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

Ngamer11 · Aug 19, 2024

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

That should say 'bringing'.

Mr Zoat said:
"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 copses down there that haven't been melted with ant acid."

"That 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?"

Those should say 'corpses' and 'The'.

iamnuff · Aug 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"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."

Mr Zoat said:
if Doki's put speakers to drive the river crawlers into a fury…

...yeah, time to kill Doki, I think.
It's not like the local wildlife isn't dangerous enough already without some stupid crazy robot going around provoking it. If she's turning everything even more murderous to try to drum up excitement for her gameshow, she's gotta go.

Time to recategorize her from 'quirky but mostly harmless' to 'a threat to every settlement in north america' and drop a big EMP on her core location or something.

Mr Zoat · Aug 19, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
That should say 'bringing'.
Those should say 'corpses' and 'The'.

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch · Aug 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
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 have 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.

Krono again, and I see he's as concerned about the gubbin he picked up as I was. And I bet he's coming to exactly the same conclusion. After all... It's not a game show, without some sport in it.

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.

Given Tanya's supposed skills with Ants, it wouldn't be fair if she could just walk into the nest with no challenge, of course.

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.

...You did get all the threat pheromones, right?

Uh.

I back away a little.

Entirely reasonable reaction, given the trouble they've been so far.

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?**

Preparing an exit for nest members less agile than themselves I take it.

**Kinda? The Queen's bring 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?**

That is quite abnormal behaviour, I expect, even for the uncharted territory of giant radiation-warped ants...

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

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

...Just the thought of migratory giant ants is a little concerning.

**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 mean, depending on how intelligent the Queen is, or the nest as a whole... Or perhaps they've interacted with humans before.

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

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

Hopefully the banshees prove enough food to make them a little quiescent for a bit. Well-fed and all that.

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

Gosh. That's a big ant.

I'm picturing something the size of a lorry. That's a U-haul truck, for you Americans.

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-.

So it probably might have some associations with humans in its racial memory. Encoded into its DNA as it were.

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-."

To be fair, an ant's head is not particularly expressive. the mental impressions are probably clearer reads of its state of mind... So to speak.

"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."

Which is impressive, and some effort may need to be put in to find out how she's managing that. Perhaps make use of it as a national broadcast service.

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."

And people can still likely recognise him on sight.

"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!"

Sooner you get this done, the sooner it's over with and the sooner you can move on with what's left of your life.

"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 copses down there that haven't been melted with ant acid."

Hopefully he can extract the cost of repairs or rebuilding (if needed) out of Doki's aft. Getting back home might also be tricky.

"That 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.

Fortunate for them. Not that they don't have their own problem groups...

"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?"

Know any fungus-based recipes? Because your opponents will have the advantage of meat.

"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 good here while I try and find her?"

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

Barring any unexpected responses from the colony, at least.

"Will the ants escort you?"

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

I don't think Krono's in the mood for an escort mission, after losing his ship...

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."

True. If you can't survive out here, you're not gonna last long, for sure.

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-

Wouldn't be a fun time even with your enhancements, mind. But it wouldn't be fatal, yes. Short of an unlucky landing.

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?**

Ah, psychically-enhanced parkour. Always a fun sight.

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.

On the other hand, if she was given a big knife and good wishes...

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

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

Which means the things will be having fits from the sound and frothing angry.

**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…

Plus any sort of hostile response to 'unnatural powers' she might have, if 'Paladin' isn't hyperbole.

**[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.

It's not quite Hulk-running, but it [probably feels a lot like it to him sometimes...

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!

Better hope you make it. Neo at least had the benefit of benevolent landscaping for his jump, with the sim's bouncy ground. Out here, the ground isn't so obligingly soft.

So, one contestant rescued and safely out of trouble, barring further incidents with the ants. Now for the second. Fortunately, she's a bit more of a combat-oriented build. So unless she's having to defeat her targets with a herring or something, she should be able to stay alive.

On the other hand, the time each is taking means the third lady may be in deeper trouble...

Cuchulin · Aug 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Viltrumites aren't that bad. Also:

There is no Empire. The total viltrumite population post-Scourge is a few dozen people.

The Viltrumite empire is still a thing because no one knows how few Viltrumites are left and each of the remaining Viltrumites are so incredibly powerful.

Mr Zoat said:
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.

Given that they had pretty low numbers even before the Scourge Virus? They were likely pretty hands-off rulers even then.

moralrelativity · Aug 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Are you going to be alright gathering good here

good -> food

Mr Zoat · Aug 19, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
Plus any sort of hostile response to 'unnatural powers' she might have, if 'Paladin' isn't hyperbole.

Technically speaking, there's nothing in the Codex about magic.

moralrelativity said:
good -> food

Thank you, corrected.

Cuchulin said:
Given that they had pretty low numbers even before the Scourge Virus? They were likely pretty hands-off rulers even then.

Oh? I didn't know that.

WereDragon · Aug 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Doki was driving the banshees wild deliberately.

I do believe we can now classify this as attempted murder rather than merely kidnapping. Please tell me Krono isn't planning on letting Doki live after this?

Neruz · Aug 19, 2024

I like how y'all are just like "oh he should totally kill Doki for this" as if killing Doki is so easy.

You guys do realize that Doki commands an entire city of robots and is basically the waifu of a building-sized AI juggernaut that is itself only a minion of another, even greater AI that is very probably the most powerful AI in the entire Fallout world, one that makes ZAX units look paltry in comparison.

Even if he does manage to fight his way through Robot City and take out Doki and Doki has no off-site backups or anything, ARGOS and ODYSSEUS would likely be annoyed at the loss of an ally if nothing else, and you really do not want to fuck with ODYSSEUS.

Taking Doki Doki off the board is no mean feat and one that will likely have severe repercussions.

Mr Zoat · Aug 19, 2024

Neruz said:
I like how y'all are just like "oh he should totally kill Doki for this" as if killing Doki is so easy.

You guys do realize that Doki commands an entire city of robots and is basically the waifu of a building-sized AI juggernaut that is itself only a minion of another, even greater AI that is very probably the most powerful AI in the entire Fallout world, one that makes ZAX units look paltry in comparison.

Even if he does manage to fight his way through Robot City and take out Doki and Doki has no off-site backups or anything, ARGOS and ODYSSEUS would likely be annoyed at the loss of an ally if nothing else, and you really do not want to fuck with ODYSSEUS.

Taking Doki Doki off the board is no mean feat and one that will likely have severe repercussions.

I think ODYSSEUS would be fine with it. It's WARDEN who would be upset unless full due process was given.

With Calculator dead, I suspect that the most powerful AI in the setting is Tlaloc by literal miles and then Fenrir, unless Skynet has settled down in a mainframe.

Dur'id the Druid · Aug 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
But all that will happen if I fail is that I'll take longer to reach Justinia. I can do this.

Two, one, leap!

..... didn't everyone fail the first jump? Even neo?

The Froggy Ninja · Aug 19, 2024

LazySloth13 said:
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.

Not necessarily. This Paul collaborated with the Viltrumites, but it's plausible that other Pauls he's run into might not have, even aside from the fact that his multiversal science project is the kind of thing Paul is interested in, and he may have some version of him helping out like he did with the clones. Hell, if his ring detects interdimensional portals, he might just blitz through one in hopes that there aren't evil supermen there.

Steelplaza · Aug 19, 2024

So all of these Equity segments are part of a connected story, but it's not quite clear how they're connected yet. Maybe it's a good time to take stock.

Equity 1 - Main story, Xor has achieved orange enlightenment and is going to learn to teleport through the Honden
Equity 2 - Fallout, Doki-Doki running another season of her romance show
Equity 3 - Transformers, Controller shows up
Equity 4 - Fallout, continuing the Doki-Doki plotline
Equity 5 - Fallout, plot continues
Equity 6 - Fallout, plot continues
Equity 7 - Fallout, plot continues
Equity 8 - Transformers, Controller reveals he is very familiar with all the alternate Pauls and states what he claims is his purpose:
"That will allow me to learn what the laws of your alternity are, and thus better understand not just the interface between alternities, but what allows them to form coherent alternities in the first place."
Equity 9 - Invincible Universe (never seen before), version where Mark helped Omniman conquer the world
Equity 10 - Fallout, plot continues

I had a crazy theory that when Xor learns to teleport through the Honden, he might get confused when he teleports to Paul and end up transporting to "the wrong Paul" in one of the other universes. Obviously as they diverge they have different desires, but then people's desires change all the time so when Paul teleports to someone by searching for their orange light he must be searching for something more immutable and unchanging. So it's possible.

The Invincible segment seems most likely to be relevant because Invincible-the-comic itself has a whole thing about parallel realities. We know that a lot of alternative timelines split from how Mark dealt with his father. So if the Controller in investigating when and how alternities are created, he might be interested to see if the "version with Paul" also splits based on Mark's decisions or if there is something about the SI that resists timeline splits to some extent, and there remains only a single version of the Invincible universe with the SI in it.

The Fallout universe has had six of the ten Equity segments so far, but there's been not a hide nor hair of the Controller or other universes or anything like that. It's not clear how fighting giant bats and giant ants and such might interface with alternate universes in any way. Is there anything in the Fallout Universe that a Controller might even be interested in?

hkim · Aug 19, 2024

Steelplaza said:
Is there anything in the Fallout Universe that a Controller might even be interested in?

Name a continuity, besides Marvel or DC of course, that has more super Science! than Fallout.

Mr Zoat · Aug 19, 2024

hkim said:
Name a continuity, besides Marvel or DC of course, that has more super Science! than Fallout.

Girl Genius?

Senevri · Aug 19, 2024

Vaermina said:
There isn't anything he could throw at them to cause harm.

Well, other Viltrumites. Also, the sun. Like, somewhere between 5000 to a few million degrees will start burning them, eventually. Either that, or it was some specific type of radiation in sufficient concentrations.

Mark is probably fairly vulnerable at this point, but taking him out would eliminate the one Viltrumite most likely to be sympathetic to humans, and piss off Nolan, who's very strong indeed.

But yeah, nothing a newbie lantern can reliably pull off at this point.

Ryumancer · Aug 19, 2024

Senevri said:
Well, other Viltrumites. Also, the sun. Like, somewhere between 5000 to a few million degrees will start burning them, eventually. Either that, or it was some specific type of radiation in sufficient concentrations.

Mark is probably fairly vulnerable at this point, but taking him out would eliminate the one Viltrumite most likely to be sympathetic to humans, and piss off Nolan, who's very strong indeed.

But yeah, nothing a newbie lantern can reliably pull off at this point.

Somebody mentioned a virus earlier in the thread, right? So that's another potential avenue of attack, though one best saved for other Viltrumites at this point.

Darko · Aug 19, 2024

Senevri said:
Either that, or it was some specific type of radiation in sufficient concentrations.

I don't remember that being a thing, but it's been years since I read the comics.

There is a frequency of sound that can hurt them.

Plus, they could just tag the Viltrumite and teleport them far away.

Senevri said:
Mark is probably fairly vulnerable at this point, but taking him out would eliminate the one Viltrumite most likely to be sympathetic to humans

Yeah, I think that ship has long sailed and sunk like the Titanic at this point.

All of the alternate Marks that followed their dad seem to have any sympathy or goodness wiped away from them.

Ardy · Aug 19, 2024

hkim said:
Name a continuity, besides Marvel or DC of course, that has more super Science! than Fallout.

Worm

RamiroGalletti · Aug 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
4th April 2024
19:39 GMT

You might want to change the name of the treadmark (unless crossover spoiler reason say no)

Mr Zoat · Aug 19, 2024

RamiroGalletti said:
You might want to change the name of the treadmark (unless crossover spoiler reason say no)

They do.

hkim · Aug 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Girl Genius?

Spark!Paul would be fun to see, but without much longevity if you ask me

Someguy Somewhere · Aug 20, 2024

Didn't we have an alt Paul for the Metal Men for DC? Something Mad Science-ish? Can't Seem To Find It.

Mr Zoat · Aug 20, 2024

10th December 2282
06:42 GMT -6

Kinda… Funny, really. After kicking off the edge of the canyon wall, there's not much I can do physically to improve my trajectory. Psionics lets me negate gravity to a degree but I'm still left coasting on my momentum less air resistance, and I'm fortunate that it's not particularly windy today.

Falling with style, if you like.

I'd keep trying to **feel** Justinia but I have to direct all my energy to keeping myself airborne. Ah. What can I usefully do..? Radio. My personal unit isn't that good, and… We're in canyon country, so it's long wave only, but… Earpiece, turn it on and press the 'search' button…

"…unexpected intervention of our previous bachelor, Ant Agonizer is getting to work at butchering the corpses! Being able to butcher your kills is a vital wilderness survival skill! And one that puts her way ahead of half of her competition! And now a word from our bachelor!"

"Previous bachelor? Who do you mean?"

"Krono of the Sky Walker tribe!"

"The Witch-Man is here? I will take him and-!"

"Ah, we don't do that kinda meet-up here! Strictly boy-meets-girl! Back after these messages!"

"What are you implying, machin-?"

"Why you want it to fry,
So you don't die:
Lady Lasers!"

I switch my radio off.

'Witch-Man'? Yes, creative. I knew that Star Wars never existed, but isn't there some sort of reference to Roman folklore or mythology that Sallow could have made? Lanius himself isn't an issue. He's supposed to be unusually strong, but he isn't F.E.V.-strong. He might have got the brain treatment from the Hubologists that would prevent me probing his mind… Though that's not a sure thing. Sallow would be willing to authorise it for key people and Hubologists only restrict access to it for financial reasons, but it does actually require complicated machinery that doesn't just get left lying around.

Nice to know that Lady Lasers are expanding out of Mexico. Always struck me as a bad idea that the NCR was so dependent on the Gun Runners, and they'll find it harder to use their usual anti-competitive practices outside of NCR territory. Not like we offered General Vialla an exclusive contract.

Alright, coming in for a landing, and… Ah, oh, I'm going to undershoot. Alright, so the choice is between smashing into the cliff because I'm only stopping myself from falling and my inertia shield isn't all that reliable where walls are concerned, and just falling now and then… Running around the mesa, or… Climbing it? Because as much as I might like to I can't fly or-.

Um.

Okay, this is going to hurt. But it's going to be survivable, and it should get me to Justinia a little faster.

I close my eyes, and imagine that I'm falling towards the ground.

I'm not flying from the cliff top, I fell from the cliff and what I'm moving towards is the rocky floor.

Gravity isn't pulling me towards that… Ah, dust-covered wall that way, it's pulling me towards the place I'm falling towards, otherwise… Why would I be falling that way?

**[Gravity is coming from that way.]**

I twist in the air so that my feet are pointing **down**, bending my legs slightly in preparation to absorb the landing and-.

Euerkkh!

Oh, that's going to be a nasty headache later! The universe doesn't like being lied to like this and-. And I shouldn't get a brain haemorrhage, but I'm going to be looking at a migraine in a few hours, and-. And the 'no brain haemorrhage' thing is more hopeful than-.

Brace!

Crack!

Bendandtuckandroll!

Ahfuck! Up-!

No, that was my knee! And that hurt enough that I'm tearing up-.

Guugh!

No, that's not a tear, that's blood. The universe's way of letting a psyker know that they're on its bad side! Crawl! The.. drop is only a few metres away, knee is-. Aaaagh, that's going to need to be set before too long or rebroken later because F.E.V. regeneration knits tissue back together rapidly, it doesn't move bits around if they're in the wrong place! Keep that-. Elevated! And remember where **down** is!

Ugh. Ver-vertigo, too? Oh, no, just something in my ears bursting. Good-. Ah! Ow! Good show. Arms over the **drop**. Shoulders over the **drop**. Grab onto-.

OOPHF!

And down is actual down again and I'm hanging from the top of the cliff and I can feel my leg trying to mend itself with my kneecap still in several dislocated pieces!

Ah…

Twist to the side slightly, try and get my… Good leg up. Don't use psychic powers because I can already feel the headache building and I need to make sure that Justinia is safe before I collapse. Pull, dig fingers is, turn and get the leg up… Good. Now roll onto your back… Yes. Sit up. Pull robe open and… Uh, rip trouser to get at busted kneecap.

I used to work with a bloke who had a busted knee. Rugby incident. Not accident. Ripped through the connective tissue and he sometimes woke up to find that his kneecap had slid around to the side of his leg while he slept. Put the ripped bit of trouser between my teeth and pushghrghrfffghuhh! The knee back together. Hold it, get the stim injector from my coat pocket and jab it into my leg!

And keep holding… Two… Three… Release?

Okay. Good enough for hobbling. Still hurt, but! Not as much as my head is starting to. Now I need to go that way, and… No psychic powers to make sure that my footing is sure. Which isn't a problem because at this speed I can see where I'm going perfectly well.

Hop-hobbling it is. And… Radio, not.. damaged. Switch to Midwest Brotherhood long wave frequency, switch to broadcast, take the microphone…

"Krono to Paladin Justinia. Please respond."

Is hobbling or hopping faster, I wonder?

"Krono to Paladin Justinia. Please respond."

"Identify yourself! How did you get this frequency!?"

"High Elder Törni has been using me as a messenger. I don't recognise your name, so I assume you're from the Midwest Chapter?"

"Steel Circle?"

"No, just someone trying to make the world a better place. You should look out for broadcasters; Doki is using them to-."

"I have already destroyed them. I am aware enough to know they were out of place and I have no interest in this farce. Where is the closest Brotherhood outpost?"

"Ah… There's a Brotherhood outpost in Denver, but the city is controlled by WARDEN, and he works with Doki. Next nearest after that is in Texas, and that's a long walk. But if we finish this contest, then Doki won't try and stop you leaving. Do you know anything about cooking crabs?"

"The best meat is in the claws."

"Sounds like a start. Gather some up, and I should be with you shortly."

"Why should I follow your plan?"

"Because the humiliation you're feeling now is nothing compared to the penalty which Doki will drop on you if you don't at least play along for now, and at this point your reputation has already taken the hit."

"Fine. But before this day is over I will have Doki Doki's head!"

moralrelativity · Aug 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Nice to know that Lady Lasers are expending out of Mexico.

expending -> expanding

Mr Zoat said:
Hold is, get the stim

is -> it

Jirachi · Aug 20, 2024

Confess the fallout stuff feels to be dragging a little - Think it's just that he's detached enough from the superhero mindset that it feels a little weird to see here.
Interesting how - analogue his powers are, though - I'm so used to it being abstract for these sorts of manipulations but it feels fairly kinetic here.

Mr Zoat · Aug 20, 2024

moralrelativity said:
expending -> expanding
is -> it

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch · Aug 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
10th December 2282
06:42 GMT -6

Kinda… Funny, really. After kicking off the edge of the canyon wall, there's not much I can do physically to improve my trajectory. Psionics lets me negate gravity to a degree but I'm still left coasting on my momentum less air resistance, and I'm fortunate that it's not particularly windy today.

Falling with style, if you like.

It's not the falling that is really the problem, though. It's the landing. And even the most superhuman body still has to work with physics there, even if you can tell it to sit down and shut up with psychic or mystic powers.

I'd keep trying to **feel** Justinia but I have to direct all my energy to keeping myself airborne. Ah. What can I usefully do..? Radio. My personal unit isn't that good, and… We're in canyon country, so it's long wave only, but… Earpiece, turn it on and press the 'search' button…

Hopefully hers isn't set to a 'friendlies only' mode or something.

"…unexpected intervention of our previous bachelor, Ant Agonizer is getting to work at butchering the corpses! Being able to butcher your kills is a vital wilderness survival skill! And one that puts her way ahead of half of her competition! And now a word from our bachelor!"

"Previous bachelor? Who do you mean?"

Ah, Doki's show. Naturally it's the strongest signal out here.

"Krono of the Sky Walker tribe!"

"The Witch-Man is here? I will take him and-!"

...Right, this guy is on the side opposing Krono's allies. So of course he's got a nark on for him.

"Ah, we don't do that kinda meet-up here! Strictly boy-meets-girl! Back after these messages!"

"What are you implying, machin-?"

I would think it's pretty clear, actually. And given Caesar's reputation in Rome... 'Every Woman's Man, and every Man's Woman.' if you catch my drift.

"Why you want it to fry,
So you don't die:
Lady Lasers!"

Nice, I'm picturing a Fifties jingle, complete with animated Vault-Boy lookalike.

I switch my radio off.

'Witch-Man'? Yes, creative. I knew that Star Wars never existed, but isn't there some sort of reference to Roman folklore or mythology that Sallow could have made? Lanius himself isn't an issue. He's supposed to be unusually strong, but he isn't F.E.V.-strong. He might have got the brain treatment from the Hubbologists that would prevent me probing his mind… Though that's not a sure thing. Sallow would be willing to authorise it for key people and Hubbologists only restrict access to it for financial reasons, but it does actually require complicated machinery that doesn't just get left lying around.

To be fair, I don't think he'll be much of an issue, as long as Krono stays well out of reach and makes it clear that Doki's actions are not condoned by him and his.,

Nice to know that Lady Lasers are expending out of Mexico. Always struck me as a bad idea that the NCR was so dependant on the Gun Runners, and they'll find it harder to use their usual anti-competitive practices outside of NCR territory. Not like we offered General Vialla an exclusive contract.

Hooray for corporate expansion and economic rivalries driving prices down.

Alright, coming in for a landing, and… Ah, oh, I'm going to undershoot. Alright, so the choice is between smashing into the cliff because I'm only stopping myself from falling and my inertia shield isn't all that reliable where walls are concerned, and just falling now and then… Running around the mesa, or… Climbing it? Because as much as I might like to I can't fly or-.

Or work out how to double-jump real fast.

Um.

Okay, this is going to hurt. But it's going to be survivable, and it should get me to Justinia a little faster.

...You hope. I get the feeling it isn't going to be pleasant for you.

I close my eyes, and imagine that I'm falling towards the ground.

I'm not flying from the cliff top, I fell from the cliff and what I'm moving towards is the rocky floor.

Ah, I see. Less 'extend his jump' and more 'redirect his falling'.

Gravity isn't pulling me towards that… Ah, dust-covered wall that way, it's pulling me towards the place I'm falling towards, otherwise… Why would I be falling that way?

**[Gravity is coming from that way.]**

Inelegant, but if it works, it works.

I twist in the air so that my feet are pointing **down**, bending my legs slightly in preparation to absorb the landing and-.

Euerkkh!

Ah, strained a mental muscle with your little trick?

Oh, that's going to be a nasty headache later! The universe doesn't like being lied to like this and-. And I shouldn't get a brain haemorrhage, but I'm going to be looking at a migraine in a few hours, and-. And the 'no brain haemorrhage' thing is more hopeful than-.

Almost as bad as the damage your plasma pistol took from the ants, and a lot more dangerous to you.

Brace!

Crack!

Bracing only gets you so far, Krono. And in some cases, works worse because stiffened joints can take more damage from the shock of impact...

Bendandtuckandroll!

Ahfuck! Up-!

He's probably going to be very eager to curl up in a hot bath with some aspirin after all this...

No, that was my knee! And that hurt enough that I'm tearing up-.

Guugh!

Better hope you can still walk, because there's a lot of shit still to do today.

No, that's not a tear, that's blood. The universe's way of letting a psyker know that they're on its bad side! Crawl! The.. drop is only a few metres away, knee is-. Aaaagh, that's going to need to be set before too long or rebroken later because F.E.V. regeneration knits tissue back together rapidly, it doesn't move bits around if they're in the wrong place! Keep that-. Elevated! And remember where **down** is!

Ah, the drawback of 'dumb' hyper-regeneration. When it doesn't automatically realign bits...

Ugh. Ver-vertigo, too? Oh, no, just something in my ears bursting. Good-. Ah! Ow! Good show. Arms over the **drop**. Shoulders over the **drop**. Grab onto-.

OOPHF!

...Really not a smart idea, was it? Made the jump, but at this rate, he's gonna need a minute to put himself back together.

And down is actual down again and I'm hanging from the top of the cliff and I can feel my leg trying to mend itself with my kneecap still in several dislocated pieces!

Ah…

I'd say something about 'a rock and a hard place', but that's too obvious a joke...

Twist to the side slightly, try and get my… Good leg up. Don't use psychic powers because I can already feel the headache building and I need to make sure that Justinia is safe before I collapse. Pull, dig fingers is, turn and get the leg up… Good. Now roll onto your back… Yes. Sit up. Pull robe open and… Uh, rip trouser to get at busted kneecap.

Heh. Gonna need a fresh outfit by the end of the day... Acid burns, tears, dust from getting rolled up a rock wall...

I used to work with a bloke who had a busted knee. Rugby incident. Not accident. Ripped through the connective tissue and he sometimes woke up to find that his kneecap had slid around to the side of his leg while he slept. Put the ripped bit of trouser between my teeth and pushghrghrfffghuhh! The knee back together. Hold is, get the stim injector from my coat pocket and jab it into my leg!

...And this is why I cringe at knee injury videos online.

At least he has pain relief.

And keep holding… Two… Three… Release?

Okay. Good enough for hobbling. Still hurt, but! Not as much as my head is starting to. Now I need to go that way, and… No psychic powers to make sure that my footing is sure. Which isn't a problem because at this speed I can see where I'm going perfectly well.

Be glad the person you're looking for can probably lug your busted-up hide back to Doki's base...

Hop-hobbling it is. And… Radio, not.. damaged. Switch to Midwest Brotherhood long wave frequency, switch to broadcast, take the microphone…

"Krono to Paladin Justinia. Please respond."

Now, will she answer a random radio call from someone she's probably not heard of, even on a friendly frequency...

Is hobbling or hopping faster, I wonder?

"Krono to Paladin Justinia. Please respond."

Ah, the joy of being in too much of a rush to give it a minute to fix itself...

"Identify yourself! How did you get this frequency!?"

"High Elder Törni has been using me as a messenger. I don't recognise your name, so I assume you're from the Midwest Chapter?"

Good, that name-drop should at least get her talking to him.

"Steel Circle?"

"No, just someone trying to make the world a better place. You should look out for broadcasters; Doki is using them to-."

Since he doesn't know if she got the psychic message clearly enough to recognise it...

"I have already destroyed them. I am aware enough to know they were out of place and I have no interest in this farce. Where is the closest Brotherhood outpost?"

"Ah… There's a Brotherhood outpost in Denver, but the city is controlled by WARDEN, and he works with Doki. Next nearest after that is in Texas, and that's a long walk. But if we finish this contest, then Doki won't try and stop you leaving. Do you know anything about cooking crabs?"

Right, the whole 'WARDEN will have your ass hauled back in cuffs' thing...

"The best meat is in the claws."

"Sounds like a start. Gather some up, and I should be with you shortly."

"Why should I follow your plan?"

What, you don't recognise his main character energy?

"Because the humiliation you're feeling now is nothing compared to the penalty which Doki will drop on you if you don't at least play along for now, and at this point your reputation has already taken the hit."

"Fine. But before this day is over I will have Doki Doki's head!"

...To be fair, it's not she actually needs it for more than seeing, since her CPU would be in her chest. But the sentiment is obvious.

Huh. Paladin Justinia might have to get in line for a piece of Doki, given Krono and Tanya's claims. Never mind what the corporate crazy lady will be screeching for after all her troubles. Hopefully Krono doesn't pass out from a self-inflicted stroke before he gets his chance, though. The universe doesn't like people laying silly-buggers with ~~console commands~~ Psionic powers...

Cuchulin · Aug 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Oh? I didn't know that.

Pretty small might be an exaggeration but at some point when Nolan was a young man or a child and before the Viltumites started to conquer other planets, their entire species had SUPER bloody civil war where the strong culled the weak until only about half of them were left. Add to that a few being killed here and there in various ways? That is a pretty small number of people to run a vast space empire, especially when you are a race that really dislikes using anything other than your own hands or random thing around you as a weapon.

Coltsguy · Aug 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Fine. But before this day is over I will have Doki Doki's head!"

Our fine Literature Club president would like a word.

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