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

[Mr Zoat]

Oof, that's really rough. Question though, @Mr Zoat since this SI doesn't remember the show (and due to the Amber reference I'm assuming this is show-adjacent), does he know about the comic then, or have you not read it?

Because if he knew about the comic then I don't know why he would stay on Earth and let himself be known, after finding out that Mark and Nolan are all for the "Empire".

If he doesn't know anything about the setting, like Saul Talbot (I think that's the name of the Indigo Lantern?), I understand trying to make the best out of this bad situation. But being aware of the comic gives another option more validity and consideration; lay low and gather info about Allen's previous visits and make a plan to run to the Coalition.

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I haven't read Invincible.

He'd stay on Earth due to not having star charts. Unlike everyone else he probably could build a bunker with such good insulation that the viltrumites wouldn't find it. But it would require total isolation from the suffering on the surface.

 

[Vaermina]

This is one what-if where I believe we'd be better off with a Renegrayven than witha Paulragon.

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Grayven would have tried to fight instead of bending the knee.

At which point Grayven would have died.

 

[hance1986]

They're not even aware he exists. Also, this version has had no training and little experience. The Lantern learning curve can be quite steep. He's genuinely not as dangerous as any presently existing viltrumite at the moment.

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Note I said the word 'eventually'. And not a threat as in a physical threat. But Paul as a high level functionary the Coalition of Planets spy on somehow working with Viltrumites and not getting splattered and in his wake the Viltrumites are more organized in how they operate or their current territorial holdings stabilize because less than a hundred of your race means continue with existing galactic conquest plans like nothing actually happened, the Viltrumites listening to good advice is something Thadeus and his government would be interested in.

 

[RoninSword]

No, it's a mental issue. He can only 'want' for so long.

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So did this Paul appear with a Lantern then, or did he find some work around for recharging?
If he isn't as naturally skilled with the ring as Illustres and Grayven are, how has he avoided orange light overload or damage?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Note I said the word 'eventually'. And not a threat as in a physical threat. But Paul as a high level functionary the Coalition of Planets spy on somehow working with Viltrumites and not getting splattered and in his wake the Viltrumites are more organized in how they operate or their current territorial holdings stabilize because less than a hundred of your race means continue with existing galactic conquest plans like nothing actually happened, the Viltrumites listening to good advice is something Thadeus and his government would be interested in.

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I don't think we really see much of the mechanics of how their empire works, but I don't remember ever seeing any alien in a senior role. Medics and soldiers, yes, but they had a squad of soldiers die just to check that Omniman was fighting fit prior to his trial. At best he might be an advisor to Omniman.

So did this Paul appear with a Lantern then, or did he find some work around for recharging?
If he isn't as naturally skilled with the ring as Illustres and Grayven are, how has he avoided orange light overload or damage?

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He has a work-around which is mentioned later.

He's exactly as 'naturally' skilled, but he doesn't have the same sort of experience that they do. But at the same time he's never tried to use enough of the orange light to risk overload.

 

[Lord Ernest]

I haven't read Invincible.

He'd stay on Earth due to not having star charts. Unlike everyone else he probably could build a bunker with such good insulation that the viltrumites wouldn't find it. But it would require total isolation from the suffering on the surface.

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That's fair.

It also means that this SI has no information about the setting, because the lack of star charts would be a temporary setback at most. Allen the Alien will show up at some point and having that information means that the SI could try intercepting him (the Global Defence Agency has solar system scanners or something, so he could monitor that and just wait) and exchanging info before hightailing it back to the Coalition.

I won't say more to avoid spoilers, but joining the Coalition and helping them fight the Viltrumites with knowledge of the setting is more than doable for a Lantern.

 

[Darko]

That's fair.

It also means that this SI has no information about the setting, because the lack of star charts would be a temporary setback at most. Allen the Alien will show up at some point and having that information means that the SI could try intercepting him (the Global Defence Agency has solar system scanners or something, so he could monitor that and just wait) and exchanging info before hightailing it back to the Coalition.

I won't say more to avoid spoilers, but joining the Coalition and helping them fight the Viltrumites with knowledge of the setting is more than doable for a Lantern.

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This Paul may not know about those.

Plus, they may not work anymore.

Nolan and Mark basically destroyed civilization, so the satellites may not work anymore.

 

[WereDragon]

And I think… I think I just became a collaborator.

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Given the level of power Viltrumites have, and their lack of easily exploitable weaknesses, that is somewhat understandable.

This Paul clearly has a way to recharge and clearly wants to not be anywhere near any Viltrumites so I do wonder why he hasn't left the planet yet. Even without knowing where to go he would find somewhere eventually.

 

[Darko]

Given the level of power Viltrumites have, and their lack of easily exploitable weaknesses, that is somewhat understandable.

This Paul clearly has a way to recharge and clearly wants to not be anywhere near any Viltrumites so I do wonder why he hasn't left the planet yet. Even without knowing where to go he would find somewhere eventually.

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Either whatever he uses to recharge can't be taken with him to space or maybe it doesn't work in space.

He also may not know how far the Viltrumite have influence, so if he leaves the planet he may think that he could easily end up somewhere where there are a million of them.

 

[HeroineRule34Guy]

Already writing it.

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Please consider bearing in mind the contents of this page (if you aren't already). The show certainly forgot it, and it would have preempted a lot of annoying discourse if it had been considered.

Possible that Show!Anissa was just lying, but Viltrumite-baseline attempts at colonization are inherently unsustainable, they're well-aware of this, and they don't care.

Spoiler: Source: Invincible #45

 

[Mr Zoat]

Please consider bearing in mind the contents of this page (if you aren't already). The show certainly forgot it, and it would have preempted a lot of annoying discourse if it had been considered.

Possible that Show!Anissa was just lying, but Viltrumite-baseline attempts at colonization are inherently unsustainable, they're well-aware of this, and they don't care.

Spoiler: Source: Invincible #45

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She might just be talking about population collapse, since the only thing Earth really has that's any use to them is breeding stock and eventually there just won't be any humans left. Is there something else that they want?

 

[HeroineRule34Guy]

She might just be talking about population collapse, since the only thing Earth really has that's any use to them is breeding stock and eventually there just won't be any humans left. Is there something else that they want?

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I don't think so. Theoretically, they might want vassal slave soldiers in the medium and intermediate term- in the comics, they used aliens like the Kresh and those poor blue guys that ominously became purple over the years, to fill in the gaps as their population shrank. I don't have the panel at hand, but there's a scene where I believe it's Allen and Thaedus who are talking, and they mention how it's interesting how an ethnosupremacist state like Viltrum is using more alien soldiers.

So to get back to my point - the Viltrumites use alien vassals as occupation forces. I can see them having a slight interest in Earth-based superhumans with power armor or similar augmentations.

As for natural resources - besides magic, which we don't see anywhere in space, theoretically the only thing they have to offer is mundane natural resources, which as insufferable nerds, we're all aware aliens can easily find elsewhere. I still think the Viltrumites probably Vilcabamba the place once they have a stabler population, but I can see someone convincing them not to do that. Especially since Omni-Man will be in charge for about 500 years or so. (The comics version of the season 1 finale establishes his conquest and administration of Earth as the closest thing to a vacation Viltrumites get.)

 

[Chaoswind]

Are there more updates in relation to the Paul in the Invincible verse? That is a fairy interesting premise, and I don't remember any updates about it, just Zoat answering a couple of questions of how a SI would handle living in there during the peak popularity of season 1.

 

[Darko]

Allen and Thaedus who are talking, and they mention how it's interesting how an ethnosupremacist state like Viltrum is using more alien soldiers.

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There was also a scene in the show where Allen's girlfriend is confused as to why Nolan would breed with an alien since the Viltrumites believe in racial purity.

And the Viltrumites that attacked Nolan and Mark seemed disgusted that Nolan would breed with an insectoid race, but didn't seem to care about Mark even though they probably knew that he wasn't fully Viltrumite.

I guess as long as the race looks like them, they don't care.

As for natural resources - besides magic, which we don't see anywhere in space, theoretically the only thing they have to offer is mundane natural resources, which as insufferable nerds, we're all aware aliens can easily find elsewhere

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There's also the possibility that Earth wouldn't offer them anything practical like land or resources and they're just conquering it because that's what they do.

Remember, these guys belong to a group that wiped out the rest of their kind because they believed that they were the top dogs of the universe, so it wouldn't be such a stretch to assume that the reason they're conquerors and destroyers isn't because they need to be to survive, but because they want to be.

Yeah, you can easily take out any metal or mineral you may need from an asteroid, but to them it may be more proper to take it from a living being.

Though for a more practical reason why they're like that, I mentioned in a post above that they're aggression against other races could be the only thing keeping them from wiping each other out completely.

Their philosophy of the strongest being the only ones fit to exist wouldn't work if completely applied because in reality everyone is weak in some area, so if they genuine believe in what they preach then they'd also have to destroy each other, but by focusing their energies on outsiders, they won't become introspective and see the flaws in their system.

 

[Steelplaza]

So to get back to my point - the Viltrumites use alien vassals as occupation forces. I can see them having a slight interest in Earth-based superhumans with power armor or similar augmentations.

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Interesting point. Much like the proper DC-universe SI is always talking about Earth being a crazy death world, the Invincible universe Earth seems equally insane. Viltrumites are *near* the top of the power curve, sure, but random shit on Earth still gave Mark at least some trouble over the course of the series. There are definitely DC-level Earth mad scientists running around.

I mean, consider this. Viltrumites have a, uh, "population problem". But what could the fast-clone technology of the Mauler Twins do for them? Set up the infrastructure and they could grow millions of new Viltrumites in a flash.

 

[LazySloth13]

Since this version of Paul wound up in the timeline/dimension based on the show where Mark sided with his father then Angstrom Levy will likely be the cause for a possible crossover event where he sees Orange Lantern alongside Invincible as evil being that need to be destroyed, his mad need for revenge making him blind to the fact that alternate versions of the same people are responsible for those actions, with the various versions of Paul needing to team up and fight various versions of Invincible or alternate versions of people they know such as the alternate versions of the Autobots and Decepticons which opposite moralities.

Other than that this version of Paul's attempts to help the Viltrumites might end up backfiring on him if he ever discovers the fact that Nolan is the heir to Empire who's people followed his father for his wisdom not his strength which goes against the current Regent Thragg's own idea of leadership. Where his attempts to keep himself and others alive clash with the resistant or surviving viltrumites; such as proposing the alternative to cloning as a method to repopulate the species, with human not wanting to be reduced to breeding stock and viltrumite thinking that mating his such weak species as digusting or beneath them, not to mention the offspring itself may not inherit their powers at all or it takes to long for the viltrumite heritage to express itself such as it did with Mark, and the various logistics being hampered by local and foreign threats causing the people who don't care if they have to surrender themselves in order to survive against those willing to die for their freedom.

 

[Lord Ernest]

Interesting point. Much like the proper DC-universe SI is always talking about Earth being a crazy death world, the Invincible universe Earth seems equally insane. Viltrumites are *near* the top of the power curve, sure, but random shit on Earth still gave Mark at least some trouble over the course of the series. There are definitely DC-level Earth mad scientists running around.

I mean, consider this. Viltrumites have a, uh, "population problem". But what could the fast-clone technology of the Mauler Twins do for them? Set up the infrastructure and they could grow millions of new Viltrumites in a flash.

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Point of clarification, the Viltrumites seem to get stronger and tougher the more they live and exert themselves, that and being half-human is what's holding Mark back, originally. So while not as significant as the upgrade that Allen the Alien gets when he survives stuff (that one is straight up Saiyan-like), the Viltrumites do get more powerful over time.

I do agree with the rest of the point, Earth has so many crazy things and individuals that could affect Viltrumites. While the most powerful of their numbers would laugh at most stuff on the planet, there are a few things and scientific geniuses that could give even the top Viltrumites some difficulties.

 

[Darko]

I do agree with the rest of the point, Earth has so many crazy things and individuals that could affect Viltrumites. While the most powerful of their numbers would laugh at most stuff on the planet, there are a few things and scientific geniuses that could give even the top Viltrumites some difficulties

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Yeah, only a handful of Sinclair's zombie robots seemed to give Nolan some serious trouble, so an army of them could potentially destroy an army of Viltrumites.

And in the universe where Cecil and Donald were women, they were able to develop a bomb to take out Nolan.

Granted, if they use that then they'll want to either use it in space, or an uninhabited planet.

 

[HeroineRule34Guy]

Yeah, you can easily take out any metal or mineral you may need from an asteroid, but to them it may be more proper to take it from a living being.

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The iron price, huh? Probably not that far off - Invincible is very clear about how dumb and unsustainable Viltrumite philosophy is.

Interesting point. Much like the proper DC-universe SI is always talking about Earth being a crazy death world, the Invincible universe Earth seems equally insane.

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This is more true for the show than the comic. The show makes Mark far weaker than he is in the comics, or at least, shows him struggling a lot more with Earth-based threats than he does in the comics. The comic almost feels One-Punch Man esque at times with how easily he dispatches most supervillains, but the show goes out of its way to have him get his ass kicked by something he'd defeat easily in the comics. It feels like it wants to arbitrarily add more tension.

In the comic, this helped to establish the Viltrumites as real threats, because they were one of the only things that could really defeat, hell, annihilate Mark, the most powerful hero on the planet, and it went out of its way to kind of isolate Mark, as the only one on Earth who even stood a chance against them. He doesn't even bleed in the comics until his own father beats the shit out of him in the climactic fight. You can see him touching the blood coming out of his nose as if he's surprised he even bleeds. In the show, he bleeds all the fucking time, he bleeds from Flaxan mook lasers, he bleeds from magma mook monster, he bleeds from random kaiju, it's ridiculous.

In general, space is portrayed as a very dangerous place in the invincible universe that can basically laugh off most Earthborn threats. There's a scene where a character, equivalent in strength to Beginning of Series Mark, tries to fight crime on the Coalition of Planets' capital world. There's this guy who looks like Humongousaur from Ben 10 causing problems, breaking stuff, and the character struggles with fighting him... only for the local police to handle the matter pretty easily themselves, and another character teases them for trying, since the Coalition has stuff like that well in hand.

Invincible Earth is not the same level of 'deathworld compared to the rest of the universe' as DC or Marvel Earth, at least not in the comic.

Viltrumites are *near* the top of the power curve, sure, but random shit on Earth still gave Mark at least some trouble over the course of the series.

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It's a shame they don't know about Zandale, and that he probably died unceremoniously in this timeline without Mark/Nolan ever learning about his origin. Mass cloning that guy could be really useful - since his powers were metahuman/genetics based.

 

[crazygrox]

besides magic, which we don't see anywhere in space

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Whichever thing it was that sent Mark back in time, then only let him get back into the 'present' years in the future might have been magic? That encounter was in space.

She might just be talking about population collapse, since the only thing Earth really has that's any use to them is breeding stock and eventually there just won't be any humans left. Is there something else that they want?

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I'm not actually sure that there is? We never see the viltrumites use any sort of conventional military force in confrontation with external enemies that would justify gradually stripping the planets of their empire of resources. They seem to do as much as possible of their fighting themselves, and don't seem to use auxiliaries.
I need to reread to actually confirm this impression that I've got about them not really using conventional military forces.
I reread, they're not the focus, but Viltrumites definitely use conventional forces as well, you can see it during the viltrumite war chapters. I think we only see slave soldiers or soldiers of the planets conquered by the empire, not freemen ?federal? forces.

I haven't read Invincible.

He'd stay on Earth due to not having star charts. Unlike everyone else he probably could build a bunker with such good insulation that the viltrumites wouldn't find it. But it would require total isolation from the suffering on the surface.

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Obscure information if you haven't read it:
before Nolan tried writing earth travelogs as a job in his secret identity, he spent some time writing much less successful science fiction adventure stories about an elite agent fighting on behalf of a space empire that were based on his own experiences and notes on things that had actually managed to hurt him in his millennia of experience. So there's a treasure trove of info on viltrumite weaknesses, and things they aren't technically weak to but have managed to hurt them anyways, and where to find them in space that's just in the public domain/in a box in Nolan's attic, that noone has realized are relevant.
Also a possible source for hints that there isn't really an empire behind the two viltrumites already here.
And something that could make Nolan react oddly or overreact if brought up in conversation.

It may be worth trying to copy Viltrumite abilities through ring-integration of genetic materiel. Supposedly their genes are made of 'smart atoms' that over time will rebuild their entire body out of the things. And that's how half-humans get their powers.

That incident with Mark time-travelling in space back in time onto earth and being entreated by the voice which caused the travelling to change history and save the guardians of the globe and stay in the past, then not showing up in the same time he left when he rejected the voice and asked to be brought back to his time(in a way that seems to be implied to be designed to set up a domino chain of effects that would topple Robot's rule of earth),
seems to heavily imply that there's at least an extremely powerful time traveler acting indirectly, or possibly a cosmic entity acting minimally, which is pulling in favor of resetting the earth towards something at least resembling a standard superhero/supervillain narrative.

If this same timetravel entity actually exists in all the alternate timelines where Mark conquers earth, I strongly suspect that once the Viltrumite population starts to rebound from half-humans becoming more common, their rule of earth isn't going to become more secure, but rather much much less secure.


edit: also while a bunch of better-prepared superheroes were able to defeat copies of invincible during the invincible war when Angstrom Levy brought over a bunch of evil parallel universe duplicates, I suspect the real threat during Nolan and Invincible's attack on earth is that Nolan has planned out everything very well, and knows exactly how to wipe out earth's heroes. Though alternate Paul actually has a better chance than most of fighting the empire if he figures out branding and mind-control-ambushes enough Viltrumites that things start to spiral and he's taken enough of their fighting strength that they can't easily kill him through his mind controlled thralls putting up a defense.
Viltrumites make everyone from earth's superhero community fighting them look totally outmatched, but the fight is less certain in outcome than it appears, or than they want to admit, which is probably a big part of why there are still people trying to fight a resistance action against them.

edit2: also Thaddeus has developed an improved version of the scourge virus. It would mean suicide for him and extinction for the viltrumites, but it's not clear that the Viltrumites can win against the coalition in the long term even without Nolan's weapons.
Depending on exactly why Mark managed to survive the improved virus, he and maybe Nolan(probably not but maybe Thragg) might survive it, if temporarily depowered, but that's assuming they aren't killed by the other Viltrumites around them for weakness, by the coalition, by earth resistance forces, or by being in a dangerous environment at the wrong time as the disease gets worse.

 

[Darko]

Obscure information:
before Nolan tried writing earth travelogs as a job in his secret identity, he spent some time writing much less successful science fiction adventure stories about an elite agent fighting on behalf of a space empire that were based on his own experiences and notes on things that had actually managed to hurt him in his millennia of experience

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That's assuming this version of Nolan wrote those in this universe.

And even if he did, he may have destroyed them to get rid of any info on potential weaknesses.

But even if they exist, Paul may not know that they exist, or have any way to get his hands on them.

Heck, even if he reads them he may not know that they're talking about Viltrumites.

If he figures out that they're talking about Viltrumites then he may hesitate to use it since it has several risks.

For example, those aliens from that high gravity planet that were able to tear up Viltrumites like they were nothing would be a great asset against them, but that's assuming that Paul can get them to do it.

The guy is vulnerable against Viltrumites, so a creature that makes Viltrumites seem like nothing is just a bigger nightmare.

I'm not actually sure that there is? We never see the viltrumites use any sort of conventional military force in confrontation with external enemies that would justify gradually stripping the planets of their empire of resources. They seem to do as much as possible of their fighting themselves, and don't seem to use auxiliaries.
I need to reread to actually confirm this impression that I've got about them not really using conventional military forces

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They may just use the stripped resources to improve their own territories.

And by that I mean the territory that's occupied by mostly Viltrumites, not their alien slaves.

I don't remember if they had non-Viltrumite soldiers in the comics, but they did at least use alien guards in the prison that Nolan and Allen were held in.

 

[crazygrox]

They may just use the stripped resources to improve their own territories.

And by that I mean the territory that's occupied by mostly Viltrumites, not their alien slaves.

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There are like three or four dozen living viltrumites after the plague and the gladiatorial purge that followed the plague trying to make sure that those whose powers were weakened by the plague wouldn't contaminate the empire with their weakness and impurity.
Presumably they reached that number with one or two casualties from combat against external enemies in the years that have followed, but not very many casualties.

edit: anyways, my point is that there aren't enough viltrumites to make improving their own core territories a valid expense for long. Even if they rebuild and maintain absolutely everything that's ever been inhabited by any viltrumite in history. They may not collect notable taxes at all, it's hard to tell.

 

[Steelplaza]

This is more true for the show than the comic.

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I didn't watch the show, I only read the comic, so I guess I don't agree.

 

[ShadowScion626]

Grayven would have tried to fight instead of bending the knee.

At which point Grayven would have died.

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I was gonna go off when I first saw this post, then I realized it's just YOU again. Troll.

 

[DAT_NOOB]

Just a question is there a reason all the recent chapters are called Equity? or is that an issue on my end?

 

[Galacticplumber]

Just a question is there a reason all the recent chapters are called Equity? or is that an issue on my end?

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It has been stated as intentional THIS time, and thus implied they link up at some point.

 

[NightmareWarden]

Since this version of Paul wound up in the timeline/dimension based on the show where Mark sided with his father then Angstrom Levy will likely be the cause for a possible crossover event where he sees Orange Lantern alongside Invincible as evil being that need to be destroyed, his mad need for revenge making him blind to the fact that alternate versions of the same people are responsible for those actions, with the various versions of Paul needing to team up and fight various versions of Invincible or alternate versions of people they know such as the alternate versions of the Autobots and Decepticons which opposite moralities.

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I don't think Paragon!Paul is going to be involved in this crossover. I think that Desire of the Endless is going to notice Paul's April 1st curse, notice that Xalitan Xor has a similar enlightenment, and then fling Xalitan out of the Endless' sight. Into the multiverse, to see what happens- figure out if the interesting mental state is conditional based on the Lantern's relationship to Paul, rather than an independent phenomenon.

IE- see if "other" Paul's can break his Desires. That's just the start of the adventure though.

Wait a second, there are Maltusians relevant to the mega crossover... They'd GENERALLY know better than to get involved in Endless business. So what else could get someone other than Paragon!Paul involved in this multiverse scheme? I just don't think it will be Paul this time, except perhaps with a bit-part like he did at the very end of the Crisis.

 

[DAT_NOOB]

It has been stated as intentional THIS time, and thus implied they link up at some point.

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That's what I get for not being up to date on the discussions.

Also did this Paul arrive before or after Mark and Nolan started conquering Earth?

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th December 2282
06:37 GMT -6

The device I recovered floats in pieces around me. Cleansing myself of ant pheromone had to take priority, and since I'm not a specialist in molecular transmutation that wasn't exactly quick. I'm not a specialist in animal control either, which is why I had to. And once I did that I had to clear the area around me, because the pheromone triggers combat behaviour generally as well as marking a target specifically.

It is a speaker. But it's not a radio speaker. I'm not exactly sure what it does, but I've got a nasty suspicion. Slot the whole thing back together, focus my psychokinetic powers on my immediate environment and activate it…

Ultra-high frequency sound. Doki was driving the banshees wild deliberately.

The ground a short distance away begins to churn, then a giant worker ant erupts from the rock. It looks around, appears to spot me and takes me in for a few seconds, then completes its examination of its surroundings and heads back inside. A moment or two later there's another eruption from nearby as another worker ant surfaces.

Uh.

I back away a little.

Another worker ant breaches, then a section of ground collapses. Then more worker ants start swarming, clearly the area and building some sort of… Mound? Ramp?

**Tanya? Are you there?**

**Kinda? The Queen's bringing me up through the tunnels. I don't know what I dosed her with exactly, but it's really worked.**

**Should Queens move that much?**

**Not usually. If these ants were migratory, there'd be more tunnels and bivouacs around.**

**And she doesn't look aggressive?**

**Ah… No?**

**You don't sound too sure.**

**I haven't learned all their behavioral patterns yet. I don't think this is aggression, but I don't know for sure.**

**I'll try to avoid looking edible, then.**

**Try not to smell edible. They're ants. Okay, I think-.**

And then the queen barges through the steadily widening hole, Tanya clasping her thorax with all her might.

Gosh. That's a big ant.

Not a lot of giant ants on the west coast. I think there was one small colony in the Mojave somewhere, but that got dealt with years ago and I only saw pictures of the aftermath. I reach out mentally… No, not intelligent, but she… Yes, she's pegged Tanya as an immature Queen and… Future ally? That's a little concerning, as it makes me lean towards 'engineered bioweapon', but-.

Tanya scrambles off and staggers over to me, wiping dirt off her mask. "That was-. That-." She gives up on clearing the mask and just pulls it off. "That was horrible."

"You made some friends." The Queen is looking at me, but I'm not feeling any particular malice. Still… Uncomfortable, even if she's not mentally sophisticated to associate me with the scrum down below. "So-."

"She's broadcasting this, right? That Doki-machine?" I nod. "How far?"

"I'm not sure. Over a good portion of North America at least."

Her face falls. "Seriously? I have enough trouble with people knowing who I am back home. Now everyone's going to know me as the crazy ant girl?"

"My offer of sanctuary still stands. I was.. involved in the previous one of these."

"How long does it take for everyone to forget about it?"

"I'm marrying the winner of my contest, so… Probably never. Now, what exactly did Doki want you to do?"

"Never?" She looks dejected. "Damn it!"

"My aircraft was destroyed and I don't have a quick way out of this part of America." Technically, Diana's tribe lives to the south of here, but if Doki's put speakers to drive the river crawlers into a fury… Not a good idea, and actually getting to Diana's airport wouldn't be easy because the half-civilised tribal slavers she recently conquered are in the way. "We're going to have to play along with Doki's game for now. There are a couple of banshee corpses down there that haven't been melted with ant acid."

"The ants have got a fungus farm. They'll let me take some. I've cooked ant fungus before." She looks pained. "Who's that 'Lannayus' guy? Some kind of warlord?"

Right, east coast. Won't even have heard of Caesar's Legion.

"He's a general. He's the immediate subordinate of the man who rules Arizona. At the moment. There's a large war going on and he's almost certainly going to lose."

"I guess that's how Doki got to kidnap him. So… Okay, we get the food, then what?"

"Well, the leader of the Executives is a raider, so I'm not too worried about her. But I have a good working relationship with the Brotherhood." Hm. "Are you going to be alright gathering food here while I try and find her?"

"Ah… The ants like me and all the banshees are dead, so probably."

"Will the ants escort you?"

"If I get the right smell. So I gotta get back to the prison on my own?"

I shrug, and gesture to the Queen. "I wouldn't say 'on your own', but… If you think you can. If you can't, I'll stick around."

She takes a deep breath, thinking it over. "Ahhhhh… No. I should be okay. I've survived the wasteland with just my ants before. And I know the way back."

I nod. "Okay. Let me know when you start back. If you get desperate for help then think at me and I'll try to reach you again, but I'm not that fast on foot."

She nods, and I turn due south. Head down and run, F.E.V.-enhanced muscles shoving me onwards while my psychic abilities guide my feet to places that provide stable footing. I'm rather glad that psionics here works more like magic or the Force rather than simple telepathy, because while I could probably survive a fall from up here I wouldn't exactly-

I leap over a four metre wide cleft in the rocks, rolling as I land on the far side before resuming my dash.

**Paladin Justinia, can you hear me?**

Nothing yet, focus on running. What her chances are -if she's even still alive- depends on what equipment Doki has left her with. River crawlers attack with their claws rather than dragging and drowning as an alligator would, so if she's got a suit of T-51 or Technical Armour then she should be safe unless she runs into one of the really big ones. Laser weapons are reasonable for piercing their exoskeletons, and river crawlers shouldn't be intelligent enough to aim for the weapon.

Would Doki have put speakers by the riv-. Of course she would.

**Paladin Justinia, can you hear me?**

**Show yourself!**

She can just about hear me, but without a better feel of her thoughts or significantly closing the distance she's not going to hear me clearly and I might distract her at a vital moment. So…

**[A device that broadcasts a bad signal, a threat that goes away when it's destroyed]**

I don't know if she'll do it or not, but that's the best I can do for now because I'm reaching the southern end of this valley wall and the distance between this rock and the rock column between here and the river. I accelerate, preparing to hold myself in the air with my psychic grip.

Coming up now and… I know how Neo felt before he failed his first jump. But all that will happen if I fail is that I'll take longer to reach Justinia. I can do this.

Two, one, leap!

 

[boo600]

Huh.

I wonder if Pull can pull off a discount ant-man impression with this?