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

Justice Segue (part 7)
17th November 2017
00:21 GMT -7


"My name is Grayven, I'm from a planet called 'Apokalips', my father is its evil ruler and he's going to invade the Earth. This is Queen Hippolyta, she's Wonder Woman's mother. The big fellow upstairs is Subjekt Seventeen, he was captured by the Soviet Union when he was born and tortured for his entire life."



"Huh? What?" He glances up at the ceiling and sees the hole. "Invaded?"

"Sorry, you asked who I was first, so I thought I should lead with that. Normally, I'd…" I wave my glowing ring at him. "Alter your physiology to calm you down, but you don't appear to be a biological life form any longer."

He refocuses on me.

"What happened to me?"

"Do you remember volunteering-"

"H-aah!"

"-for the quantum field experiment?"

"I remember everything. Like it was-. Oh God, like it was yesterday." He looks around again. "This isn't the lab. How-? How long has it been?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"If I'm not biological-" He looks down at his right hand, opening and closing his fist. "-then I can't go crazy, can I?"

"I've known some pretty crazy computers, but you're an adult and it's your mind." I watch his face, raising my eyebrows interrogatively. He nods. "The year is twenty seventeen."

He tries to gasp, his hands going to his throat when the fact that he doesn't have lungs or an airway prevent him from doing so. "Fifty years. Goddamn. My wife?"

"Dead. Sorry."

"No, I-. I knew that was-. Kids?"

"Both alive. Effectively older than you now, and… Your wife remarried after you apparently died and they.. mostly-."

"They.. think of their stepdad as-. Ye-ah. That-. It's a miracle that I'm getting any kind of chance to get to know that, after… This."

"I realise I'm dumping a lot of stuff on you all at once, and I'm sorry about that, but the planet's about to be invaded."

"Alright. The quantum field. What happened? Where is everyone?"

"I'm not a physicist, so I can't tell you exactly what happened. In summation, you were transformed from a meat creature into a quantum field consciousness but the people handling the Earth end couldn't work out how to bring you back. Having reviewed the machine I think you'd have come back eventually, but better sooner rather than later."

He nods.

"Your pardon got lost in the shuffle after you didn't come back right away, so you're still technically sentenced to death." I raise my right hand in benediction. "Don't worry, I know you were innocent. The man they sent in after you wasn't, so I'm leaving him where he is."

"What did he do?"

"Rape, murder, rape-murder and murder-rape, though to be fair that last one was probably accidental."

His expression hardens. "That is not something to laugh about."

"Remember when I said that my father is evil? That's our whole civilisation. What Clifford Zmeck did would barely register back home so if the worst you can say about me is that I have a black sense of humour then I think I'm doing okay. Anyway, the ship the Air Force's researchers butchered to make the portal covered you in that silver stuff so that you can interact with normal space."

"So what am.. I? Inside…" He gestures to his chest. "This."

"Remember when I said that I'm not a physicist? My best guess is that your flesh body doesn't exist any more. There might be some way to turn you back, but I've got no idea what that would be. Can you still feel?"

He presses the fingertips of his left hand against his right palm. "Yes."

"You got sight, hearing and touch. Can you smell anything?"

He tries to sniff. "Yes." He frowns. "How am I-" He puts his right hand over his nose and tries to sniff again. "-doing that? I can't breathe. I don't think I have lungs."

"Don't know. I don't think you can eat either, but it's better than death, right? Ah, you may have picked up some additional abilities, but we can find you space to test those out later."

"You said you know I'm innocent. How?"

"Went through the case files, got some mind readers to trawl the brains of the surviving people who were involved." I take the binder covering my investigation out of subspace. "Want to know who the real culprits were?"

He-. Flies forward in a standing position and grabs the folder. "Yes."

He opens it and stares at the summary page.

"No."

"Yeah, that's why you got railroaded. Eiling's the one who married your wife, by the way. If it's any consolation he was a decent husband and father."

He turns a page, and then another. "No, no, this-."

"The stupid thing is, I can't even work out why they killed him. Should have been simple enough to read him in on the C.I.A. operation. The.. names of the agents are on the next page."

"Why are you showing this to me?"

"You've been betrayed by a lot of people. I want to help you take revenge. And then I want your help in conquering the world so that I can prepare it to fight my father."

"Conquer the world..? Are you out of your mind?"

"Lincoln suspended the Constitution during the Civil War. If the Earth's going to have any chance then I'm going to need to compel obedience until the fighting's over, otherwise I'm going to be hamstrung bringing together the few resources this planet has that can fight on our level."

"'Our'? I'm not helping you take over the world."

"Captain Adam, your entire government got together to do this to you. I'm not taking over the world to micromanage America's judicial proceedings, or… Establish a religion or take your guns away or whatever worries you so much. Last year America lost an entire city when two superpeople fought in the middle of it, and the government didn't learn anything from the experience. Look, why don't you hunt down the people on that list and see what's happened to America in the last fifty years? See what you think then."

"There's enough information here to get these bastards put away for the rest of their-."

"It will never happen! They got away with it, Captain, with the full support of the infrastructure of the state. The case will go nowhere, the guilty will slip away or get the pardon they denied to you and your children will carry on calling him 'Dad'."

I don't even see anything. One moment I'm standing there, the next I'm embedded in the far wall surrounded by fractured concrete, an odd purple glow dissipating around me.

Across the room Captain Adam lowers his right hand. "I didn't mean to do that, but you sure had it coming."

"True." I pull myself out of the wall. "But that doesn't help with what comes next. Do you want to come with me, or puzzle things out for yourself?"

"I'm not letting you out of my sight. And I want to have words with these people."
 
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What a collection of individuals. Not sure how well Subjekt-17 and a recently returned Captain Atom will get along, though. Or how Grayven plans to manage them, really.

Not seeing it on my end, but I use Flexile Dark for my 'skin'. Most likely it's just an April Fool's prank.

It is, but if you have a specific style selected it doesn't change it, you will just see different names for the forum's sections.
 
17th November 2017
00:21 GMT -7


"My name is Grayven, I'm from a planet called 'Apokalips', my father is its evil ruler and he's going to invade the Earth. This is Queen Hippolyta, she's Wonder Woman's mother. The big fellow upstairs is Subjekt Seventeen, he was captured by the Soviet Union when he was born and tortured for his entire life."
...Not the best start, but brutal honesty might be the best option here, since he still seems to be a little shell-shocked. At least he's in somewhat good company. All of them have suffered at the hands of men or gods.



"Huh? What?" He glances up at the ceiling and sees the hole. "Invaded?"
No, not yet. That's just the Renegade's entrance.

"Sorry, you asked who I was first, so I thought I should lead with that. Normally, I'd…" I wave my glowing ring at him. "Alter your physiology to calm you down, but you don't appear to be a biological life form any longer."

He refocuses on me.
...To just say that out loud... Still, Nate might focus on the more pertinent part of that statement.

"What happened to me?"

"Do you remember volunteering-"
For a given value of 'volunteer', anyway. Undergoing a near-suicidal experiment in exchange for a pardon of a crime he didn't commit might stretch the definition a bit.

"H-aah!"

"-for the quantum field experiment?"
Ah, no doubt it's all hitting him at once.

"I remember everything. Like it was-. Oh God, like it was yesterday." He looks around again. "This isn't the lab. How-? How long has it been?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"
If he's got anything like the senses of his partial expy, Doctor Manhattan, he can basically look at it like it's happening right now if he focused a bit.

"If I'm not biological-" He looks down at his right hand, opening and closing his fist. "-then I can't go crazy, can I?"

"I've known some pretty crazy computers, but you're an adult and it's your mind." I watch his face, raising my eyebrows interrogatively. He nods. "The year is twenty seventeen."
And there's a faint cracking sound, like a distant pane of glass shattering... :p

He tries to gasp, his hands going to his throat when the fact that he doesn't have lungs or an airway prevent him from doing so. "Fifty years. Goddamn. My wife?"

"Dead. Sorry."
Sadly, likely not of any pleasantly natural causes.

"No, I-. I knew that was-. Kids?"

"Both alive. Effectively older than you now, and… Your wife remarried after you apparently died and they.. mostly-."
Only natural they'd forget a dad they hardly saw.

"They.. think of their stepdad as-. Ye-ah. That-. It's a miracle that I'm getting any kind of chance to get to know that, after… This."

"I realise I'm dumping a lot of stuff on you all at once, and I'm sorry about that, but the planet's about to be invaded."
So time is short. Well, for anyone but Nate.

"Alright. The quantum field. What happened? Where is everyone?"

"I'm not a physicist, so I can't tell you exactly what happened. In summation, you were transformed from a meat creature into a quantum field consciousness but the people handling the Earth end couldn't work out how to bring you back. Having reviewed the machine I think you'd have come back eventually, but better sooner rather than later."
And in the comics, that is basically what happened. Initially a mere twenty years, but, as with things like Captain America's little cryogenic nap, time marches on.

He nods.

"Your pardon got lost in the shuffle after you didn't come back right away, so you're still technically sentenced to death." I raise my right hand in benediction. "Don't worry, I know you were innocent. The man they sent in after you wasn't, so I'm leaving him where he is."
...After all, why pardon a dead man? Especially since his death was top secret?

"What did he do?"

"Rape, murder, rape-murder and murder-rape, though to be fair that last one was probably accidental."
"You said rape twice." "I like rape." Yeah, Major Force was not the nicest guy in the stockade.

His expression hardens. "That is not something to laugh about."

"Remember when I said that my father is evil? That's our whole civilisation. What Clifford Zmeck did would barely register back home so if the worst you can say about me is that I have a black sense of humour then I think I'm doing okay. Anyway, the ship the Air Force's researchers butchered to make the portal covered you in that silver stuff so that you can interact with normal space."
So even the Renegade doesn't know it's an actual creature, or he's just saying that to preserve Nate's clarity. Since I can't imagine him knowing the scientists were torturing a living creature would go down too well.

"So what am.. I? Inside…" He gestures to his chest. "This."

"Remember when I said that I'm not a physicist? My best guess is that your flesh body doesn't exist any more. There might be some way to turn you back, but I've got no idea what that would be. Can you still feel?"
He's basically a 'do anything' sort of Negative Space Wedgie that thinks it's a man. Best to let him keep thinking that way...

He presses the fingertips of his left hand against his right palm. "Yes."

"You got sight, hearing and touch. Can you smell anything?"
I imagine if he pushes himself, he could outdo kryptonian senses.

He tries to sniff. "Yes." He frowns. "How am I-" He puts his right hand over his nose and tries to sniff again. "-doing that? I can't breathe. I don't think I have lungs."

"Don't know. I don't think you can eat either, but it's better than death, right? Ah, you may have picked up some additional abilities, but we can find you space to test those out later."
...Oh so many additional abilities. Basically, if he doesn't know he can't do it, then he basically can.

"You said you know I'm innocent. How?"

"Went through the case files, got some mind readers to trawl the brains of the surviving people who were involved." I take the binder covering my investigation out of subspace. "Want to know who the real culprits were?"
I assume that he made sure to check that things happened the same way locally. No telling what other differences occurred compared to Earth Sixteen-R

He-. Flies forward in a standing position and grabs the folder. "Yes."

He opens it and stares at the summary page.
Ah, one of the few clever things the movies did right: unconventional flight tricks. Like the things Superman does after his revival.

"No."

"Yeah, that's why you got railroaded. Eiling's the one who married your wife, by the way. If it's any consolation he was a decent husband and father."
Somehow, I doubt that is a comfort, given who was responsible for Nate's 'death'.

He turns a page, and then another. "No, no, this-."

"The stupid thing is, I can't even work out why they killed him. Should have been simple enough to read him in on the C.I.A. operation. The.. names of the agents are on the next page."
Ah, I'm guessing he didn't get an upgrade this time around. Or it's still cooking and the Renegade is unaware of it.

"Why are you showing this to me?"

"You've been betrayed by a lot of people. I want to help you take revenge. And then I want your help in conquering the world so that I can prepare it to fight my father."
And at this stage, I don't think Nate will care if people call him evil.

"Conquer the world..? Are you out of your mind?"

"Lincoln suspended the Constitution during the Civil War. If the Earth's going to have any chance then I'm going to need to compel obedience until the fighting's over, otherwise I'm going to be hamstrung bringing together the few resources this planet has that can fight on our level."
And if Humanity should happen to decide it's better off together once the threat passes, well... :sneaky: He's not going to complain, after all.

"'Our'? I'm not helping you take over the world."

"Captain Adam, your entire government got together to do this to you. I'm not taking over the world to micromanage America's judicial proceedings, or… Establish a religion or take your guns away or whatever worries you so much. Last year America lost an entire city when two superpeople fought in the middle of it, and the government didn't learn anything from the experience. Look, why don't you hunt down the people on that list and see what's happened to America in the last fifty years? See what you think then."
Ooh, that's going to be quite the culture shock.

"There's enough information here to get these bastards put away for the rest of their-."

"It will never happen! They got away with it, Captain, with the full support of the infrastructure of the state. The case will go nowhere, the guilty will slip away or get the pardon they denied to you and your children will carry on calling him 'Dad'."
...Sadly accurate. At least in this universe, anyway. A world where super-people can level half a city with a fist-fight (And the alien terraforming device they were fighting over, mind...)

I don't even see anything. One moment I'm standing there, the next I'm embedded in the far wall surrounded my fractured concrete, an odd purple glow dissipating around me.

Across the room Captain Adam lowers his right hand. "I didn't mean to do that, but you sure had it coming."
Well, remember how you did it the next time you need to blow someone up.

"True." I pull myself out of the wall. "But that doesn't help with what comes next. Do you want to come with me, or puzzle things out for yourself?"

"I'm not letting you out of my sight. And I want to have words with these people."
Well, that can be arranged. Heck, 'Sev' up there can even hold them for you while you ask questions.

So, it looks like Nate is going to be in a bad mood for a bit. Hopefully dispensing some personal payback will help cool his head. Now, who's next on the list? And what will the public end up calling them, I wonder... Might be amusing if they end up being dubbed the 'Authority' given their ideally proactive outlook concerning the defence of the world. :p


...the next I'm embedded in the far wall surrounded my fractured concrete...
...the next I'm embedded in the far wall surrounded by fractured concrete...
 
Thank you, corrected.

I realised yesterday that I'm having the 1st of April episode on the 1st of April.
Like, were they Americans?
Ah...

What legal weight is given to the 'natural' and 'born' parts of 'natural born citizen'?
...the next I'm embedded in the far wall surrounded by fractured concrete...
Thank you, corrected.
 
Mighty Morphin' Lantern Rangers (part 8)
1st April 1995
15:43 GMT -5


A volley of bullets plink off my construct shield as Squatt crouches low, hands over his head. Goldar on the other hand just sneers as the shots which hit him fail to penetrate his armour.

I look down at my… Creator.

"What are you doing?"

"Those things huuuurt!"

"I don't even-"

The putties finally charge down the last of the garrison, their slightly greater than human strength and lack of blood or vital organs allowing them to absorb bullets far better than any living creature.

"-know why you came."

Goldar sneers. "He came because he's a coward, and seeks to escape our Mistress's wrath at his incompetence."

"Ah. Makes sense."

The putties are actually capable of understanding the idea of 'prisoners', which means that since I gave them clear instructions the guards, office workers and scientists of Pantex won't suffer anything worse than bruises.

This time he sneers at me.

"What?"

"It's shameful conduct. If someone does something wrong then they should accept the punishment, and so regain their honour."

"If they're leal in service or committed to the cause, you're correct. If they just joined up because they didn't have any better alternatives or got conscripted, then you can't really expect the same level of dedication."

"Like you."

He stomps forwards, raising his sword at the securely sealed door. I send out a filament and bypass the locking system, causing the sensors to open it when he gets close.

He growls.

"What can I say? I want to live. Her Ladyship is the only person who can make that happen. Would you really believe me if I pledged my undying devotion out of nowhere?"

"From a human? No."

"Well then."

I gesture up to a gantry where a small group of warehouse workers have taken cover. Three putties who followed us in from outside take the order and dash up the ladder to capture them.

"Ah..?" Squatt looks around with an expression of what I think is puzzlement. "Why are we here, anyway?"

"This is a major repository of nuclear weapons."

"Oh, so we're here for weapons!" He looks around at the heavy locked crates around us. "Ah, I don't see any."

I suspect that he doesn't know what nuclear weapons are. I'm not really clear why he's on Team Evil-. No, I know why he's on Team Evil in the sense of being evil, but I'm not clear why they want him on the team.

From the way he just got a little more twitchy, I rather suspect that Goldar does know what nuclear weapons are. I watch as his eyes alight on the 'radioactive' symbol on one of the crates, and then move along the row and see the same sign on all of the rest.

His eyes widen a little.

"Yeah. A lot, aren't there?"

"Rita Repulsa only freed herself from her prison last year. Humans were too primitive for such weapons when she fought Zordon. No one else would dare attack a world marked for her conquest. Why do humans have so many?"

"Each other, of course." Orange tendrils reach out and open up the closest crate. Ah. Excellent. "We built enough to consume the entire surface of the planet in nuclear fire, and then built more. Honestly, it got a bit silly, so the main countries involved agreed to disarm most of their supplies and stop making more of them. The other countries took theirs apart, but this country just took them off the rockets and stuck them in here."

"This is a lot of nuclear weapons."

"So is it like a sword?" Squatt looks around my shoulder. "That doesn't look like a sword."

"It's a bomb."

"Where's the fuse?"

"And suddenly I'm not wondering why you haven't beaten the Power Rangers yet."

Goldar recovers from his astonishment enough to scowl. "Do not judge me by his standards. If humans have these weapons, why haven't they used them against us?"

"I don't know. But if I had to guess, they don't want to have to deal with radioactive fallout. And since you only really attack one city in one country, there just isn't any reason for them to resort to measure like that." I consider him for a moment. "Are wars in the wider universe generally settled by small groups of powerful champions?"

"Yes. Someone like our mistress can destroy entire armies of lesser beings, but only a few creatures in most species have the potential to fight at that level. There is no point in putting someone weak in combat if someone significant could destroy them with a thought. And then there's the cost of weapon systems like zords, which cannot be beaten by something other than another zord or a giant monster."

"Are zords nuke-proof?"

"They're resistant. Zords can shoot missiles out of the air or detect nuclear weapons planted on the ground, and their armour is reinforced with magic. It would take an overwhelming number of nuclear weapons to destroy one."

His head jerks back to the lines of crates.

"Though I think that this may be enough. We could simply lure them into the open and then saturate the area. They would have no chance to survive!"

"Hold on there."

"Now is not the time for cowardice, Orange Warmaster!"

"What is Ms. Repulsa planning on doing with the Earth after she conquers it?"

"Whatever she wants."

"The problem is that nuclear weapons drop the value of the real estate. The sun gets blotted out, people die from starvation and cancer… Things like that. And if we're unlucky, other countries would fire theirs as well, and that would leave us with a lifeless ball of radioactive rock."

He snorts. "What, then?"

"I'll use these to lure the Power Rangers to the locations of my choice. Once they are isolated, I will attack and defeat them individually. And then I will present their battered carcasses to Ms. Repulsa, in exchange for my life."

I construct-grab four crates, and check their contents.

"Grab one of the big ones, would you? Then teleport us back to the moon. We'll work out where to put them from there."
 
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Ok, I'm actually not sure if he's being honest, here.

Paragon can be fairly ruthless or careless, but teaching Rita's minions that there are nukes… he likely has a specific plan for betraying them with the nukes. Or at least that's what it feels like.

Can the nukes destroy things permanently, even if Paragon sets them off? You'd think so, but ontological inertia in a world like this one…
 
I suspect that he doesn't know what nuclear weapons are. I'm not really clear why he's on Team Evil-. No, I know why he's on Team Evil in the sense of being evil, but I'm not clear why they want him on the team

Maybe Rita and some of the others like having an idiot around to make themselves feel smarter.

And Rita is proudly evil, so things like nepotism could be a factor.

Rita: He's a nephew of a friend of mine.

"I don't know. But if I had to guess, they don't want to have to deal with radioactive fallout

Well when their enemy has teleportation abilities and their headquarters is not exactly easy to reach, shooting them with giant death bombs may not be the smartest move.

"The problem is that nuclear weapons drop the value of the real estate. The sun gets blotted out, people die from starvation and cancer… Things like that

A post-apocalyptic waste may actually be something she'd appreciate from an aesthetic angle.

As long as enough people are left for her to lord over, of course.
 
. "We build enough to consume the entire surface of the planet in nuclear fire, and then built more.
No we didn't. Assuming all of the ~60k warheads we had at the peak of nuclear arsenal had the yield of one megaton and were all spread out and detonated without overlap, the area of third degree burns - generous for "nuclear fire" - would only be a little more than the continent of North America.
 
No we didn't. Assuming all of the ~60k warheads we had at the peak of nuclear arsenal had the yield of one megaton and were all spread out and detonated without overlap, the area of third degree burns - generous for "nuclear fire" - would only be a little more than the continent of North America.

Either OL doesn't know that or is exaggerating for effect.
 
1st April 1995
15:43 GMT -5


A volley of bullets plink off my construct shield as Squatt crouches low, hands over his head. Goldar on the other hand just sneers as the shots which hit him fail to penetrate his armour.

I look down at my… Creator.
To be fair, not all creatures are equal in the Rangerverse. Some can be surprisingly squishy, in terms of combat resilience. For all we know, Squatt's species simply aren't as durable as Goldar's are. I have no idea what abilities they might have to compensate, though...

"What are you doing?"

"Those things huuuurt!"
...Despite him wearing almost full-body metal armour. Still, with a head that big...

"I don't even-"

The putties finally charge down the last of the garrison, their slightly greater than human strength and lack of blood or vital organs allowing them to absorb bullets far better than any living creature.
Though concentrated fire probably put a few down. Except that would let others get through...

"-know why you came."

Goldar sneers. "He came because he's a coward, and seeks to escape our Mistress's wrath at his incompetence."
I shudder to imagine the tortures she could invent... :rolleyes:

"Ah. Makes sense."

The putties are actually capable of understanding the idea of 'prisoners', which means that since I gave them clear instructions the guards, office workers and scientists of Pantex won't suffer anything worse than bruises.
Trying not to be too evil, huh? I suppose if he intends to flip on Rita after he gets what he wants...

This time he sneers at me.

"What?"

"It's shameful conduct. If someone does something wrong then they should accept the punishment, and so regain their honour."
Feeling brought low just by association, Goldie? :p

"If they're leal in service or committed to the cause, you're correct. If they just joined up because they didn't have any better alternatives or got conscripted, then you can't really expect the same level of dedication."

"Like you."
Yes, Goldar is going to be keeping an eye on OL, isn't he?

He stomps forwards, raising his sword at the securely sealed door. I send out a filament and bypass the locking system, causing the sensors to open it when he gets close.

He growls.
Really, OL? Minimising property damage, yes, but couldn't you tell he wanted to smash something?

"What can I say? I want to live. Her Ladyship is the only person who can make that happen. Would you really believe me if I pledged my undying devotion out of nowhere?"

"From a human? No."
What do you want then? This is just a job, and he's obviously not going to die for you.

"Well then."

I gesture up to a gantry where a small group of warehouse workers have taken cover. Three putties who followed us in from outside take the order and dash up the ladder to capture them.
At least OL plays the 'sinister overlord' type nicely.

"Ah..?" Squatt looks around with an expression of what I think is puzzlement. "Why are we here, anyway?"

"This is a major repository of nuclear weapons."
...Oh, dear. That's not a great plan, whatever he's intending to do with them.

"Oh, so we're here for weapons!" He looks around at the heavy locked crates around us. "Ah, I don't see any."

I suspect that he doesn't know what nuclear weapons are. I'm not really clear why he's on Team Evil-. No, I know why he's on Team Evil in the sense of being evil, but I'm not clear why they want him on the team.
Maybe he got an internship back in the day and decided to stick with it? :p

From the way he just got a little more twitchy, I rather suspect that Goldar does know what nuclear weapons are. I watch as his eyes alight on the 'radioactive' symbol on one of the crates, and then move along the row and see the same sign on all of the rest.

His eyes widen a little.
Heh. See, now he's got the brains to be worried about what OL might be planning...

"Yeah. A lot, aren't there?"

"Rita Repulsa only freed herself from her prison last year. Humans were too primitive for such weapons when she fought Zordon. No one else would dare attack a world marked for her conquest. Why do humans have so many?"
What, no other species in the galaxy fight amongst themselves?

"Each other, of course." Orange tendrils reach out and open up the closest crate. Ah. Excellent. "We build enough to consume the entire surface of the planet in nuclear fire, and then built more. Honestly, it got a bit silly, so the main countries involved agreed to disarm most of their supplies and stop making more of them. The other country took their apart, but this country just took them off the rockets and stuck them in here."
It's not like the fissile material didn't exactly go away, after all. And presumably America wanted the option of using them someday, just in case.

"This is a lot of nuclear weapons."

"So is it like a sword?" Squatt looks around my shoulder. "That doesn't look like a sword."
:oops: ...How about tossing him a Rubik's cube or something to distract him?

"It's a bomb."

"Where's the fuse?"
...Because of course he pictures the big, round cartoonish bombs.

"And suddenly I'm not wondering why you haven't beaten the Power Rangers yet."

Goldar recovers from his astonishment enough to scowl. "Do not judge me by his standards. If humans have these weapons, why haven't they used them against us?"
Well, first, their missiles weren't designed for space. Secondly, what's to stop you lot shooting them down when they get closer to Bandora Palace?

"I don't know. But if I had to guess, they don't want to have to deal with radioactive fallout. And since you only really attack one city in one country, there just isn't any reason for them to resort to measure like that." I consider him for a moment. "Are wars in the wider universe generally settled by small groups of powerful champions?"

"Yes. Someone like our mistress can destroy entire armies of lesser beings, but only a few creatures in most species have the potential to fight at that level. There is no point in putting someone weak in combat if someone significant could destroy them with a thought. And then there's the cost of weapon systems like zords, which cannot be beaten by something other than another zord or a giant monster."
Until something like a threat big enough to need dozens of Ranger teams shows up. Interesting perspective, though. When your best soldiers are equal to armies... Why use armies?

"Are zords nuke-proof?"

"They're resistant. Zords can shoot missiles out of the air or detect nuclear weapons planted on the ground, and their armour is reinforced with magic. It would take an overwhelming number of nuclear weapons to destroy one."
Worth noting, that wouldn't set them off except in very unlucky circumstances. Nukes are by design very fail-safe until you want them to explode.

His head jerks back to the lines of crates.

"Though I think that this may be enough. We could simply lure them into the open and then saturate the area. They would have no chance to survive!"
...Not the plan, methinks. This is still OL's planet, sort of, and he's not going to mess up the neighbourhood.

"Hold on there."

"Now is not the time for cowardice, Orange Warmaster!"
Hush, Squatt, the adults are talking. :p Edit: Ah, that was Goldar speaking. Though he has his own sort of foolish moments...

"What is Ms. Repulsa planning on doing with the Earth after she conquers it?"

"Whatever she wants."
So, lording it over hordes of kowtowing peasants until she gets bored, then.

"The problem is that nuclear weapons drop the value of the real estate. The sun gets blotted out, people die from starvation and cancer… Things like that. And if we're unlucky, other countries would fire theirs as well, and that would leave us with a lifeless ball of radioactive rock."

He snorts. "What, then?"
A very good point. I doubt even Rita wants to rule over a snowball made of charcoal.

"I'll use these to lure the Power Rangers to the locations of my choice. Once they are isolated, I will attack and defeat them individually. And then I will present their battered carcasses to Ms. Repulsa, in exchange for my life."

I construct-grab four crates, and check their contents.

"Grab one of the big ones, would you? Then teleport us back to the moon. We'll work out where to put them from there."
Ah, a safe plan. Though not one the Rangers will be expecting.

So, this is going to be interesting to see where he's going with this. OL's not stupid or crazy enough to detonate them, even under Bandora Palace (That might destroy Rita's Staff, after all.) The bait plan seems logical. What's the bet he'll place them in five different places around the world, force the Rangers to split up, then quickly respond to whichever one is closest to getting a nuke?
 
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