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

[Ganurath]

Blake pretty much did exactly what Paul did in the Nabu situation. Made the best long-term choice he could with the information he had at the time. Leaving Paul out of it was safer and easier for everyone in Blake's mind.

It really is fun to see OL on this side of the issue. Having his autonomy disregarded because him knowing about everything could've endangered an optimal outcome. I'm glad he found it somewhat amusing to be put in this role, even if he's going to be bitter about it.

Although Blake's choice was probably influenced by anger and because of that he likely dismissed some options out of hand. Which is even more like the Nabu fiasco!

I'm really enjoying the evolution of the Vega story-line so far.

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Wrong thread.

 

[Taisei]

Wrong thread.

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Thanks, deleted it! Still had that thread open when I was tabbing around, lol.

 

[nick012000]

Random thought, since this is QQ: I sort of wonder how Paul or Grayven would react to finding themselves in the world of the NSFW fan-comic JL Forsaken Souls by Black Pharaoh. The basic plot is that a "godlike" tentacle monster is running around corrupting superheroines into not-succubi-really and having them fuck superheroes to death so that he can steal their powers like a rape- and NTR-powered Amazo - and he started with Mary Marvel and Zatanna, who promptly took over the Watchtower and basically decapitated the Justice League. Naturally Lex Luthor winds up running the Resistance.

 

[Mquz]

Random thought, since this is QQ: I sort of wonder how Paul or Grayven would react to finding themselves in the world of the NSFW fan-comic JL Forsaken Souls by Black Pharaoh. The basic plot is that a "godlike" tentacle monster is running around corrupting superheroines into not-succubi-really and having them fuck superheroes to death so that he can steal their powers like a rape- and NTR-powered Amazo - and he started with Mary Marvel and Zatanna, who promptly took over the Watchtower and basically decapitated the Justice League. Naturally Lex Luthor winds up running the Resistance.

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That's been done by quite a few fanfic authors. Also, apart from the art, the plot's mainly an excuse to sexualize every possible female character, though it does some interesting things by actually having a universe-spanning plot. The comic also kind of completely ignores everything not on Earth and makes the villain not visibly powerful enough to stand an actual chance against the endless / The Presence / the anti-monitor mainly due to just being a psychic parasite of some sort, and not just immediately finding and ending all resistance , despite the encounter between him and Dream ended in them leaving each other alone due to them apparently being equally powerful. Really, Paul's reaction would probably be to nuke it all/ find a way to get something more powerful involved, like the presence / the anti-monitor (if this guy is literally powerful enough to take over a universe, the multiverse isn't much harder)/ the Shade, or use the Planet/ star killing weapon the guardians canonically used that has been mentioned elsewhere in this fic.
Also, just to correct you, I don't think that thing steals powers - it just brainwashes/ mentally attacks people who are aware of it, even if via tv screen and is already more powerful than any other character when it starts off. Amazo isn't powerful enough in it's base state to stand up to some forces that could be used, while this thing has an attack that basically can't be normally defended from. Actually, the answer might be to use Amazo to copy the thing's powers, but make sure it can then later be controlled / deactivated.

Also, Mr. Zoat kind of seems to not like writing mind control stuff in general, since that tends to change who the characters are as people. He also doesn't seem to usually be in the mood to write porn, especially porn for the purposes of base titilation based on what amounts to fanfic. If you really want something like that in a fic, pay Cambrian or something.

 

[nick012000]

Also, just to correct you, I don't think that thing steals powers - it just brainwashes/ mentally attacks people who are aware of it, even if via tv screen and is already more powerful than any other character when it starts off. Amazo isn't powerful enough in it's base state to stand up to some forces that could be used, while this thing has an attack that basically can't be normally defended from. Actually, the answer might be to use Amazo to copy the thing's powers, but make sure it can then later be controlled / deactivated.

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Well, at a couple points its explained that it copies the powers of the women it corrupts, and that those corrupted women then go and steal men's powers by fucking them to death - and it actually uses the powers it stole once by combining Zatarra's powers with the power of Shazam to throw magic lightning by saying "Shazam" backwards.

 

[Mquz]

Well, at a couple points its explained that it copies the powers of the women it corrupts, and that those corrupted women then go and steal men's powers by fucking them to death - and it actually uses the powers it stole once by combining Zatarra's powers with the power of Shazam to throw magic lightning by saying "Shazam" backwards.

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Yeah, but then something that's only that powerful (still needs to get other's powers), yet gets the attention of the endless in a bad way really should be getting put down any time now by something more powerful that they can get involved. Like, say, Atrocitus.

 

[Gantradies]

Here you go.
Previously, people have guessed that a cape hinders flight. Turns out, even experts guess wrong.
Of course, we're lacking data on lower, as well as supersonic speeds.

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yeah,
i looked at that montage from The Incredibles as a teen, and didn't think "yeah, capes are bad", but
"why isnt there a quick-release latch triggered by excessive force/pull?" i mean, Edna had been custom-making super-wear for years beforehand that could literally shrug off explosives/bullets/piercing/tearing AND genuinely provide added defense for the wearer against those (and fire/extreme heat), AND had over a decade of slowly going stir-crazy with menial work and literally NOTHING to do but plan/draw up designs- wouldn't a simple latch-point that breaks/unclips with enough force for the cape be child's play? >.<
it isn't like it'd be THAT hard given she had fabric/alloys that would make DARPA cry (full-on sobbing) from frustrated envy-

the OG Xbox Controller had a release like that in the cable (that saved my console from an ignoble end at least 3 dozen times), and in this case it'd "just" have to keep the cape secured, not worry about data/power ect...

i mean, my *coughs* Character is an Armorer in his Off time (primarily specializes in high-end power-assisted wearable, actually armored or otherwise- in-setting his extreme sports gear is quite popular with climbers/cave-divers), and logically, a common request from a commissioner is a Cape, either for practical reasons (concealment if the getup is intended for stealth/hunting) or aesthetic- just design in a emergency release, charge a modest sum extra, move on >.<

 

[Mr Zoat]

Random thought, since this is QQ: I sort of wonder how Paul or Grayven would react to finding themselves in the world of the NSFW fan-comic JL Forsaken Souls by Black Pharaoh. The basic plot is that a "godlike" tentacle monster is running around corrupting superheroines into not-succubi-really and having them fuck superheroes to death so that he can steal their powers like a rape- and NTR-powered Amazo - and he started with Mary Marvel and Zatanna, who promptly took over the Watchtower and basically decapitated the Justice League. Naturally Lex Luthor winds up running the Resistance.

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That story (which I'm totally not reading) is clearly written to give the author a tissue paper thin excuse to write as much demon tentacle rape mind control as possible. As such, the SI would probably die heroically trying to protect every female minor character and OC in this story, who would all promptly be demon tentacle rape mind controlled or handed over to Isley.

Or both.

If the SI himself had been infected with porn logic, he might conclude that the only way to fight demon tentacle rape mind control was with snake tentacle rape mind control, and maybe sort of some sort of protective branding system.

If I were writing it... The Renegade would boom tube into melee range and stab the creature with the Sword of the Fallen at the earliest opportunity. The SI would probably try draining off the taint.

 

[ForeverShogo]

I guess I'll second the idea that Paul is trying to convince himself he's actually angry over this. Especially with his amusement at being on the other side of this kind of conversation.

But I also don't think the New Vega Alliance did anything wrong by keeping him out of their plans. When he was last in the Vega system, Paul basically just showed up, blew shit up, and left Vega's residents to pick up the pieces. Sure, he did a little bit more for the Tamaranians. But in the end it was exactly the kind of righteous face punching he likes to deride.

With the possible exception of a certain pair of sisters, what with them being his subordinates, not a single person involved in that operation was under any kind of an obligation to inform or otherwise involve Paul in their plans.

Basically, if he didn't like the way they cleaned up the Vega mess then he shouldn't have left a mess that needed to be cleaned up.

 

[Buggy123]

I come back, and all the posts are about tentacle rape demon mind control.

 

[DrThoth]

If I were writing it... Grayven would boom tube into melee range and stab the creature with the Sword of the Fallen at the earliest opportunity. The SI would probably try draining off the taint.

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I believe you mean 'the Renegade' since that's your usual description (which inspired my own use of the term for clarity's sake). As far as I know the actual Grayven of any continuity in this fic has never gained the Sword of the Fallen.

I do actually appreciate Blake's argument now; I suppose the events of last episode hit so hard and was so jarring and seemingly nonsensical because I did think Blake was still a typical classic superhero in his mentality, not a pragmatic utilitarian (which admittedly is interesting to see in contrast to Paragon, and one not entirely villainous or evil to boot).

Of course, I'd think his outsider-argument would equally apply to himself being involved. There's also the fact that Paragon was already involved in the situation, being almost solely responsible for the situation that made the New Vega Alliance possible in the first place, which undermines their credibility a bit, but I can see how that can be downplayed and distracted from in their state-creation narrative.

There's also an apparent lack of consideration or preliminary concern from anyone about Paragon's possible reactions if he ever returns. Like another poster said, Blake doesn't seem to offer even token conciliation to the man who did save his life/sanity, even though he expected him to be angry. And I don't think he believes he has the capability to defeat Paragon in combat, either individually or with the alliance's fleet. So that's a remaining oversight in this course of action, though it could be addressed in future updates (and I'd love to see Paragon discussing this with My'andr, and the GLC/Guardians' discussion with the New Vega Alliance.)

Destroying the Psions, their first uplifted species, may possibly draw the interest/attention of every Maltusian, though that's far from certain.

 

[Gantradies]

i dunno- it might be my distaste for realpolitik, but "it makes it easier for me to nationbuild by making it a lot easier for me to cynically create a fabricated/false"we all built/did this ourselves" narrative despite being an outsider myself,and despite increasing the casualties amount the people im commanding/increasing the chance of us killing slaves/prisoners"
doesn't feel like a valid motivation for not telling one of the local psudo-superpowers that there's a major operation planned-especially one who's leader/second-in-command has singlehandedly carried out an operation of identical scope with ZERO unintended losses SOLO...
and the disregard for friendly casualties/the reduction of said casualties in pursuit of "the greater good" makes me a little nervous- it sets a worrying precedent for the Alliance's policy on collateral damage/the value of individual life RIGHT from the start- another story i follow

(ProximalFlame's excellent "The Last Angel" on SB, original setting not a FF-one of the other stories i Rec to my friends other then WTR on the same level of quality)

had the ...local "bad guy" polity slip and slide along the greased rod of expediency/self-righteous "pragmatism" (increasingly more and more just "hard men getting hard" over time to the point they committed a yet-unspecified atrocity against the other surviving founding race for questioning their increasingly immoral actions/social policies whilst encouraging a cult of personality that almost literally defied them)
from "essentially a more pragmatic UFP" to "as speciesest and bigoted as Palpatine's empire, just without a force-psychosis-addled loon at the helm and more subtly in their sentients-rights abuse"

if the Nascent OLC (or another power)WAS planning something, and Blake's little ragtag alliance had negligently killed a group of intel agents doing prep work for another attack....
aside from "not feeling right", it was inexcusably careless for a man TRYING to build a coherent nation/NATO-analogue- i can see genuine cause for irritation/doubt in his reasoning here

 

[Mr Zoat]

I believe you mean 'the Renegade' since that's your usual description (which inspired my own use of the term for clarity's sake). As far as I know the actual Grayven of any continuity in this fic has never gained the Sword of the Fallen.

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Pinklestia]

Well, you should be, because his argument is both arrogant and ridiculous.

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Yeah, millions of innocents died so he could become King Of the Hill when said deaths could have been avoided.

But that's the problem with Oh El, in his place, with his resources, he would have done more or less the same.

Is kinda crazy Grayven, new god of Conquest is way more human than Oh El.

No wonder Kyle have up godhood if that's the price of being a god like being using one of the emotional lights.

 

[Steelplaza]

Yeah, millions of innocents died so he could become King Of the Hill when said deaths could have been avoided.

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Millions is an exaggeration.

He nods. "I certainly considered it. I don't know precisely how skilled most members of your Corps are, but assuming that they had a slightly more intense training than the princesses, my estimate was that a force of fifty Lanterns would have reduced the deaths on our side by perhaps ten thousand. And you can add to that another thousand or so test subjects from the psion laboratories. The cost to you would have been between two and four Lanterns, though I agree that your commander would have most likely considered it worthwhile to give the rest field experience."

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So about 11,000 all told, and of those only 1000 were "innocents" in the sense of being helpless Psion test subjects. The other 10,000 were soldiers who died for lack of OL Corps support. I guess you could say that's still a lot of people, but then again it arguably isn't a lot of people when we're talking about a civilization-defining event.

 

[Empty]

The SI would probably try draining off the taint.

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[Coda]

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I dunno, to the best of my knowledge that's sort of the opposite of what usually happens on this forum.

 

[Siskulous]

Random thought, since this is QQ: I sort of wonder how Paul or Grayven would react to finding themselves in the world of the NSFW fan-comic JL Forsaken Souls by Black Pharaoh. The basic plot is that a "godlike" tentacle monster is running around corrupting superheroines into not-succubi-really and having them fuck superheroes to death so that he can steal their powers like a rape- and NTR-powered Amazo - and he started with Mary Marvel and Zatanna, who promptly took over the Watchtower and basically decapitated the Justice League. Naturally Lex Luthor winds up running the Resistance.

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Mary Marvel? As a not-succubi-really screwing male superheroes? Isn't she like 12?

Scuze me. I need to go find some mind bleach now.

 

[Chaoswind]

Millions is an exaggeration.



So about 11,000 all told, and of those only 1000 were "innocents" in the sense of being helpless Psion test subjects. The other 10,000 were soldiers who died for lack of OL Corps support. I guess you could say that's still a lot of people, but then again it arguably isn't a lot of people when we're talking about a civilization-defining event.

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And why do you believe his assessment of the number of test subjects and slaves is accurate? Kori rescued the amount she had from a single facility and she couldn't retreat any longer thanks to the continuous bombardment.
As far as the evidence goes Adam Blake is an asshole that thinks he knows more than anyone else. His grand ego and entitlement are quite overblown considering how he got pwned by the Citadelians.

 

[Vaermina]

As far as the evidence goes Adam Blake is an asshole that thinks he knows more than anyone else. His grand ego and entitlement are quite overblown considering how he got pwned by the Citadelians.

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On the other hand he's a super-intelligent asshole who knows a lot more about Vega then Paul.

 

[Stsword]

Mary Marvel? As a not-succubi-really screwing male superheroes? Isn't she like 12?

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Mary is Billy's twin sister, so they are the same age.

How old Billy is when he meets Shazam has ranged from 10 years old to 15 depending on iteration.

Considering when in the superbuddies team Mary was living as Fire's roommate, and well they met Power Posse including Mistress Mary, I feel it's indicative that even with a sliding timescale Mary was an adult.

As far as the evidence goes Adam Blake is an asshole that thinks he knows more than anyone else.

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Adam Blake is a literally superhumanly intelligent psychic with clairvoyance, empathy, and telepathy.

Knowing more than other people is generally part of his power set.

 

[Gilhelmi]

Another very large "donation" to Lord Hades I see......... A sign of things to come perhaps.

I still want to see Zuse kicked off his throne. Hades is a good candidate, however, Persephone is also very powerful being the Goddess of the Harvest. If Paul could find a way to increase her power and authority, she might stand a chance. Or they have another child specifically to replace Zuse. (she might not love Hades, but if it means changing the world for the better, she might be willing to create a new Ruler of Olympus).

I still want Aries to go be the God of Thanagar. I hope that is what was alluded to in that one chapter.............. Why not both?


Zues is a dick, Aries is a dick, Thanagar are HUGE dicks. I think the lot of them would get along swimmingly.

 

[Lord Ernest]

Not that I know much about Captain Comet in the comics but, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think he has empathic powers and according to the wiki his clairvoyance is, generally, of the 'scrying' type plus limited glimpses of the future if he focuses, apparently.

I mean, he's supposedly super intelligent and I can kind of get his pragmatic realpolitik on the situation in Vega, but I still think he was a dick in not only not calling the Illustres but also creating a quasi-conspiracy to keep him in the dark about the Alliance he was building and the attack they're planning. I was already of the opinion that the Illustres dropped the ball when he left Vega hanging right after destroying the Citadel, that's definitely on him; but he is still the guy that made all of this possible, without him Vega would still be in the shackles of the Citadel Empire (and the Citadelians would probably have their Newtypes). Doesn't that merit even a bit of respect? An opinion at least? Is not like the Illustres would place himself as protector of the Psions, Gordanians and Branx, he would have cared about possible innocents and casualties.

I feel like, supposedly, keeping the Illustres out of the loop was really just to keep the illusion that the Alliance did all of this by themselves, so that they can build Vega without outside influence, but I think that's bullshit as well. The simple fact that the Illustres made all of this possible? His involvement is the rock upon which they can even build anything, no matter how much of an outsider he might be.

 

[Stsword]

Not that I know much about Captain Comet in the comics but, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think he has empathic powers and according to the wiki his clairvoyance is, generally, of the 'scrying' type plus limited glimpses of the future if he focuses, apparently.

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From the wiki Vibro-Sense: An ability which allows him to read the emotions of others.

Aka, empathy.

 

[Aeess]

I wonder at what point this Hades is going to be overwhelmed with the number of souls similar to to fhe Hades in Percy Jackson,
I mean until recently Hades didn't even receive a hundred souls a year, and now hes gomma receive at leadt that many a day. Like sure he likes his Job, but the number of souls hes gonna receive in the next few years is probably more than he received in the last 3000 years, with that many souls he cant even afford to dedicate any significant amount of time to each individual soul like he used to, and all of those souls hooking up to his power source will eventually become noticeable.

 

[Old Knife]

As soon as the Spider Queen finishes studying the Orange Lantern Manual that Paul gave her, and makes the first Orange Spider babies who can call/create their own rings... there's no limit to how many she can make, and the speed she can make them at is rather absurd.

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Or she flash clones stuff with the ring and eats them without anybody knowing.

 

[Maxx Crowley]

You people have terrible memories.

Its probably how the Batman of the future universe IS the Justice lords verse, also this superman was brainwashed by Darkseid made a general "son" and then ordered to gleefully commit genocide on dozens of worlds before being sent to earth, where he recovered his original memories and then returned to murder Darkseid.

So Grayven knows this superman turns into a bad guy if left alone. He also knows this superman has killed a gigaton of people, then killed Darkseid in revenge and finally returned to earth where he eventually became earths Darkseid...

Nope, I don't see any problems. Kal is probably carrying a nasty co pilot in his soul, so the best that can be done with him is to keep him as a powerless farm owner.

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All perhaps true.

But that doesn't have much to do with the original sentiment of Superman being treated absolutely abominable in works outside his series.

 

[Stsword]

But that doesn't have much to do with the original sentiment of Superman being treated absolutely abominable in works outside his series.

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DC pulls that shit with more people than Superman though.

Captain Marvel? Let's see, Kingdom Come he's Lex Luther's brainwormed butler then gets a nuke to the face.

In another elseworld, in a jealous snit because his ex Wonder Woman hooked up with Superman, Billy literally destroyed the Earth. Clark and Diana's son became the last son of earth, rocketed away in a construct spaceship.

In Power Posse from the Crime Syndicate world, Billy is Mistress Mary's sub. I could have done without Billy playing Captain Gimp for his twin sister.

Captain Atom? Turned him into Monarch. Got brainwashed by the government and sold to an alien witch by General Lane. Oh and in Extreme Justice they revealed that Captain Adams never left the Quantum Field, so Captain Atom is just a hunk of space metal pretending to be a human being with someone else's memories. Oh and Captain Adams leaves the Quantum Field and becomes Monarch III.

 

[AverusBlack]

Did the paragon chapter get re-ordered? The story-only thread moved the conversation with Adam Blake, I think.

Does that mean we're skipping a new chapter tonight? I know that happens sometimes.

 

[Mr Zoat]

26th December 2004
23:47 GMT -6

"Hng."

I come to the end of Batman's clearly written and logically structured report on what's been happening since my last visit. The United States 50 is pursuing the same moderate, sensible policy relating to superheroics that the United States 16 is, with the added bonus that SHADE's agents are already used to working under the government's aegis. Other countries are… Well, they've been building up their superhuman development programs ever since the Lords vanished. Even Europe, which back on Earth 16 more or less follows the American laissez faire model, is leaning on superhumans with vigilante inclinations to join the police force if not the military.

China's.. about the same. I somehow suspect that they were actually pretty okay with the Justice Lords taking over America.

I frown.

"Batman, did anywhere approve of the Lords taking over America?"

"A number of countries expressed their support in the immediate aftermath of the summary execution of Lex Luthor. No one wanted a nuclear war."

John shakes his head. "No one with any sense, anyway." He looks a little uncomfortably at Sunset as she sets up a laser drone to project a circle on the floor around him. "Why exactly are you doing this?"

Sunset smiles brightly. "I'm trying to learn how to become a god. I want to get as much data as I can from people who've been empowered by different forces."

"Uh.. huh."

I give him a mild frown. "Have the Guardians been in contact about your empowerment?"

"No. I don't even know if they-" Sunset's sensors glow a faint green, prompting her to give them a puzzled frown. "-know. I've been making a point of avoiding the Rayner kid, so he can't confirm how I'm still using the green light."

I nod. "And how are you doing for resources?"

"We're.. managing. Losing the Javelin will make things a lot harder until we can build another." I raise my eyebrows. "We've been using it to mine asteroids for raw materials. The Watchtower has a foundry which we can use to fabricate what we need to keep things running."

The door to the meeting room opens and Shayera strolls through. "Are you up to date yet?"

"More or less. Never thought of you as an engineer."

She glances at Batman, then shrugs. "We can't just order everything from WayneTech anymore. Or the US space defence budget."

"I think I can help you out here. My Lex Luthor is building starships based on Theodore Knight's designs."

John frowns. "Luthor?"

"Ours is a good deal more rational than yours. And I'm keeping an eye on him. I can have a few dozen cosmic converters brought through in a.. day or so. Ship designs and parts should be simple enough, including a luminal drive. It's a bit different to the warp drives you're used to, but I'm sure that you can adapt." Aaaah… "Actually, I can offer you people to fully staff this place again. There's a synthetic species working for me-."

Batman inclines his head slightly. "The genomorphs."

I nod. "Right. Hm. I'm happy to Awaken you, though if you're anything like Batman Sixteen you'll turn it down. Without that, there's no point in using New God technology… Other than hush tubes? They're the silent version of boom tubes, perfect for stealth insertions-."

Shayera smiles. "And not waking the baby."

"Heck, if you want…" I shrug. "I suppose you can't really spend time on Earth, being former super-dictators. But there's no problem with you spending time on my Earth. You look different enough from our versions of you that I doubt that anyone would spot it."

"I thought the-" She glances at Batman. "-power requirements-."

"Batman building that portal with human technology was amazing, but I use Apokoliptian technology. It's a little more advanced. Still not exactly cheap, but that's what the cosmic converters are for."

Batman nods. "And what do you want in return?"

"Any information you have on my alter-ego. And possibly your help if Scott is in over his head."

Shayera nods and presses a button, causing a screen to appear displaying the region which Grayven 50 controls. Pretty decent going, actually, and far enough away from Apokolips that he doesn't need to worry much about interference. Did he set up there before or after Darkseid's death?

"How long ago did your Darkseid die?"

"Four years ago."

"Do you know how long ago he had New Gordane settled?"

Shayera shrugs. "I saw the same intelligence reports from Hro's command ship that you did. We never found out when it happened because no one was looking that way. The first Thanagar knew about it was when the ships that usually guarded that part of space disappeared. And given the fact that he uses boom tubes, he wouldn't need to move his people by ship."

Batman regards me impassively. "How would you do it?"

"I'd pick a world that was inhabited but primitive. I'd settle in a reasonably empty area and set up widespread farmlands and schools. Nothing planetside is easier to mine than asteroids but my people would need somewhere to live."

John frowns. "Why not set up somewhere uninhabited?"

"Gordanians aren't the best farmers. The locals would be a source of labour, and because they'd benefit from improved technology they probably wouldn't resent being gradually folded into the new civilisation. Gordanians don't breed all that fast, and-."

John raises his eyebrows. "You think he could walk in there and the natives would just accept it?"

"He'd just need to find a settled group that had farming and make a deal. Plus, I assume that he has the same god-voice that I do. If he conquered them, he could use that to ensure that they stayed conquered as long as he treated them with basic decency."

Shayera presses another button, and we get a close-up of the surface of Thanagar. "He's not doing that on Thanagar."

"No, he is. There." I point. "Lizarkon auxiliaries. Almost certainly locals. Given how unified and militant the thanagarian population is… My ability isn't outright mind control, it's a constant mental nudge. Someone who hates him isn't suddenly going to start cooperating, and he's the only one who can do it. But with all the dead in the war, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that the lizarkons now represent an outright majority of the population. He can put a few community leaders into positions of power, give a gordanian clan chief governorship until a local has proven themselves worthy of the role, and his powers will make a neutral party inclined to go along with him."

"And what about my people?"

"If he hasn't killed them all yet then he probably isn't going to. Multi-generational re-education programs? Or…" Oh dear. "Did your Thanagar have the Equality Plague?"

She shifts awkwardly. "Yes."

"That.. might do it. There's no obvious reason for him to have a conflict with Queen Hyathis. She doesn't have any reason to cure it a second time. His god-name might well let him act as Lord High Equalizer. Heck, he might accept Hyathis' vassalage and give the planet to her."

Batman's eyes dip for a moment, then he looks at me. "How does that affect Earth?"

"If he has to stay around to hold the planet, Earth could be safe for decades. If he's able to speed that up… Earth's quite an attractive prospect."

He looks around at his colleagues and nods. "Then we need more information. You'll have our help."