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

matt_001 · Feb 8, 2025

Stsword said:
Element X isn't magic, it's the building block of all universes and everything in them.

To forge Element X is to forge reality.

Both are the same thing in dc magic is just scraps of creation generated and channeled by magic using metahumans and willed into alterations to creation as much as the will of creation as was explained in doomsday clock by Doctor Manhattan

Stsword said:
Horseshit, that's the opposite of how it works. The metagene mutates the person's DNA when it's activates, that was established in the eighties. By definition in DC every metahuman is genetically distinct from a normal human.

Depends on the metahuman I suppose you likely wouldn't find massive genetic deviations away from humanity in say the Flash but plenty would be obvious in say Mr. Freeze or Poison Ivy but the super powers don't likely come from the genetics alteration which are at most just side effect of what flavor of the source the metahuman channels which is where the powers actually come from.

Mr Zoat · Feb 8, 2025

7th May 2013
10:20 GMT -2

"…which is where I've got so far."

Alan's image nods. "But still no sign of King Orin?"

"No, but it's not like I can demand proof of life or something."

"Well, what do you think is happening?"

"King Orin isn't a great politician, but he isn't inept enough to believe that nearly flooding the entire Atlantic rim wouldn't attract at least some attention. So either he went somewhere and Ahri'ahn decided that events made it sensible to return to the surface now, or he's been nobbled, or... It's not impossible that Ahri'ahn might be old school enough to refuse to interrupt his king even when that's the sensible thing to do."

"But you don't think so."

"But I don't think so. I don't know what has happened, but I doubt that it's what he said."

"What about that magic dream thing Lori was talking about?"

I take a moment to double check my sound suppression system. Yes it's working, and if he's good enough to get through it then he's good enough to find her anyway.

"I had an… Argument with her a while back. She thought that I was implying that fish-type Atlanteans were abhorrent, which she took offence to. If… Ahri'ahn regrets more Atlanteans not having access to his version of the spell and wants to… 'Correct' that, then she might oppose it for political reasons."

"What about what Shark said?"

"His people like their transformation too. I don't know. There's room for doubt until we can speak to King Orin-." Wait. "Or… I could try and find Koryak. I haven't seen him since that mess with Oceanus, but he'd probably know his father's last location at least. And then I could work from there."

"Won't he have..? Guards?"

"He should, but I'm a known quantity. Me wanting to talk to him isn't that strange. I can just make it sound like I'm asking how King Orin coped with the Anti-Life personally. Since I'm effectively an expert on the subject."

"Ah, how old is he?"

"Fourteen." Huh. "So he's actually old enough to join the team if he wants to. I don't know if he's been trained, but I suppose it's another reason to talk to him."

He looks dissatisfied. "I don't know…"

"Know what?"

"A fourteen year old kid… I know Robin and Kid Flash started that young, but it just sticks in my craw."

"I have no authority over who joins or doesn't. I'm part time at best myself. I'll just ask if he's interested, ask what training he's had, things like that. Assuming I can find him."

"What if you can't find him?"

"Then I ask Kaldur where he is. I'd like to talk to him alone, anyway. See how much his mental state has altered. After that… I'm more or less out of ideas."

No. Then I try getting hold of Melinoë and see if King Orin can be tracked via his nightmares. But there won't be much else that I can do here.

"Alright. I'll talk to Sandy, see if he's got any ideas."

"I don't suppose the whole 'clay zombie' thing rings any bells with you?"

"Sounds a bit like that Clayface fellah. The Lazarus Pit brings people back from the dead, doesn't it? And it turned him into clay."

"That was.. due to an excess of geomantic magic. I don't think it would work like that. Though I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look into it."

"And then there's Solomon Grundy. I always thought he was his own thing, and then those witch hunters showed up with them."

"Slaughter Swamp probably has residual sheeda magic in it somewhere. Either that or Melmoth popped back to be an arsehole, which wouldn't surprise me. Well, Miss Martian can get the clay sample analysed just in case there's anything special about it, and Zatanna's the best bet for identifying the magic element."

"Sounds like you've got it all handled. Is there anything else?"

"Um. I appreciate that I kind of dropped the date thing on you, and if you really don't want to do it, that's not a problem."

"One dinner won't hurt." He looks away for a moment. "And… Sixty years was a long time to be alone. Six hundred would be even longer."

"That's a really depressing way of thinking about being immortal and going on a date with a queen."

"Oh, just trying to be realistic. And you're right." He smiles awkwardly. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Have you mentioned this to Jay?"

"No? Why?"

"I was just thinking… He tried for years, and I succeeded first time."

"Heh." He grins. "I might just tell him that. Good luck finding Koryak."

I nod, and cut the connection. And then I drop my observation and eavesdropping baffle and do a scan to see if anyone was watching for the full duration.

No, not that I can detect. Of course: Atlantis.

I rise into the air and-. Don't scan for Kaldur, because I've just got these eyes and I can do basic pattern recognition. He's most likely at the palace, but if he's not there then the Conservatory is probably the best place to look. I rise off the ground and head in.. that direction.

Navigating here is really different now that it's above water. And… And I can't just fly over to one of the upper entrances, because they're mostly closed and the ones that are still open aren't supposed to be used like that without specific invitation.

And… I'm the only one flying. Flying doesn't require a particularly high level of magic power, but there hasn't been much reason for Atlanteans to learn how to do it. Similarly, they haven't gotten around to fleshcrafting any flying creatures. No gulls, either, though I'm sure they'll turn up eventually.

From here I can see where-. Ah, interesting. They might not have any use for personal water bubbles but it looks like they've transferred their fish farming operation above the waves in some places. I seem to remember that the palace in Venturia had a similar thing for ornamental fish. And I suppose that they can use Dolmen Gates to get around their lack of sea-to-shore transportation vehicles. Maybe I'm misunderstanding and it's actually a park, then?

I shake my head, landing in front of the palace entrance and walking over to the guards on duty.

"Orange Lantern?"

"Yes, hello. I'd like to speak to Koryak if he's available, or Kaldur if he's not. Could you please make the relevant enquiries?"

"We.. can ask if they'll receive you. But for a visitor of your stature we weren't going to make you wait at the gate." He turns to a couple of his subordinates. "Please escort Orange Lantern into a waiting room while I contact the Chief Equerry."

GhostKing 666 · Feb 8, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
"King Orin isn't a great politician, but he isn't inept enough to believe that nearly flooding the entire pacific rim wouldn't attract at least some attention.

I think you mean the Atlantic here, not the Pacific.

Lord Ernest · Feb 8, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
Good luck finding Kordak."

Mr Zoat said:
I'd like to speak to Kordak

Pretty sure these should be Koryak.

And I didn't know the kid had moved to Atlantis, how curious.

Ngamer11 · Feb 8, 2025

I'm going to guess Koryak is in Atlantis while his mom isn't.

Chojin Patriarch · Feb 8, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
7th May 2013
10:20 GMT -2

"…which is where I've got so far."

Alan's image nods. "But still no sign of King Orin?"

Which is worrying. You'd think Ahri'ahn would be politically smart enough to get Orin to meet with the League before he lost himself in studying OL's tattoos. Unless he's so overconfident that he thinks he can manage it in a few hours at most. Or perhaps he has to 'prepare' Orin for the meeting, make sure he doesn't say anything Ahri'ahn doesn't want him to...

"No, but it's not like I can demand proof of life or something."

"Well, what do you think is happening?"

I doubt Ahri'ahn would take that sort of 'firm request' nicely. He's probably just itching for the 'Heroes' to make a mistake he can capitalise on.

"King Orin isn't a great politician, but he isn't inept enough to believe that nearly flooding the entire Atlantic rim wouldn't attract at least some attention. So either he went somewhere and Ahri'ahn decided that events made it sensible to return to the surface now, or he's been nobbled, or... It's not impossible that Ahri'ahn might be old school enough to refuse to interrupt his king even when that's the sensible thing to do."

Though what could Orin be doing that's so important he'd pass up on meeting with the League for it? Is the political situation amongst the Atlantean cities that tense?

"But you don't think so."

"But I don't think so. I don't know what has happened, but I doubt that it's what he said."

Trust, but verify. If you can't trust, double-check. And if he remembers Ahri'ahn from his metaknowledge (Unlikely as he's a minor character first and foremost. Not helped by the different spellings of his name...)

"What about that magic dream thing Lori was talking about?"

I take a moment to double check my sound suppression system. Yes it's working, and if he's good enough to get through it then he's good enough to find her anyway.

If he was listening, or had some spell set up to eavesdrop, he might not even care, what with the more fascinating puzzle of OL to work on.

"I had an… Argument with her a while back. She thought that I was implying that fish-type Atlanteans were abhorrent, which she took offence to. If… Ahri'ahn regrets more Atlanteans not having access to his version of the spell and wants to… 'Correct' that, then she might oppose it for political reasons."

At best, she might benefit from the improved spell, becoming a 'pureblood' by Atlantean standards and loosing her mermaid form. Then again, she may feel threatened by the concept of an uncertain 'cure' in someone's hands.

"What about what Shark said?"

"His people like their transformation too. I don't know. There's room for doubt until we can speak to King Orin-." Wait. "Or… I could try and find Koryak. I haven't seen him since that mess with Oceanus, but he'd probably know his father's last location at least. And then I could work from there."

Aquaman's half-eskimo son? I mean, if he inherited anything of his father's abilities, I could see Orin wanting him trained...

"Won't he have..? Guards?"

"He should, but I'm a known quantity. Me wanting to talk to him isn't that strange. I can just make it sound like I'm asking how King Orin coped with the Anti-Life personally. Since I'm effectively an expert on the subject."

As distasteful a subject it might be, that's probably helpful information.

"Ah, how old is he?"

"Fourteen." Huh. "So he's actually old enough to join the team if he wants to. I don't know if he's been trained, but I suppose it's another reason to talk to him."

As a new Aqualad, perhaps. Or as Narwhal, another possible identity.

He looks dissatisfied. "I don't know…"

"Know what?"

"A fourteen year old kid… I know Robin and Kid Flash started that young, but it just sticks in my craw."

Bad memories of underage men joining the military back in the war? It's certainly something he might have encountered back in the day.

"I have no authority over who joins or doesn't. I'm part time at best myself. I'll just ask if he's interested, ask what training he's had, things like that. Assuming I can find him."

"What if you can't find him?"

Then they have to deal with two missing members of the royal family. I expect Ahri'ahn could find uses for a bastard son of the King.

"Then I ask Kaldur where he is. I'd like to talk to him alone, anyway. See how much his mental state has altered. After that… I'm more or less out of ideas."

No. Then I try getting hold of Melinoë and see if King Orin can be tracked via his nightmares. But there won't be much else that I can do here.

And using Melinoë would be something of a last resort and a nuclear option. I doubt Ahri'ahn would miss a junior goddess poking around in his lands. He may react poorly.

"Alright. I'll talk to Sandy, see if he's got any ideas."

"I don't suppose the whole 'clay zombie' thing rings any bells with you?"

Oh, yeah, that thing too. Any progress on that front?

"Sounds a bit like that Clayface fellah. The Lazarus Pit brings people back from the dead, doesn't it? And it turned him into clay."

"That was.. due to an excess of geomantic magic. I don't think it would work like that. Though I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look into it."

If it was a reproducible thing, would Ra's have even considered producing more, since it basically crippled the Pit that made him? That seems wasteful for something that wasn't especially effective anyway...

"And then there's Solomon Grundy. I always thought he was his own thing, and then those witch hunters showed up with them."

"Slaughter Swamp probably has residual sheeda magic in it somewhere. Either that or Melmoth popped back to be an arsehole, which wouldn't surprise me. Well, Miss Martian can get the clay sample analysed just in case there's anything special about it, and Zatanna's the best bet for identifying the magic element."

Eh, Grundy's kind of an unrelated thing. More like a confluence of several negative magical influences including the Sheeda magic. Gotham and Slaughter Swamp are just that cursed.

"Sounds like you've got it all handled. Is there anything else?"

"Um. I appreciate that I kind of dropped the date thing on you, and if you really don't want to do it, that's not a problem."

Well, at least he recognises it might have been rude. Still, Alan could stand to start dating. He'd certainly have quite a few Amazons willing to enjoy his company, if nothing else.

"One dinner won't hurt." He looks away for a moment. "And… Sixty years was a long time to be alone. Six hundred would be even longer."

"That's a really depressing way of thinking about being immortal and going on a date with a queen."

Hope burns eternal, after all.

"Oh, just trying to be realistic. And you're right." He smiles awkwardly. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Have you mentioned this to Jay?"

Interesting swerve? Where's he going...

"No? Why?"

"I was just thinking… He tried for years, and I succeeded first time."

Ah. Yes, I suppose he might have wanted Alan to actually try to live his life, all these years.

"Heh." He grins. "I might just tell him that. Good luck finding Koryak."

I nod, and cut the connection. And then I drop my observation and eavesdropping baffle and do a scan to see if anyone was watching for the full duration.

I'm guessing it was more a video-phone call via Rings than a normal Ring communications link. No orange text for Alan, after all.

Isn't that usually how it works, right?

No, not that I can detect. Of course: Atlantis.

I rise into the air and-. Don't scan for Kaldur, because I've just got these eyes and I can do basic pattern recognition. He's most likely at the palace, but if he's not there then the Conservatory is probably the best place to look. I rise off the ground and head in.. that direction.

Yes, very eager to find out if he's all still himself or what, given his change of wardrobe.

Navigating here is really different now that it's above water. And… And I can't just fly over to one of the upper entrances, because they're mostly closed and the ones that are still open aren't supposed to be used like that without specific invitation.

And… I'm the only one flying. Flying doesn't require a particularly high level of magic power, but there hasn't been much reason for Atlanteans to learn how to do it. Similarly, they haven't gotten around to fleshcrafting any flying creatures. No gulls, either, though I'm sure they'll turn up eventually.

They always do, the flying rats. And now I wonder if the Atlanteans have that typical city-dwelling instinct to not look up anymore now that they can't get about above ground level these days.

From here I can see where-. Ah, interesting. They might not have any use for personal water bubbles but it looks like they've transferred their fish farming operation above the waves in some places. I seem to remember that the palace in Venturia had a similar thing for ornamental fish. And I suppose that they can use Dolmen Gates to get around their lack of sea-to-shore transportation vehicles. Maybe I'm misunderstanding and it's actually a park, then?

Though I imagine any aquatic plants used there might have had to undergo some adjustment in the big lift. Whether it be ornamental pools or simply replacing them with surface plants...

I shake my head, landing in front of the palace entrance and walking over to the guards on duty.

"Orange Lantern?"

Ah, that moment of 'oh, here's trouble, is it?' from any law enforcement personnel about to meet a superhero...

"Yes, hello. I'd like to speak to Koryak if he's available, or Kaldur if he's not. Could you please make the relevant enquiries?"

"We.. can ask if they'll receive you. But for a visitor of your stature we weren't going to make you wait at the gate." He turns to a couple of his subordinates. "Please escort Orange Lantern into a waiting room while I contact the Chief Equerry."

For those who don't recognise the term: Equerry. Presumably acting as the palace majordomo here. Basically managing appointments, meetings and household things. Very much the person to talk to about meeting specific people.

Well, then. Time to see the state of things amongst those not of senior rank within the royal family (Koryak may be Orin's eldest son, but he wasn't born in wedlock, so...) Or perhaps we'll get to see Kaldur, and confirm whether he's really doing this of his own accord or not. He certainly doesn't seem the type to adopt a frockcoat as personal fashion.

Mr Zoat · Feb 8, 2025

GhostKing 666 said:
I think you mean the Atlantic here, not the Pacific.

Lord Ernest said:
Pretty sure these should be Koryak.

And I didn't know the kid had moved to Atlantis, how curious.

Thank you, corrected.

Darko · Feb 8, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
Sounds a bit like that Clayface fellah. The Lazarus Pit brings people back from the dead, doesn't it? And it turned him into clay."

If I remember correctly, Ras gave Orm the formula for the Pit in exchange for magic protection.

Maybe Ahri'ahn discovered the notes and used them.

Or he encountered the phenomenon during his travels.

Chojin Patriarch said:
You'd think Ahri'ahn would be politically smart enough to get Orin to meet with the League before he lost himself in studying OL's tattoos

Ahri'ahn isn't necessarily a politician.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Unless he's so overconfident that he thinks he can manage it in a few hours at

He is very smart at magic.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Then again, she may feel threatened by the concept of an uncertain 'cure' in someone's hands.

If she has experienced racism, which is likely, then she may have also experienced the type of bigotry from people trying to "cure" her.

Throughout history a lot of disadvantaged groups, ranging from women, to people of color, to people of different sexual and gender identities, have suffered at the hands of people trying to cure them.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Bad memories of underage men joining the military back in the war? It's certainly something he might have encountered back in the day.

Or he just doesn't like the idea of underage people joining dangerous fights.

You don't have to have a personal negative experience with something to see what a bad idea it is.

Ardy · Feb 8, 2025

I'm wondering if Blue Lantern is going to mention his possible twin children somewhere in the world that he just found out may exist on the date. They could be royalty if it all goes well! Alien princess diaries

BR549 · Feb 9, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
No gulls, either, though I'm sure they'll turn up eventually.

That's actually less likely than you might think. Atlantis is kinda in the middle of the Atlantic, right? Gulls are largely continental-coastal creatures. Hawaii, for instance, doesn't have any gulls that are resident - just vagrants blown off course on occasion. There are lots of terns, though, and tubenoses (petrels, shearwaters, etc.).

Mr Zoat · Feb 9, 2025

30th Septermber 1995
18:03 GMT -5

I look at the screen of the laboratory supercomputer as Dr. Connors transfers what his microscope is detecting onto it.

…

Yeah, I have… No idea what any of this means.

I had the same problem in secondary school science classes. I couldn't even manage 'look here to see a cell wall' viewings.

"So…" I smile awkwardly at him. "The blood sample? And-." I look at Mr. Parker. "You wouldn't have a sample from before you got your powers, would you?"

"No." He folds his arms across his chest. "I thought you X-Men were all pro-power, anyway."

"We are. Particularly in cases like yours where there's no downside."

"I wouldn't say my life has no downside."

"The only thing making you put on that costume is your sense of responsibility. And you yourself said that you couldn't fight your usual opponents when powerless."

"Yeah? So?"

"If you'll forgive me, 'With no power comes no responsibility'." He recoils slightly. "Think about it this way. If we could give literally everyone in the world your abilities, what's the downside?"

"Ah… Jameson would hate everyone-." His eyes narrow. "Everyone except Jameson, or is he included?"

"Mister Jameson was one of a very short list of editors who came out against the Friends of Humanity."

"Oh, so he's fine with mutants, he just an arachnophobe."

"He doesn't hate you because you've got powers, spider or otherwise. He hates you because you wear a mask."

"X-Men wear masks."

"Scott wears one because he needs to keep his visor anchored in place. Logan wears one because a pepper spray to the eyes is one of the few quick and easy ways to disable him. And I wear one as part of my helmet because I like wearing armour when people are shooting at me. Charles? No mask. Heck, you found his address in a phone book. Henry? No mask. Anne-Marie? No mask. Jean? No mask. Remy? No mask. None of us have secret identities. When we are summoned to appear in court we do so under our real names with our faces visible."

"But having a secret identity… Superheroes have had secret identities since World War Two! It's… Normal."

I raise my eyebrows and crane my neck towards him, trying to convey my incredulity that skin tight synthetic spider silk coloured in red and blue could be considered remotely 'normal'.

"Okay, not.. normal-normal. But what's his problem?"

"Ah… Well… It's.. public knowledge, but it's a bit… Personal to him?"

"Did a spider murder his parents, causing him to-" I wince. "-swear veng-. Seriously?"

"No. Two masked men murdered his wife. Despite there being plenty of witnesses, they were never identified b-."

"Because they-" He sags slightly. "-wore masks. So he sees-" He touches his mask. "-this as me avoiding accountability."

"I wouldn't say that it's quite that rational. He assumes the worst of anyone wearing a mask because that association is there. Why are you concealing your identity? Because you're up to something."

"That… Makes more sense than I was expecting. But why out of all the vigilantes in New York does he hate me so much?"

"Because you're the most notable. Your arrest rate -particularly in supervillains- is far higher than Daredevil's, and Punisher doesn't wear a mask."

Or arrest people.

He snorts dismissively. "I wouldn't call Frank Castle a hero."

"Doctor Strange doesn't wear a mask, Thor doesn't wear a mask, Iron Man does wear a mask but he works for Stark Industries so if someone wants to sue him they can serve their legal department, the Fantastic Four don't wear masks… And I think that's about it?"

"Okay. So, got any advice?"

"Well, if you find a way to make the Spiderman thing a full-time profession, you could try not wearing-."

"I… Don't think that would work."

"Alright. That's it, really. The mask is the whole-." Huh. "Or you could have a post box somewhere where you could receive court summons and things like that. It might make things easier for the police as well, though it probably wouldn't help with Mister Jameson."

"'Probably'."

"I never claimed to be a miracle worker. So, genetic sample?"

"I can't think of anywhere that would have a sample of my blood from before I got my powers."

"Doesn't need to be blood. Honestly, I can take old skin samples, hair, blood, semen… If the sample isn't fully intact I can scan a wide variety of cells until I get a complete picture." I shrug. "Do you have an old sock or something?"

…

"I don't know what you think I use my socks for, buddy-."

"Walking." I blink. "Dead skin. Feet."

"Oh."

"I mean, foot hair is-" Dr. Connors walks into the laboratory with one of Mr. Parker's older blood samples. "-fine too."

Dr. Connors frowns slightly at me, then puts the sample down on the table in front of me. "This is the oldest sample I have. It isn't actually that old, and it will only buy Spider-Man time. And while I think Spider-Man's health is going to get worse the longer this goes on, when it comes to superpowers nothing is certain."

And scan.

Scan complete.

Yep, that's D.N.A. alright. Spirally bits, cross-hatchy bits. Some bits don't match anything I've seen in a human before, but that's not too surprising. And I don't feel like dubbing it onto myself until I get an actual expert to go through what this is actually doing.

"Alright, I've got the structure." I shrug at Mr. Parker. "Up to you."

"I think I prefer having my D.N.A. in one piece, thanks."

"Alright." I raise my left hand. "You shouldn't feel anything, but if you do… There's no point in screaming, it won't help."

"Ah… What?"

Fix him.

Fixing.

Orange light envelops him, prompting him to look over his own body with a degree of concern. After a moment it dies down and then fades completely.

Scan… And we're good.

"Huh." He performs a couple of small stretches. "Is that it?"

I nod. "That's it. It might take a while for the physical parts of your power to manifest again… I don't know how long that took originally. But then you should be back to full effectiveness. And now that I know what your D.N.A. looks like when it's healthy, I can reset you to this whenever it becomes a problem."

He nods. "Thanks. I owe you one."

I shake my head. "The world owes you quite a few. This is just paying one back."

crazygrox · Feb 9, 2025

Was this a plotline from something? Spiderman's DNA falling apart? Or is it a zoat original?
Because it's starting to seem like this is fixing a plotline Zoat didn't like, but I'm completely unfamiliar with it and it sort of cuts in without buildup or context so it's falling a little flat with me.

Celtic Spartan · Feb 9, 2025

Its from an old cartoon.

hance1986 · Feb 9, 2025

crazygrox said:
Was this a plotline from something? Spiderman's DNA falling apart? Or is it a zoat original?
Because it's starting to seem like this is fixing a plotline Zoat didn't like, but I'm completely unfamiliar with it and it sort of cuts in without buildup or context so it's falling a little flat with me.

When Spider-Man's powers started progressing more towards the Spider than the Man.

Lord Ernest · Feb 9, 2025

crazygrox said:
Was this a plotline from something? Spiderman's DNA falling apart? Or is it a zoat original?
Because it's starting to seem like this is fixing a plotline Zoat didn't like, but I'm completely unfamiliar with it and it sort of cuts in without buildup or context so it's falling a little flat with me.

This is a crossover event that happened between Spider-Man TAS and X-Men TAS. Spidey's mutation was getting out of control/progressing, but at this point he was just losing his powers randomly, if memory serves. He sought the X-Men for help but they were unable to assist and then there were shenanigans with an Anti-Mutant villain and the Hobgoblin.

Here, with Paul available, he got something of a stopgap for his genetic issues, so the Man-Spider transformation shouldn't be anywhere in his future. It also helps any possible situation that may arise due to his failing powers.

Signaller · Feb 9, 2025

hance1986 said:
When Spider-Man's powers started progressing more towards the Spider than the Man.

Six eyes in that arrangement reminds me.of the Eternals.

Cuchulin · Feb 9, 2025

hance1986 said:
When Spider-Man's powers started progressing more towards the Spider than the Man.

He had six arms for a short time before things got that bad, which I think was a good look for him.

Splinterface · Feb 9, 2025

How did this end up getting resolved in the original?

ForeverShogo · Feb 9, 2025

One thing that didn't happen thanks to the changes that resulted from Paul's presence in this universe? In the actual episodes of the Spider-Man x X-Men crossover, Rogue was aggressively flirting with Peter.

As for what happened in the original . . . Supposedly the mutation was caused by a "rogue gene". The Vulture creates a device that lets him steal youth from people. He uses it on Peter, and somehow it steals both his youth and the rogue gene responsible for his Man-Spider form.

The Vulture goes to Doc Connors for help. Connors instead restores Peter's youth, but somehow does it in a way that leaves the Vulture stuck with the rogue gene. So Peter gets to keep being normal, non-monstrous Spider-Man and the episode ends with the Vulture stuck as a Man-Spider. (Though Vulture got cured off-screen.)

Lord Ernest · Feb 9, 2025

The only thing that I clearly remember from this saga is that it ended up being the origin for Morbius in the animated universe. However, due to censorship or something, he's a vampire that sucks people from his hands through some weird holes rather than the classic biting and blood-sucking. Honestly, it ended up looking more disturbing than classical vampires.

Chojin Patriarch · Feb 9, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
30th Septermber 1995
18:03 GMT -5

I look at the screen of the laboratory supercomputer as Dr. Connors transfers what his microscope is detecting onto it.

…

Yeah, I have… No idea what any of this means.

After all, he doesn't need to know what he's doing for his power to do it. That's what the Ring's software is for, including whatever virtual intelligence it's developed since Paul first woke up with it. Only reason he doesn't ask it to explain is the headache it'd give him, I suspect.

I had the same problem in secondary school science classes. I couldn't even manage 'look here to see a cell wall' viewings.

"So…" I smile awkwardly at him. "The blood sample? And-." I look at Mr. Parker. "You wouldn't have a sample from before you got your powers, would you?"

I assume for comparative purposes, see what the altered spider's bite did? Given it had been exposed to the energy of a device called the Neogenic Recombinator, I'd definitely want to know if it was reproducible.

"No." He folds his arms across his chest. "I thought you X-Men were all pro-power, anyway."

"We are. Particularly in cases like yours where there's no downside."

About the only major drawback is the way it links to psychological states. Get too sick of it, the power turns off for a while. Almost like it was a living thing itself... Let's not get into that Spider-totem nonsense, though. That was silly.

"I wouldn't say my life has no downside."

"The only thing making you put on that costume is your sense of responsibility. And you yourself said that you couldn't fight your usual opponents when powerless."

Well, he has tried, and usually gotten his ass kicked. Fortunately, when the bad guys unmask him, they usually dismiss him as a cosplayer.

"Yeah? So?"

"If you'll forgive me, 'With no power comes no responsibility'." He recoils slightly. "Think about it this way. If we could give literally everyone in the world your abilities, what's the downside?"

Oof, right in the trauma button.

"Ah… Jameson would hate everyone-." His eyes narrow. "Everyone except Jameson, or is he included?"

"Mister Jameson was one of a very short list of editors who came out against the Friends of Humanity."

Which says a lot about him and his character. He's a good man, under that prickly exterior.

"Oh, so he's fine with mutants, he just an arachnophobe."

"He doesn't hate you because you've got powers, spider or otherwise. He hates you because you wear a mask."

"X-Men wear masks."

...Actually, not that many X-men actually wore full-face masks, at least after the original team's school days. Mostly because most of them didn't really bother with secret identities.

"Scott wears one because he needs to keep his visor anchored in place. Logan wears one because a pepper spray to the eyes is one of the few quick and easy ways to disable him. And I wear one as part of my helmet because I like wearing armour when people are shooting at me. Charles? No mask. Heck, you found his address in a phone book. Henry? No mask. Anne-Marie? No mask. Jean? No mask. Remy? No mask. None of us have secret identities. When we are summoned to appear in court we do so under our real names with our faces visible."

Well, Gambit does wear that weird-ass 90's-style half-cowl, but it is open-faced. Something of a popular choice, with several members of X-Factor also sporting it in this era... The less said about Liefeld-designed characters like Shatterstar, the better, though.

"But having a secret identity… Superheroes have had secret identities since World War Two! It's… Normal."

I raise my eyebrows and crane my neck towards him, trying to convey my incredulity that skin tight synthetic spider silk coloured in red and blue could be considered remotely 'normal'.

He doesn't even have an excuse for the design, either. He sported that spandex web-patterned suit all the way back in Amazing Fantasy #15. Always preferred the underarm webs, though.

"Okay, not.. normal-normal. But what's his problem?"

"Ah… Well… It's.. public knowledge, but it's a bit… Personal to him?"

So this is definitely prying a bit, Petey.

"Did a spider murder his parents, causing him to-" I wince. "-swear veng-. Seriously?"

"No. Two masked men murdered his wife. Despite there being plenty of witnesses, they were never identified b-."

Yeah, definitely put your spider-bootied foot in your mouth there, Petey.

"Because they-" He sags slightly. "-wore masks. So he sees-" He touches his mask. "-this as me avoiding accountability."

"I wouldn't say that it's quite that rational. He assumes the worst of anyone wearing a mask because that association is there. Why are you concealing your identity? Because you're up to something."

Especially since the design of it resembles a ski-mask so much, which is likely what the goons wore.

"That… Makes more sense than I was expecting. But why out of all the vigilantes in New York does he hate me so much?"

"Because you're the most notable. Your arrest rate -particularly in supervillains- is far higher than Daredevil's, and Punisher doesn't wear a mask."

Daredevil also works almost solely within one part of the city, since he doesn't have superhuman travel abilities, outside of swinging on a gimmick 'billy club'.

Or arrest people.

He snorts dismissively. "I wouldn't call Frank Castle a hero."

If anyone hasn't heard of Punisher, he lives up to the name, using lethal force as his first preference.

Also, what rock have you been living under to not know about him? Heck, he even got a beat-'em-up arcade game back in the 90's (Sharing the marquee with nick Fury.) A pretty good game, actually...

"Doctor Strange doesn't wear a mask, Thor doesn't wear a mask, Iron Man does wear a mask but he works for Stark Industries so if someone wants to sue him they can serve their legal department, the Fantastic Four don't wear masks… And I think that's about it?"

"Okay. So, got any advice?"

Some of the Avengers do wear masks, but they probably fall under the same legal thing as Iron Man. Certainly, Tony seems to foot the bill for some of the damage they inevitably cause.

"Well, if you find a way to make the Spiderman thing a full-time profession, you could try not wearing-."

"I… Don't think that would work."

Amusingly, he tried getting paid by cheque to 'Spider-Man' in the comics, but you can imagine the difficulty in cashing it while wearing a fully-concealing costume...

"Alright. That's it, really. The mask is the whole-." Huh. "Or you could have a post box somewhere where you could receive court summons and things like that. It might make things easier for the police as well, though it probably wouldn't help with Mister Jameson."

"'Probably'."

The trick would be paying for it in a way that doesn't link it to Peter Parker somehow. Even paying in cash would be tricky. Fully-concealing costume, remember?

"I never claimed to be a miracle worker. So, genetic sample?"

"I can't think of anywhere that would have a sample of my blood from before I got my powers."

Not that they'd have kept around, as such samples aren't easily stored and preserved.

"Doesn't need to be blood. Honestly, I can take old skin samples, hair, blood, semen… If the sample isn't fully intact I can scan a wide variety of cells until I get a complete picture." I shrug. "Do you have an old sock or something?"

…

"I don't know what you think I use my socks for, buddy-."

...Well, you are a exceptionally-healthy late-teenage male. It was a reasonable assumption, even if it would be awkward as hell if his Aunt May found such a sock...

"Walking." I blink. "Dead skin. Feet."

"Oh."

"I mean, foot hair is-" Dr. Connors walks into the laboratory with one of Mr. Parker's older blood samples. "-fine too."

Not as good a sample as skin or blood, though.

Dr. Connors frowns slightly at me, then puts the sample down on the table in front of me. "This is the oldest sample I have. It isn't actually that old, and it will only buy Spider-Man time. And while I think Spider-Man's health is going to get worse the longer this goes on, when it comes to superpowers nothing is certain."

It's still better than a daily dose of Neogenic emissions, which is what they ended up trying in canon.

And scan.

Scan complete.

I hope he's saving copies of it for later examination by mutation experts. I suspect Beast would be very fascinated by it.

Yep, that's D.N.A. alright. Spirally bits, cross-hatchy bits. Some bits don't match anything I've seen in a human before, but that's not too surprising. And I don't feel like dubbing it onto myself until I get an actual expert to go through what this is actually doing.

"Alright, I've got the structure." I shrug at Mr. Parker. "Up to you."

Probably not all that different to a mutant's DNA, I suspect. Honestly, if the X-men's foes had never played the 'Humanity's replacement's' fearmongering (including Magneto's mutant pride stuff) and they'd claimed to have 'traditional' Super-hero origins, would anyone really have looked twice at them?

Including the comics readers, actually, given how many times the original run faced cancellations.

"I think I prefer having my D.N.A. in one piece, thanks."

"Alright." I raise my left hand. "You shouldn't feel anything, but if you do… There's no point in screaming, it won't help."

"Ah… What?"

Consider it: Every cell in your body being zapped simultaneously? Surprised his Spider-sense isn't pricking up.

Fix him.

Fixing.

"Ring, do the thing."

Orange light envelops him, prompting him to look over his own body with a degree of concern. After a moment it dies down and then fails completely.

Scan… And we're good.

Actually, he's probably surprised his Spidey-sense didn't complain. Given it sometimes goes off for less invasive interactions.

"Huh." He performs a couple of small stretches. "Is that it?"

I nod. "That's it. It might take a while for the physical parts of your power to manifest again… I don't know how long that took originally. But then you should be back to full effectiveness. And now that I know what your D.N.A. looks like when it's healthy, I can reset you to this whenever it becomes a problem."

So effectively a full-reset and reboot every time. Let's hope he finds his cure before too long. That's gonna put a dampener of the whole hero thing.

He nods. "Thanks. I owe you one."

I shake my head. "The world owes you quite a few. This is just paying one back."

Not that he's done anything that spectacular. Close encounter with the alien symbiont, fighting a few crime-lords and obsessive super-criminals...

I bet Spidey'll be wondering about that last comment for a bit. Then again, the Parker luck... He probably does feel like he's owed a few good turns. His foes usually don't go in for world domination, being too focused on Spidey. Probably the same reason they don't attract the attention of guys like the Avengers (Though most of the iconic ones are on the West Coast.)

Mr Zoat · Feb 9, 2025

Chojin Patriarch said:
Not that he's done anything that spectacular. Close encounter with the alien symbiont, fighting a few crime-lords and obsessive super-criminals...

And The Spot, who nearly destroyed the planet.

Chojin Patriarch · Feb 9, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
And The Spot, who nearly destroyed the planet.

...Has that happened yet? Spot isn't in the Animated series until season 3, right? Or is this some of the inconsistencies to be expected from this being Earth-534834 rather than the historical Spidey and X-men animated series reality of Earth-92131...

Presumably Tony Stark was able to look into the project sooner, causing the events to play out much earlier.

Also, A correction I forgot to make earlier:

Mr Zoat said:
After a moment it dies down and then fails completely.

After a moment it dies down and then fades completely.

Mr Zoat · Feb 9, 2025

Chojin Patriarch said:
...Has that happened yet? Spot isn't in the Animated series until season 3, right? Or is this some of the inconsistencies to be expected from this being Earth-534834 rather than the historical Spidey and X-men animated series reality of Earth-92131... Presumably Tony Stark was able to look into the project sooner, causing the events to play out much earlier.

No, you're right, that hasn't happened yet.

Also, A correction I forgot to make earlier:

After a moment it dies down and then fades completely.

Thank you, corrected.

Darko · Feb 9, 2025

So we just got a man named Paul actually helping Peter.

Imagine a future scenario where various counterparts meet and one talks about his best friend Paul, while being confused why some of the others look pissed.

Darko · Feb 9, 2025

Chojin Patriarch said:
Some of the Avengers do wear masks, but they probably fall under the same legal thing as Iron Man. Certainly, Tony seems to foot the bill for some of the damage they inevitably cause.

Heck, even Captain America used the whole secret identity thing in some comics.

And that was probably for practical things, like HYDRA not knowing who he is so that they can't target any family he has.

And Thor literally shape-shifted into having a different face.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Amusingly, he tried getting paid by cheque to 'Spider-Man' in the comics, but you can imagine the difficulty in cashing it while wearing a fully-concealing costume...

It should have worked.

He lives in New Your. There's all sorts of freaks there going to banks on a daily base that a guy in a costume is fairly tame.

Tbryan · Feb 9, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
No, you're right, that hasn't happened yet.

He did prevent Chameleon from sabotaging a peace treaty between two warring countries.

Mr Zoat · Feb 9, 2025

Tbryan said:
He did prevent Chameleon from sabotaging a peace treaty between two warring countries.

Or perhaps he just meant it in a karmic sense.

Steelplaza · Feb 9, 2025

I recognize this is fanfiction and some stuff you just have to assume the readers will know going in, like no need to explain who Peter Parker is or anything. But since this arc rested on a very specific Spider-man plotline about his genetic structure degrading (and I'm not even sure if it was animated series or comics or what), it would maybe have been more helpful to have Peter drop some extra details within the story to explain his problem. As it is, it feels like you ended up having to write the same explanation, just in out of story comments posted in the thread.

Mr Zoat · Feb 9, 2025

Steelplaza said:
I recognize this is fanfiction and some stuff you just have to assume the readers will know going in, like no need to explain who Peter Parker is or anything. But since this arc rested on a very specific Spider-man plotline about his genetic structure degrading (and I'm not even sure if it was animated series or comics or what), it would maybe have been more helpful to have Peter drop some extra details within the story to explain his problem. As it is, it feels like you ended up having to write the same explanation, just in out of story comments posted in the thread.

The specifics of what's wrong with him aren't relevant. It's just about establishing that something is and that he also has a social problem in the form of Jameson. Because whether it gets fixed or not, well, life it what happens while you're making other plans and he has to make decisions now knowing that he has problems and might not be able to get rid of them ever.

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