically. "Did you die before the Dyson vacuum cleaner was invented?"

"I haven't heard of it, so I think so."

Heh. So the Renegade gets to tell one of his favourite little analogies again.

"Dyson had a similar problem with Hoover. They didn't want the market to change, either. Only because Earth has laws, they were limited to offering to buy his intellectual property and sitting on it, whereas down here it's a bit more nineteenth century."

"You're right there. Which is why I took Satanus's offer."

Heh. Those with power can just send a few boys to break the legs of someone they don't like. Sounds pretty accurate to me, yes.

"You designed his cybernetics?"

"He had some stuff before. But I made real improvements, and I can make them much faster than he could. He could hook me up with raw materials and the teleportation system to bring them here."

Probably using cruder human-designed augmentations that didn't play well with the Purgatory resident's arcane nature, i bet.

"I assume this was your panic room? You came down here when the attack happened?"

"No. Built this later." He sighs. "Satanus could get me past the spells the Renderers put up. Lent me some of his people to dig this place out."

And in return... You keep doing what you were doing for him, a little more exclusively?

I nod. "I'm surprised. I thought that his cyborgs couldn't leave Purgatory."

"No, no. He's got demons, too. I mean, he's a Demon Lord. He's had plenty of time to get minions. I thought they'd be trouble, but they were hard workers"

Well, i suppose someone's got to do stuff like build buildings in Hell. A certain little power in being the ones who make the houses and halls.

"But why return to your folly?"

"Magic residue. This place is already covered in my magic, so they won't think anything of it if they keep feeling my magic. The only other places I could go would be Rosacarnis's palace, because I feel a bit like Nergal."

And no doubt his magical signature is... Unpleasant for some demons, huh? Laced with all that technology?

I nod. "Any further contact with Rosacarnis?"

"Yes. And not a word of apology. And now I have to cut in Satanus for a shipping fee, and I have to suck it up because there's no way I'd survive another attack like that." He sighs again. "They could have bought be out, or demanded a cut or something. I'd rather have gone along with it rather than have all my work ruined."

Eh, jealousy probably drove them to crush you rather than convert you.

"I hate to put it this way, Mister Simpson, but they're demons. It's not even about self-interest, really. A lot of the time they're practically Kantian in their evil."

He nods. "So what happens now? Satanus isn't-."

They're evil. They know they're evil. So they own it. Pretty cut and dried, really.

"Oh." I shake my head. "I don't mind. Honestly, when I mention this to the First I'll be speaking in your favour. Innovation has to be enabled, or else how can Hell progress. But first, I'm going to finish working you over as I agreed."

He nods happily, stretching his newly healed fingers. "I wasn't sure I'd like having another man do it, but-."

Heh. The Renegade sticks to his promises, huh?

"Don't… Make this weirder than it is already."

...Bit late on that front.

But calling it out certainly doesn't help.

So, a logical enough result. I expect the First will be having words with the Renderer masters about wasting useful potential. Be interesting to see if he considers the possibility of having Simpson make some changes to their operations, but given the events In the Paragon's Hell, I doubt they will. Nothing says the First has to act on any of the Renegade's advice, after all.

But it's just that this shit happens do much around him."

But it's just that this shit happens so much around him."

...around the metacarpal of his left little finger.

Double Space.

I thought they'd be trouble, but they were hard workers"

Needs a Full Stop there.

"They could have bought be out...

"They could have bought me out...

Lord Ernest · Jan 7, 2024

Awesome info, but yeah... it was getting way too weird there at the end, this isn't the In Praise of Eros version of this story, Simpson.

So what exactly is Simpson offering as services to other Demons in general? I understand what he's doing for Satanus, but that seems out of the price range of most demons. Is he an artificer for hire but with more modern products, in contrast to the classic style of the Renderers and their artesanal preference?

RichardWhereat · Jan 7, 2024

Did I just read porn?

Mr Zoat · Jan 7, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
I think this should be removed.

Darko said:
Remove "to"
"to prolong"

Chojin Patriarch said:
But it's just that this shit happens so much around him."
Double Space.
Needs a Full Stop there.
"They could have bought me out...

Thank you, corrected.

RichardWhereat said:
Did I just read porn?

...

Are you new here?

RichardWhereat · Jan 7, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Are you new here?

Yes?

Mr Zoat · Jan 7, 2024

RichardWhereat said:
Yes?

Vaermina · Jan 7, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
He nods happily, stretching his newly healed fingers. "I wasn't sure I'd like having another man do it, but-."

"Don't… Make this weirder than it is already."

Too late, you've officially become his Torturer.

Cuchulin · Jan 8, 2024

I see Mr, Simpson has learned to dance the Masochism Tango.

Ngamer11 · Jan 8, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Yeah, and so have I. I've seen Zamarons. Also, I'm in a happy, long term, monogamous relationship."

I was rereading and found that this link no longer works.

Mr Zoat · Jan 8, 2024

11th October 2010
08:12 GMT -5

"I-I-I-I-I re-. Re-. Reeeeea-."

The turquoise-skinned gynoid twitches, its vocal systems-. No, those are degraded but functional. The problem must be in its mental networks. It literally can't turn thought to speech due to parts of its brain being missing.

I dip my head slightly, visually assessing the damage.

Alright, most of the right side of its brain missing.

Mia lays it down on my work bench, trying to cushion its head as she does so. That's a pointless endeavour. What's left of its skin is far tougher than human skin, its endoskeleton is far better at absorbing shocks and the general damage after the fusion bomb went off has thoroughly fried what was left of its peripheral nervous system.

"Can you fix her?"

"Oh."

Okay, don't say 'Is that what you wanted?'.

She didn't say that was what she wanted. I thought she was just giving it to me for study. This might not be B13, but it's the closest we're going to get.

And how do you think a superhero should respond to this situation?

Ah… Research the nanotechnology so…

Yes..?

I mentally sigh.

She thinks this gynoid has human-equivalent mental sophistication. She wants me to repair it because she thinks it's a person.

The Brainiac drone had her for several hours. It's possible that she's learned something that you haven't.

"Oh, probably. Or if I can't, I can substitute parts to get her up and about."

I risk a smile. Artemis has been… Giving me pointers, but apparently the best I can do is 'school yearbook'. According to her, that's better than 'serial killer', which is good because serial killers are usually pretty unhappy people.

That's not why it's better.

Fortunately, Mia's not looking at me. She's looking at the trembling gynoid's face.

"Have you got-!? Cyborg painkillers?"

"I doubt very much that it's in pain. It's trembling because of damage to its motive systems. I can make it stop if you want."

She nods, and I sever the connection between the gynoid's brain module and the rest of its body. For an instant its body goes slack, then some parts-. Ah, I see, they're trying to move to a default position. They're mostly failing due to the damage, but it's sort of like a robot jerk reflex. The brain isn't required.

"Okay." Mia looks her over. "How long is this going to take?"

"I have no idea."

You know, you could-.

Scan.

Sure thing, sport!

Huh.

"The-."

"Well?"

"The.. drone was much more simple. Not much more sophisticated than one of Earth's most advanced robots… Apart from the brain, presumably."

She frowns. "But… Coluan technology is far more advanced than that."

"One of Earth's most advanced robots. The mad genius sort. Tomorrow Woman's muscles, Ace Android's bones, Carapax's armour and Kilgore's communications array… The brain wasn't recoverable after the electromagnetic pulse, so I can't tell you anything about it."

"Oh. So it-. I just assumed that it came from Colu."

"It might have done. But I didn't see anything either when we fought or since that would let me conclude that with any certainty."

She nods. "And what about her?"

"Much more advanced. Which is part of the problem." I expand an image of part of her interior. "Nanotech residue. It looks like it was designed to have a circulatory system that used it for self-repair, whereas the Brainiac drone had to manually replace parts of itself."

"And…" She nods slowly in understanding. "They all got fried by the E.M.P."

"Completely destroyed. The residue is enough that I can tell that they existed, but I can tell almost nothing else about them. I'm assessing its advancement based on the remaining parts of the brain unit more than anything else."

"Could you replace them with my nanobots?"

I frown, and then when that's not enough I squeeze my eyes shut.

"Your nanobots..? Which are designed to merge kryptonian and human genetics in a single organic body and grant it superpowers?"

"Yeah?"

…

"And not-?"

Be nice.

"Sure." I point to the blood extraction array I built to draw her blood. "You remember how it works."

She nods and walks over to it, inserting her arm into the hole. A tiny piece of ultra-sharp something that I recovered in a scavenging mission will cut through her skin and then a suction tube will remove a little of her blood before the nanobots close the hole. And then do it again and again until it's managed to extract enough of a sample to work with. Her nanobots tend to self-destruct when exposed to… Just about anything that's not her body. It's not impossible that they'll recognise a fellow Brainiacite and be helpful instead…

Hardly a problem for me if something goes wrong.

She's watching-.

Repair.

Orange light flashes out in a way that will probably make her happy. Rebuilding the gynoid's body is fairly simple. Which is to say either easy or impossible. I don't have good 'before' scans so there are large parts that I can't reliably repair. The brain in particular is going to absorb my experimental time for the next… Week or two? And that will just be to make it functional. I literally can't replicate a partially disassembled computer brain from the future. But if I assume bilateral symmetry and that the tissues retain a similar structure in different parts of the body…

The partial rebuild finishes. Mia looks a little impressed. Why-?

"It's not finished. The skin's just relatively simple."

But without nanotech, quite a lot of this won't work as intended. And if Mia wants it up and around, some ability to function in human society would probably be helpful. How should I go about that?

Hm. If the probe used something like Tomorrow Woman's tissue, I suppose that's a reasonable place to start. Her remains I could scan perfectly well, once Professor Ivo's scan-resistant coating was removed. Doesn't help with the brain -Tomorrow Woman's brain was synthetic-organic and couldn't interface with the remaining Coluan parts- but it will do for the rest.

"Hey."

Mia offers me the filled vial. The gynoid doesn't have an immune system that could react badly to the blood, and Tomorrow Woman's circulatory system can take them to every part of the gynoid's body. I take the vial, open a hole to one of the remaining nanotech reserves and pour the blood inside before sealing it.

"There. I still need to finish her brain. I'll let you know when I'm ready to wake her up."

Mr Zoat · Jan 8, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
I was rereading and found that this link no longer works.

Modified.

Vaermina · Jan 8, 2024

Seriously... How are people missing how obviously evil this guy is?

Dragoon140 · Jan 8, 2024

Vaermina said:
Seriously... How are people missing how obviously evil this guy is?

He's actively helping them fight criminals, hasn't been murdering people (at least not yet, I think and not as far as any of them know), has provided them with other forms of help outside of combat if transactionally (based on what he does with Artemis) under the excuse of how his ring works, and the people we're seeing him interact with aren't operating under the assumption that he's been dosing himself with things that could alter how his brain works. As far as they know, he's just kinda weird and lacks some social skills. The fact that we're seeing everything from his twisted perspective and know in advance where his story goes makes it obvious to THE READERS what's going on with him. To everybody else, it's a pretty large leap to "he's evil and up to bad things."

Chojin Patriarch · Jan 8, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
11th October 2010
08:12 GMT -5

"I-I-I-I-I re-. Re-. Reeeeea-."

The turquoise-skinned gynoid twitches, its vocal systems-. No, those are degraded but functional. The problem must be in its mental networks. It literally can't turn thought to speech due to parts of its brain being missing.

I'm guessing, from context, that this is Indigo, aka Brainiac 8. Hopefully she didn't do too much damage on her initial appearance, given that her comics version killed Lilith and Troia, of the Titans.

I dip my head slightly, visually assessing the damage.

Alright, most of the right side of its brain missing.

Not necessarily a deal-breaker for an artificial being. Good chance of a backup memory core in the torso or something. Brainiac's tech tends to be robust like that.

Mia lays it down on my work bench, trying to cushion its head as she does so. That's a pointless endeavour. What's left of its skin is far tougher than human skin, its endoskeleton is far better at absorbing shocks and the general damage after the fusion bomb went off has thoroughly fried what was left of its peripheral nervous system.

"Can you fix her?"

...Sounds like she made a bit of a mess going down.

"Oh."

Okay, don't say 'Is that what you wanted?'.

I don't think she's in the mood for that.

She didn't say that was what she wanted. I thought she was just giving it to me for study. This might not be B13, but it's the closest we're going to get.

And how do you think a superhero should respond to this situation?

Certainly not by implanting, say, hidden control codes in her operating system. Though it might get a laugh out of Brainiac.

Ah… Research the nanotechnology so…

Yes..?

So you can make a super-powered gynoid assistant?

I mentally sigh.

She thinks this gynoid has human-equivalent mental sophistication. She wants me to repair it because she thinks it's a person.

...And that is why you are the token 'Evil' Alt!Paul.

The Brainiac drone had her for several hours. It's possible that she's learned something that you haven't.

"Oh, probably. Or if I can't, I can substitute parts to get her up and about."

Good luck patching up some of those parts.

I risk a smile. Artemis has been… Giving me pointers, but apparently the best I can do is 'school yearbook'. According to her, that's better than 'serial killer', which is good because serial killers are usually pretty unhappy people.

That's not why it's better.

I'm picturing the old smile more like MP3.14player's signature 'bared their teeth' kind of smile... Far too wide and far too many teeth showing.

Fortunately, Mia's not looking at me. She's looking at the trembling gynoid's face.

"Have you got-!? Cyborg painkillers?"

...That's not how they work. At most, it's a simple software toggle.

"I doubt very much that it's in pain. It's trembling because of damage to its motive systems. I can make it stop if you want."

She nods, and I sever the connection between the gynoid's brain module and the rest of its body. For an instant its body goes slack, then some parts-. Ah, I see, they're trying to move to a default position. They're mostly failing due to the damage, but it's sort of like a robot jerk reflex. The brain isn't required.

Since artificial muscles don't really have a 'relaxed' state.

"Okay." Mia looks her over. "How long is this going to take?"

"I have no idea."

I mean, it's not like you have an alien super-computer and matter-manipulating device strapped to a finger...

You know, you could-.

Scan.

Sure thing, sport!

Heh. I take it he doesn't really use the Ring as much as he used to.

Huh.

"The-."

"Well?"

Easier than you think? Or likely to be harder?

"The.. drone was much more simple. Not much more sophisticated than one of Earth's most advanced robot… Apart from the brain, presumably."

She frowns. "But… Coluan technology is far more advanced than that."

You don't need to put the most advanced tech in something simple and throwaway. Unless you're showing off.

"One of Earth's most advanced robots. The mad genius sort. Tomorrow Woman's muscles, Ace Android's bones, Carapax's armour and Kilgore's communications array… The brain wasn't recoverable after the electromagnetic pulse, so I can't tell you anything about it."

"Oh. So it-. I just assumed that it came from Colu."

Sounds like it was built by raiding a mad scientist tech depository.

"It might have done. But I didn't see anything either when we fought or since that would let me conclude that with any certainty."

She nods. "And what about her?"

So, this is definitely after Graduation Day, then.

"Much more advanced. Which is part of the problem." I expand an image of part of her interior. "Nanotech residue. It looks like it was designed to have a circulatory system that used it for self-repair, whereas the Brainiac drone had to manually replace parts of itself."

"And…" She nods slowly in understanding. "They all got fried by the E.M.P."

And, that fine line where biology meets technology...

"Completely destroyed. The residue is enough that I can tell that they existed, but I can tell almost nothing else about them. I'm assessing its advancement based on the remaining parts of the brain unit more than anything else."

"Could you replace them with my nanobots?"

...Given that they kind of share origins, that might work.

I frown, and then when that's not enough I squeeze my eyes shut.

"Your nanobots..? Which are designed to merge kryptonian and human genetics in a single organic body and grant it superpowers?"

Well, when you put it like that, it does sound kind of silly.

"Yeah?"

…

No description needed to picture that classic meme 'Are you serious?' expression.

"And not-?"

Be nice.

"Sure." I point to the blood extraction array I build to draw her blood. "You remember how it works."

Hell, stranger things have happened. This is a superhero universe, after all.

She nods and walks over to it, inserting her arm into the hole. A tiny piece of ultra-sharp something that I recovered in a scavenging mission will cut through her skin and then a suction tube will remove a little of her blood before the nanobots close the hole. And then do it again and again until it's managed to extract enough of a sample to work with. Her nanobots tend to self-destruct when exposed to… Just about anything that's not her body. It's not impossible that they'll recognise a fellow Brainiacite and be helpful instead…

'Ultra-sharp something', huh? A piece of X-Ionised blade, perhaps?

Hardly a problem for me if something goes wrong.

She's watching-.

Repair.

Anything to make her feel a bit better, I suppose.

Orange light flashes out in a way that will probably make her happy. Rebuilding the gynoid's body is fairly simple. Which is to say either easy or impossible. I don't have good 'before' scans so there are large parts that I can't reliably repair. The brain in particular is going to absorb my experimental time for the next… Week or two? And that will just be to make it functional. I literally can't replicate a partially disassembled computer brain from the future. But if I assume bilateral symmetry and that the tissues retain a similar structure in different parts of the body…

And any internal nanites can finish the job.

The partial rebuild finishes. Mia looks a little impressed. Why-?

"It's not finished. The skin's just relatively simple."

And it saves having to try to cut it later if you need to work on something without the Ring.

But without nanotech, quite a lot of this won't work as intended. And if Mia wants it up and around, some ability to function in human society would probably be helpful. How should I go about that?

Hm. If the probe used something like Tomorrow Woman's tissue, I suppose that's a reasonable place to start. Her remains I could scan perfectly well, once Professor Ivo's scan-resistant coating was removed. Doesn't help with the brain -Tomorrow Woman's brain was synthetic-organic and couldn't interface with the remaining Coluan parts- but it will do for the rest.

Ah, now you're interested, huh? Now that it's an intellectual challenge to you.

"Hey."

Mia offers me the filled vial. The gynoid doesn't have an immune system that could react badly to the blood, and Tomorrow Woman's circulatory system can take them to every part of the gynoid's body. I take the vial, open a hole to one of the remaining nanotech reserves and pour the blood inside before sealing it.

"There. I still need to finish her brain. I'll let you know when I'm ready to wake her up."

Preferably after setting up some safety protocols, no doubt.

Somehow, I can't see this going wrong at all, no sir.

What could possibly be bad about mixing two different nanotech systems and a frankensteining of super-science spare parts? I suppose if nothing else, the bot will end up joining a superhero team, and maybe dating the 'offspring' of a veteran superhero.

Coltsguy · Jan 8, 2024

Vaermina said:
Seriously... How are people missing how obviously evil this guy is?

I'll admit that I might have without the context I'm getting to read.

Mquz · Jan 8, 2024

Dragoon140 said:
He's actively helping them fight criminals, hasn't been murdering people (at least not yet, I think and not as far as any of them know), has provided them with other forms of help outside of combat if transactionally (based on what he does with Artemis) under the excuse of how his ring works, and the people we're seeing him interact with aren't operating under the assumption that he's been dosing himself with things that could alter how his brain works. As far as they know, he's just kinda weird and lacks some social skills. The fact that we're seeing everything from his twisted perspective and know in advance where his story goes makes it obvious to THE READERS what's going on with him. To everybody else, it's a pretty large leap to "he's evil and up to bad things."

I'd like it if this were the timeline where he was only bad for a little bit, but turned good again eventually.

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