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

[dogbertcarroll]

If the two gods of Conquest go to war, Darkseid will be proud of whichever son wins.

 

[Mr Zoat]

I don't remember if it came up again, but @MrZoat what did Diana/the League end up doing with the power battery lantern that Renegade recovered from Apokalips? (I may have asked this already, so I apologize if so- I'm assuming they just returned it to the Guardians but that might be me remembering your answer).

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It's serving as the Watchtower's primary power source.

 

[LazySloth13]

I can't wait for Paragon Paul to return, not that Grayven's pony adventure isn't entertaining, I just find the discussions about 'Mantling' repetitive and Paul's productive insanity messing with the Status Quo so much other people want him to stop or slow down.

Hell I'd go for more awkward moments/interaction between Overgirl and Canis with the rest of the Team, probably not with Rocket unless it's funny, and more buddy cop antics with Guy.

 

[Stsword]

I believe there is a storyline where Wonder Woman becomes a War god, she can spiritually/psychically commune with every soldier and stuff (which reminds me that I'm looking forward to seeing Ares appear in the story; I don't think this'll happen but Renegade is already Conquest, so him assembling a team of deities resembling the Four Horsemen could be fun, if New 52 stuff hasn't tainted that idea for Zoat).

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Wonder Woman killed Ares to become the god of war in that storyline.

A pre-Flashpoint storyline had Ares kill Hades to become the god of war and death, to become a member of a new Trinity with Athena as the new queen of Olympus. Posiedon played ball, or I suppose Aphrodite would have become the goddess of beauty and the sea maybe.

On the other hand, a New God storyline revealed that has been repeated more than once is that Darkseid is a godkiller.

In the eighties I think, it was revealed that Darkseid had left hundreds of worlds godless. Which would leave Darkseid the god of losing socks when you wash them, rainbows, and instant noodle cups.

 

[ForeverShogo]

Alright. To answer Pizza's question . . .

The comics for MLP had a story arc involving a Mirror Universe. In the Star Trek sense of the term where it's the same people but their morality has been flipped.

The Mane 6 are just a group of unimportant outlaws. Celestia is an evil tyrant with an Egyptian theme. Luna went from evil to good to back to evil, though she wasn't sealed away for 1000 years. Discord is a superhero named Captain Goodguy. (Oh, and the Mirror version of the Apple family are wealthy industrialists.)

There's still an equivalent to the Elements of Harmony, but the virtues are different. Their element bearers are Chrysalis, Trixie, Derpy, and the Flim Flam Brothers.

The leader of the heroes in that universe is King Sombra.

Anyways, a long ass time ago Celestia and Starswirl were experimenting with mirror portals like the one from Equestria Girls. Visiting the multiverse. They stumbled on Equestria's Mirror Universe and Celestia fell for Mirror Sombra. HARD. She repeatedly snuck away to visit him. Starswirl eventually finds out what she's doing and gets super pissed off. Why? Because apparently while it's fine to occasionally travel between universes like that, repeatedly doing so damages the dimensional walls or some such bullshit.

Basically, Celestia's thirst for Sombra dick was risking the destruction of both universes.

Celestia managed to keep her thirst at bay until some shit started going down and Mirror Sombra was in trouble. Instead of going herself, she decides to send in the Mane 6. (As an aside, Mirror Sombra is apparently so good looking that both Rarity and Fluttershy are practically gushing all over the floor from the moment they first see him.)

More shit goes down and Mirror Sombra basically decides to turn Mirror Celestia and Mirror Luna good by forcibly taking their evil into himself. Because apparently you can just suck the evil out of someone and they'll turn good. As a result, Mirror Sombra ends up turning evil but uses his last moments of goodness to basically flee into the wilderness so he won't cause any problems.

=============

Here. A group shot of characters from both universes as well as the mirror universe's version of the Elements.

Fairness. Humility. Wisdom. Love.

 

[Cuchulin]

Mel Gibson can breathe farts for the rest of his horrible, decietful, racist life.

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Seconded!

Alright. To answer Pizza's question . . .

The comics for MLP had a story arc involving a Mirror Universe. In the Star Trek sense of the term where it's the same people but their morality has been flipped.

The Mane 6 are just a group of unimportant outlaws. Celestia is an evil tyrant with an Egyptian theme. Luna went from evil to good to back to evil, though she wasn't sealed away for 1000 years. Discord is a superhero named Captain Goodguy. (Oh, and the Mirror version of the Apple family are wealthy industrialists.)

There's still an equivalent to the Elements of Harmony, but the virtues are different. Their element bearers are Chrysalis, Trixie, Derpy, and the Flim Flam Brothers.

The leader of the heroes in that universe is King Sombra.

Anyways, a long ass time ago Celestia and Starswirl were experimenting with mirror portals like the one from Equestria Girls. Visiting the multiverse. They stumbled on Equestria's Mirror Universe and Celestia fell for Mirror Sombra. HARD. She repeatedly snuck away to visit him. Starswirl eventually finds out what she's doing and gets super pissed off. Why? Because apparently while it's fine to occasionally travel between universes like that, repeatedly doing so damages the dimensional walls or some such bullshit.

Basically, Celestia's thirst for Sombra dick was risking the destruction of both universes.

Celestia managed to keep her thirst at bay until some shit started going down and Mirror Sombra was in trouble. Instead of going herself, she decides to send in the Mane 6. (As an aside, Mirror Sombra is apparently so good looking that both Rarity and Fluttershy are practically gushing all over the floor from the moment they first see him.)

More shit goes down and Mirror Sombra basically decides to turn Mirror Celestia and Mirror Luna good by forcibly taking their evil into himself. Because apparently you can just suck the evil out of someone and they'll turn good. As a result, Mirror Sombra ends up turning evil but uses his last moments of goodness to basically flee into the wilderness so he won't cause any problems.

=============

Here. A group shot of characters from both universes as well as the mirror universe's version of the Elements.

Fairness. Humility. Wisdom. Love.

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See! Derpy is best pony!

 

[lefthandturnsignal]

That film nearly cost me a fifth of my country. Mel Gibson can breathe farts for the rest of his horrible, decietful, racist life.

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Everytime I hear Mel Gibson I immediately think of this.

 

[TheMidnightRook]

Renegade has explicitly referred to his plans, or at least the beginning of plans, for white light manipulation; it came up in his internal narration in one of Ghi'ata's first appearances as a reason for involving himself with her (moreso than just obligation to Aga'po would entail). He has Red (Inspector Talbot), Orange (his original ring and his Corps), Yellow (Sinestro-ring) and is on roughly good terms with some Green Lanterns, and now Ghi'ata. The Indigo Corps should be out there in his timeline, staying under the radar, so while it probably won't be easy, it's still a possibility to get an ally from them. All that leaves is Blue.

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Blue, Indigo, and the incredibly difficult task of actually forging a white power ring. Considering that the anti-life fragment is/was (is it actually gone? It seems like it is but considering how comic books usually work, I tend to be skeptical about any claims that someone/thing is dead) in the process of breaking free, then this actually was the easier way of dealing with it.

If the two gods of Conquest go to war, Darkseid will be proud of whichever son wins.

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Spoiler: This seems relevant

 

[Birdsie]

"We will not. Might we prevail upon you to conduct yourself with greater patience and forbearance in future?"

"I'll-."

I was going to say 'I'll see what I can do', but…

"Yes. I will."

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This reeks of Paul. Not going soft on us, are you, Grayven?

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

That film nearly cost me a fifth of my country. Mel Gibson can breathe farts for the rest of his horrible, decietful, racist life

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...I was making a Doctor Who reference... You know? Peter Davison? "Brave heart, Tegan."
And you are probably joking, I hope...
(Note to self, do not talk about Mel Gibson...)

 

[Bramble Thorn]

Word of Zoat is that New Gods do not share domains, so not in this story.

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Um, I thought the WOZ was that domains were not some universal jurisdiction, but a personal magically empowered focus.

Which meant that if someone had was the New God of Conquest for example, that didn't mean there was come universal list of domains and Grayven had his name engraved next to the Conquest Listing, and anyone else who wanted the job had to either share it with Grayven or replace him entirely.

It meant it was completely possible to have your New God Magically Empowered Focus be extremely similar or even almost completely indistinguishable from an existing one, but it didn't happen because in Apokalyps because the existing New Gods enforced their specialness and unique advantages themselves (normally by killing the contenders).

Like anyone with the proclivity could develop the God Name and domain of Tyranny or Child Abuse, but Darkseid and Granny Goodness would still have 100,000's of years head start in absorbing and incorporating mana into their matrix, as well as 100,000's of years experience in using that domain, and other advantages such as Omega Beams or Indoctrinated New God Enforcers.

Mr Zoat there still seems to bee some uncertainty on the issue. Could you WoZ on the issue again? Only this time, you need to WoZ even harder. WoZ 2: Electric Boogaloo it you will.

Like I repeated multiple times. Renegade started picking up memories frm a childhood he never had. Possibly inheriting traits from the person he was pretending to be, and stole the powerset/godly domain of the person he was pretending to be.

That's not just copying someone. There's bleedover from the real Grayven into him.
Which is a core part of the mantle-gaining process.

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The end result looks like Mantling (Elder Scrolls), but the process is reversed. I don't think Renegade pretending to be Grayven pulled in the actual Grayvens memories using some magical Law of Similarity like you are positing.

I think Desaads Father Box pushed some of Grayvens memories it had access to into Renegade during the whole arcane reconstruction.

He has some serious body-image issues if he genuinely thinks that.

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No so. Something easy to forget after 14 threads, three forums, and millions of words is just how little time has passed in the grand scheme of things.

The story began July 5, 2010. The story is now April 1, 2012.
One year, nine months. That is all.
Not surprising his still sees the body he had for 40 years before that as his 'real' one.

 

[AtomicGeneral25]

The Anti-Life creature doesn't move as the beam reaches it.

"Life = Pain."

It's corny, but… Ah, who am I kidding?

"Friendship = Magic." / "Friendship = Magic!"

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So corny, but so totally worth it!

"Don't you ever make something like that Tantabus again, do you hear me?"

"We will not. Might we prevail upon you to conduct yourself with greater patience and forbearance in future?"

"I'll-."

I was going to say 'I'll see what I can do', but…

"Yes. I will."

I pull back, and for the first time in over a year smile with my own face.

"I'll see you in the morning."

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Character development and emotional growth from Graven, always good to see!


I did have one question after reading this though. Now a-days, Graven has absolutely no problem convincing people that he's Graven, son of Darksied. But that wasn't always the case. Any one on the team or the league would remember him before he took Block (Venom?)buster and made all of those modifications that culminated in him impersonating Graven. Do they know that he is faking it? If not, can someone remind me how he convinced them that he was genuinely born a new god?

 

[Sockmonkey]

Eh, Pinkie Pie evens it out. I've not seen a LOT of MLP - mostly I've just been in the room not really paying attention while my kids watch it - but Pinkie Pie seems to me to be able to tap into the Toon Force. That's some serious power, enough to rival Darkseid all on its own. Provided it's funny.

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See, I figured that Discord banged a pony centuries ago, so random bits of reality-warping chaos magic show up in that bloodline now and then. Pinkie is one such descendant.

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th March 2018
14:12 GMT -6

The dull rumble of the camper van's engine, the soft breathing of my new comrades in arms and rustling of their clothing all blur together in a wondrous symphony of existence. On those few occasions I bother to reflect upon it, I mourn the time which my former self spent without the benefit of my current ability set. I can't even really work up any sort of irritation about the situation which I find myself-

"Okay, I'm just gunna say it." I hear the slight creak of the table between us as Mr Harkness leans closer. "No way are you really an angel."

The slight pfsss of his seat exhaling air as he leans his weight against the backrest.

And I open my eyes, and smile at him. "That's quite alright. May I say that for the longest time I have regarded you as the bravest man in supervillainy?"

Over to my right Mr Turner is staring at me in a way which.. not too long ago would have made me uncomfortable. I get that reaction from a wide range of monotheists; usually those who haven't bothered keeping up with superheroic news.

"You what?"

"The Flash can move and think at the speed of light. You fight him armed with boomerangs. That is an extremely unequal struggle, and I imagine that it takes a man of considerable courage to take up such a challenge."

"Well… I don't like to brag or anything…"

Ms Frost slumps forwards a little, staring intently out of one of the side windows. "Yeeeeeah."

Mr Harkness' eyes dart her way for a moment, then return to me. "Just because you clearly appreciate my virtues, that doesn't mean I'm about to start singing kumbaya."

"I've heard you singing, Boomer." Mr Lawton keeps his eyes fixed on the road. "If he's convinced you to spare me hearing it again he might actually have been sent by God."

"No, I mean, he's probably one of those Thanagarians or something. And I heard a story in the news a while back about a crazy doctor in Nevada who stuck albatross wings on some woman's back. Something like that." He watches my face for a moment, waiting for me to respond. I merely smile beatifically. "I mean, why would an actual angel end up with us?"

"Doctor Waller has something which I want. I may have been able to take it by force, but I preferred to negotiate. Her terms were not too onerous, so I accepted."

"You volunteered?"

He looks around in an attempt to gauge the feelings of the room. Mr Park flicks out his tongue, but otherwise gives no sign of having been listening. Ms Frost tilts her head slightly, the back of her head leant against the window as she lazily looks our way. Dr Quinzel grins, though I'm not really sure what -if anything- she's grinning at. Mr Turner just glares at him, but he's been doing that for nearly the entire trip.

"I don't believe for a moment that anyone would work with Waller if they had an actual choice in the matter."

"May I say how impressed I am by your remarkable facility for throw-."

"Is that some kind of angel-thing?"

"I'm sorry, but I thought that you didn't believe-."

"Acting." His eyes move away for a moment. "That's what it is."

Mr Lawton sighs. "At the risk of sounding like I'm agreeing with Boomer, we do actually need to know exactly what you can do. Do those wings come with any special powers, or do they just make you a better target?"

"A most reasonable question. I have strength and endurance above baseline human norms, I am entirely immune to poisons, toxins and diseases, I am capable of flight and… Basic theurgy. Though I would caution you not to rely upon it too heavily."

"Hah." Ms Frost's laugh sounds decidedly unamused. "Last thing anyone here's gunna do is rely on anyone else."

Dr Quinzel nods. "It probably would be the last thing."

I raise my eyebrows slightly. "That was a bit obvious."

She shrugs. "Eh. You work with the material you got."

Mr Harkness squints and shakes his head. "And 'theurgy' is..? What, exactly?"

"The evocation of God to bring about a change in the world." Mr Turner directs a smouldering glare at Mr Harkness. "The magic of angels and saints."

I nod. "Given Task Force X death rates, I imagine that my healing abilities will be most in demand. That, and the fact that I should be able to.. hear the card once we are close enough. Since none of us have seen it, it will simplify things if we can tell the genuine article from a fake."

"Stubbed my toe earlier." Mr Harkness lifts his left leg up and drops his boot-encased foot onto the table. "Think you could take a look at-."

I open my mouth slightly, and a throbbing rumbling low note emerges from somewhere not even remotely connected to my vocal cords as I access that part of the underlying fabric of reality which corresponds to Mr Harkness' foot. There is a small amount of bruising, a minor deformity of the bones where they appear to have been broken at some point. A slight change of pitch and the harm is undone as if it never was.

I close my mouth. "Better?"

The rest of the squad is staring at me, Mr Lawton even glancing around from the windscreen. Mr Harkness' eyes are wide, and he puts his foot back on the floor at once.

"Huh." Dr Quinzel looks mildly curious. "I figured you was a fake too. Guess I was wrowng."

"No, Doctor Quinzel, I am a fake. But just as a fake of an Old Master can still be an excellent painting in its own right, I still have.. abilities of my own."

"This I gotta hear." Ms Frost actually looks mildly interested. "How do you 'fake' being an angel?"

"Not so long ago I found myself in a strange land inhabited by-" I look at Mr Park. "-all manner of strange and dangerous people possessing bizarre and powerful abilities. And so I decided that I'd quite like some of that for myself. There is a weak but exceedingly skilled magician in London by the name of John Constantine. I offered him a large sum of money if he could.. point me in the right direction." And I got him drunk after confirming that his confrontation with Gabriel happened here. "He had these-" I flap them slightly. "-in storage. Attaching them was a simple enough matter." And the reason why the power ring which I arrived with is completely dead. But that was going to happen eventually anyway. The wings are a good investment. "Learning to use them was-" A pain in the arse. "-a bit of a trial, but well worth the investment."

"You're a.. fraud."

I smile. "I don't tell people that I'm an angel, Mister Turner. And I don't claim to be acting on God's behalf."

"The card." There's a sharpness in Mr Lawton's tone that wasn't there before. "Are you saying it actually works?"

I nod. "I don't know whether or not the card we've been sent after is genuine, but there is such a card, certainly. It works exactly as described."

"You have it on you when die, you go to heaven."

"Hah! No, don't be absurd. The one who made it has no authority in Heaven. Why would God build moral law into the fabric of the universe and then instruct his creations to allow it to be bypassed by a card?"

"You said-."

"That it works exactly as described, yes. It gets you out of hell. You die and.. if you're damned, you can present it.. and.. you get to come back. Alternatively, another can use it on your behalf to bring you back."

Ms Frost look thoughtful. "Who made it?"

"A few years ago there was a series of coordinated attacks by supervillains. I believe that the newspaper headline was 'Underworld Unleashed'. Some of the participants were given… Enhancements. Ocean Master received a trident which-."

"I remember that!" Doctor Quinzel beams. "Jokah sold his soul for a box of cigaws!"

"Yes. And given that he was the only one who kept his gift after the Justice League won, that may have been a better trade than it sounds."

"Joker's soul, box of cigars…" Mr Harkness weighs it up for a moment, then shrugs. "So whoever made that trade made the card?" I nod. "Trades in souls, can let people out of hell. Demon, then."

I nod. "His name is Neron."

Ms Frost waves her right forefinger in a short circle. "Why does a demon want to let people out of Hell?"

"For the havoc they'll create fighting over the card. And because it's a one shot deal. If they don't buck their ideas up they'll go right back there when they die a second time." I shrug. "Why should he care about having to wait for a few more decades to get his prize?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

Mr Zoat there still seems to bee some uncertainty on the issue. Could you WoZ on the issue again? Only this time, you need to WoZ even harder. WoZ 2: Electric Boogaloo it you will.

Click to shrink...

No! I'm not encouraging any more discussion on this largely irrelevant topic.

 

[King of Frost]

Well now this is an interesting alternate Paul.

And I see you finally bought the DLC Mr. Zoat. Are you gonna play it on your main Orange save file like you wanted to before?

 

[DrThoth]

So Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay then, which I'm fairly sure is in the same continuity as Assault on Arkham (i enjoyed the latter movie more than the former). I don't remember too many specifics from the movie (though definitely the male stripper as Doctor Fate) but it should be fun. I feel like the line-up has changed a bit here though from canon (more of a blend of the casts from both movies, if I recall correctly), besides the obvious inclusion of an SI. The main antagonist was a near-dead Reverse-Flash, so Angel-Paul might possibly just neutralize him as a threat by healing him, though that might be too complicated for his relative inexperience, given the temporal shenanigans involved. Angel-Paul does seem like he'd be the most committed to rehabilitation out of all the Pauls, save perhaps Indigo Saul.

Where did Angel-Paul get his knowledge from? John Constantine or some side-effect of having Gabriel's wings and power? And I'm wondering what the deal he made with Waller is; does he get the card after she uses it? Also, I wasn't aware she was a Doctor.

I don't really see how Fratricide applies as a title, unless it's a religious communal 'everyone is a brother/sister' kind of thing, or angels and demons consider themselves siblings.
I imagine the end of this mini-arc will be the Hand coming to collect Angel-Paul; I look forward to seeing his interactions with his other selves.

 

[Handlewithcare]

That Paul is the one with the weirdest mental architecture.

If your plan is not "get Lantern" but "implant angel wings" then that speaks of some underlying...differentness.

 

[KillingYouNicely]

So Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay then, which I'm fairly sure is in the same continuity as Assault on Arkham (i enjoyed the latter movie more than the former). I don't remember too many specifics from the movie (though definitely the male stripper as Doctor Fate) but it should be fun. I feel like the line-up has changed a bit here though from canon (more of a blend of the casts from both movies, if I recall correctly), besides the obvious inclusion of an SI.

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Actually, the line up doesn't seem to have changed at all. Deadshot, Quinn, Frost, Copperhead, Boomerang and Bronze Tiger is the full team up from that movie. The card itself feels more accurately DC-worthy than the version in the movie, though.

Honestly, I always hated that they killed off so many awesome characters in the animated Suicide Squad movies. Copperhead in particular was an amazing snark character that I was sad to see die.

 

[DrThoth]

Actually, the line up doesn't seem to have changed at all. Deadshot, Quinn, Frost, Copperhead, Boomerang and Bronze Tiger is the full team up from that movie. The card itself feels more accurately DC-worthy than the version in the movie, though.

Honestly, I always hated that they killed off so many awesome characters in the animated Suicide Squad movies. Copperhead in particular was an amazing snark character that I was sad to see die.

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I only remember Frost from the Arkham movie, so I just assumed she wouldn't be in both, and was too lazy to Google it.

While it can be sad, the deaths are of course the whole point of the Suicide Squad, and it's nice to see Death is Cheap being averted.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

27th March 2018
14:12 GMT -6

The dull rumble of the camper van's engine, the soft breathing of my new comrades in arms and rustling of their clothing all blur together in a wondrous symphony of existence. On those few occasions I bother to reflect upon it, I mourn the time which my former self spent without the benefit of my current ability set. I can't even really work up any sort of irritation about the situation which I find myself-

Click to shrink...

For a moment, I assumed he had a Grey ring of Apathy, but then I remembered, that's only a meme.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Okay, I'm just gunna say it." I hear the slight creak of the table between us as Mr Harkness leans closer. "No way are you really an angel."

The slight pfsss of his seat exhaling air as he leans his weight against the backrest.

Click to shrink...

I suppose with angelic powers, you have a much greater awareness of sounds in your environment.

And I open my eyes, and smile at him. "That's quite alright. May I say that for the longest time I have regarded you as the bravest man in supervillainy?"

Over to my right Mr Turner is staring at me in a way which.. not too long ago would have made me uncomfortable. I get that reaction from a wide range of monotheists; usually those who haven't bothered keeping up with superheroic news.

Click to shrink...

I'm picturing a mix of shock (at the reality of an angel), horror (that he looks like you) and maybe some disgust (based on behaviour)...

"You what?"

"The Flash can move and think at the speed of light. You fight him armed with boomerangs. That is an extremely unequal struggle, and I imagine that it takes a man of considerable courage to take up such a challenge."

Click to shrink...

Especially since he's slightly overweight depending on timing, not particularly smart and likely drunk at any given moment.

"Well… I don't like to brag or anything…"

Ms Frost slumps forwards a little, staring intently out of one of the side windows. "Yeeeeeah."

Click to shrink...

'Press X to Doubt.'

Mr Harkness' eyes dart her way for a moment, then return to me. "Just because you clearly appreciate my virtues, that doesn't mean I'm about to start singing kumbaya."

"I've heard you singing, Boomber." Mr Lawton keeps his eyes fixed on the road. "If he's convinced you to spare me hearing it again he might actually have been sent by God."

Click to shrink...

"To be blunt, Mr Harkness' singing is quite likely enough to get him damned, yes..."

"No, I mean, he's probably one of those Thanagarians or something. And I heard a story in the news a while back about a crazy doctor in Nevada who stuck albatross wings on some woman's back. Something like that." He watches my face for a moment, waiting for me to respond. I merely smile beatifically. "I mean, why would an actual angel end up with us?"

Click to shrink...

Nice mention of the U-Men... And you never know, he might be a Guardian Angel for one of you. In which case his existence would be suffering...

"Doctor Waller has something which I want. I may have been able to take it by force, but I preferred to negotiate. Her terms were not too onerous, so I accepted."

"You volunteered?"

Click to shrink...

"Is that so strange? Has anyone not agreed to this deal before? It's basically incentivised volunteering..."

He looks around in an attempt to gage the feelings of the room. Mr Park flicks out his tongue, but otherwise gives no sign of having been listening. Ms Frost tilts her head slightly, the back of her head lent against the window as she lazily looks our way. Dr Quinzel grins, though I'm not really sure what -if anything- she's grinning at. Mr Turner just glares at him, but he's been doing that for nearly the entire trip.

Click to shrink...

After all, Bronze Tiger doesn't really consider himself a villain... And a Copperhead as the obligatory redshirt. Nice.

"I don't believe for a moment that anyone would work with Waller if they had an actual choice in the matter."

"May I say how impressed I am by your remarkable facility for throw-."

Click to shrink...

Keep this up, he may decide you're making fun of him...

"Is that some kind of angel-thing?"

"I'm sorry, but I thought that you didn't believe-."

"Acting." His eyes move away for a moment. "That's what it is."

Click to shrink...

Ah, no, he's already decided you're an arsehole.

Mr Lawton sighs. "At the risk of sounding like I'm agreeing with Boomer, we do actually need to know exactly what you can do. Do those wings come with any special powers, or do they just make you a better target?"

"A most reasonable question. I have strength and endurance above baseline human norms, I am entirely immune to poisons, toxins and diseases, I am capable of flight and… Basic theurgy. Though I would caution you not to rely upon it too heavily."

Click to shrink...

Basically, Angelica Blaze without the experience.

"Hah." Ms Frost's laugh sounds decidedly unamused. "Last thing anyone here's gunna do is rely on anyone else."

Dr Quinzel nods. "It probably would be the last thing."

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<uuurgh> Low hanging fruit, Harley.

I raise my eyebrows slightly. "That was a bit obvious."

She shrugs. "Eh. You work with the material you got."

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Sometimes you just shouldn't.

Mr Harkness squints and shakes his head. "And 'theurgy' is..? What, exactly?"

"The evocation of God to bring about a change in the world." Mr Turner directs a smouldering glare at Mr Harkness. "The magic of angels and saints."

Click to shrink...

Sounds like he's a real believer.

I nod. "Given Task Force X death rates, I imagine that my healing abilities will be most in demand. That, and the fact that I should be able to.. hear the card once we are close enough. Since none of us have seen it, it will simplify things if we can tell the genuine article from a fake."

"Stubbed my toe earlier." Mr Harkness lifts his left leg up and drops his boot-encased foot onto the table. "Think you could take a look at-."

Click to shrink...

Really? Petty, aren't you?

I open my mouth slightly, and a throbbing rumbling low note emerges from somewhere not even remotely connected to my vocal cords as I access that part the underlying fabric of reality which corresponds to Mr Harkess' foot. There is a small amount of bruising, a minor deformity of the bones where they appear to have been broken at some point. A slight change of pitch and the harm is undone as if it never was.

Click to shrink...

And I can't help but picture a heavy metal power chord...

I close my mouth. "Better?"

The rest of the squad is staring at me, Mr Lawton even glancing around from the windscreen. Mr Harkness' eyes are wide, and he puts his foot back on the floor at once.

Click to shrink...

If anyone had been smoking, the cigarette would have dropped out of their mouth right then.

"Huh." Dr Quinzel looks mildly curious. "I figured you was a fake too. Guess I was wrowng."

"No, Doctor Quinzel, I am a fake. But just as a fake of an Old Master can still be an excellent painting in its own right, I still have.. abilities of my own."

Click to shrink...

Interesting how he seems to speak slowly and delibarately. A side-effect of mainlining heavenly power without a soul?

"This I gotta hear." Ms Frost actually looks mildly interested. "How do you 'fake' being an angel?"

"Not so long ago I found myself in a strange land inhabited by-" I look at Mr Park. "-all manner of strange and dangerous people possessing bizarre and powerful abilities. And so I decided that I'd quite like some of that for myself. There is a weak but exceedingly skilled magician in London by the name of John Constantine. I offered him a large sum of money if he could.. point me in the right direction." And I got him drunk after confirming that his confrontation with Gabriel happened here. "He had these-" I flap them slightly. "-in storage. Attaching them was a simple enough matter." And the reason why the power ring which I arrived with is completely dead. But that was going to happen eventually anyway. The wings are a good investment. "Learning to use them was-" A pain in the arse. "-a bit of a trial, but well worth the investment."

Click to shrink...

His entire backstory summed up in one paragraph. Nicely done.

"You're a.. fraud."

I smile. "I don't tell people that I'm an angel, Mister Turner. And I don't claim to be acting on God's behalf."

Click to shrink...

"And it's not even lying. Amazing, is it not? I just let people jump to their own conclusions..."

"The card." There's a sharpness in Mr Lawton's tone that wasn't there before. "Are you saying it actually works?"

I nod. "I don't know whether or not the card we've been sent after is genuine, but there is such a card, certainly. It works exactly as described."

Click to shrink...

It's not an Ace of Spades, is it?

"You have it on you when die, you go to heaven."

"Hah! No, don't be absurd. The one who made it has no authority in Heaven. Why would God build moral law into the fabric of the universe and then instruct his creations to allow it to be bypassed by a card?"

Click to shrink...

Well, Angels do get access to the universe's own developer cheat codes...

"You said-."

"That it works exactly as described, yes. It gets you out of hell. You die and… if you're damned, you can present it.. and.. you get to come back. Alternately, another can use it on your behalf to bring you back."

Click to shrink...

And every person in this bus besides him will want to use it for themselves. Backstabbing expected.

Ms Frost look thoughtful. "Who made it?"

"A few years ago there was a series of coordinated attacks by supervillains. I believe that the newspaper headline was 'Underworld Unleashed'. Some of the participants were given… Enhancements. Ocean Master received a trident which-."

Click to shrink...

Ah, yes. One of the few decent crossovers in the period between Crises.

"I remember that!" Doctor Quinzel beams. "Jokah sold his soul for a box of cigaws!"

"Yes. And given that he was the only one who kept his gift after the Justice League won, that may have been a better trade than it sounds."

Click to shrink...

And his soul was going to the bad place anyway. Why not get some good stogies from it?

"Joker's soul, box of cigars…" Mr Harkness weighs it up for a moment, then shrugs. "So whoever made that trade made the card?" I nod. "Trades in souls, can let people out of hell. Demon, then."

I nod. "His name is Neron."

Click to shrink...

"A Minor Lord of no great note otherwise."

Ms Frost waves her right forefinger in a short circle. "Why does a demon want to let people out of Hell?"

"For the havoc they'll create fighting over the card. And because it's a one shot deal. If they don't buck their ideas up they'll go right back there when they die a second time." I shrug. "Why should he care about having to wait for a few more decades to get his prize?"

Click to shrink...

Ah, playing the long game. Because the people who would use the card generally aren't the type to change their ways.

An interesting diversion. Hopefully we'll see more of him another time. But for now: Bring on the music!

Corrections:

"I've heard you singing, Boomber."

Click to shrink...

"I've heard you singing, Boomer."

He looks around in an attempt to gage the feelings of the room.

Click to shrink...

He looks around in an attempt to gauge the feelings of the room.

 

[Tzeentch]

"You're a.. fraud."

I smile. "I don't tell people that I'm an angel, Mister Turner. And I don't claim to be acting on God's behalf."

Click to shrink...

ANY good done for anyone could be considered "acting on God's behalf" though. Certainly far more than how DC/Vertigo Gabriel behaved, definitely.

And the fact The Presence hasn't sent angels to do some smiting speaks well for him in my opinion!

On a side note, given the Suicide Squad animated movies take place in the Arkham Games universe, I wonder if Angel Paul will have a meaningful encounter with Jason, and turn him and his mercenary army from the path of destruction.

 

[KillingYouNicely]

I only remember Frost from the Arkham movie, so I just assumed she wouldn't be in both, and was too lazy to Google it.

While it can be sad, the deaths are of course the whole point of the Suicide Squad, and it's nice to see Death is Cheap being averted.

Click to shrink...

I mean, he was killed for the sole reason that he was close enough to Frost for Waller to use his bomb to kill them both, so his death... kinda was cheap, heh.

But yeah, I get it. Considering they also killed off Vandal Savage in that movie? Those movies take it seriously.

 

[Stsword]

That Paul is the one with the weirdest mental architecture.

If your plan is not "get Lantern" but "implant angel wings" then that speaks of some underlying...differentness.

Click to shrink...

Most of the colors don't have the power to change color alignment like orange (or violet and white in the comics) or replenish themselves with ambient emotions like blue, so the creativity might have been inspired by necessity more than anything else.

Although a blue lantern alt.Paul who went angel as a sort of Renegade version of blue lantern Paul would be a most effective combo. Theurgy and flying around with angel wings to get by and inspire hope, to refill the ring....

 

[BlueMangoAdea]

I wonder if Paragon!Paul would give lanterns to his alt-selfs without lanterns.

 

[Vaermina]

"Not so long ago I found myself in a strange land inhabited by-" I look at Mr Park. "-all manner of strange and dangerous people possessing bizarre and powerful abilities. And so I decided that I'd quite like some of that for myself. There is a weak but exceedingly skilled magician in London by the name of John Constantine. I offered him a large sum of money if he could.. point me in the right direction." And I got him drunk after confirming that his confrontation with Gabriel happened here. "He had these-" I flap them slightly. "-in storage. Attaching them was a simple enough matter." And the reason why the power ring which I arrived with is completely dead. But that was going to happen eventually anyway. The wings are a good investment. "Learning to use them was-" A pain in the arse. "-a bit of a trial, but well worth the investment."

Click to shrink...

It says something when going to John Constantine and having him graft Angel wings to your back is still a smarter idea then what Grayven did with the Father Box.

 

[FreeGod]

Interesting how he seems to speak slowly and delibarately. A side-effect of mainlining heavenly power without a soul?

Click to shrink...

I expect it has more to do with alot of religious people giving his words WAY too much weight so he has gotten in the habit of watching them.

 

[Bramble Thorn]

No! I'm not encouraging any more discussion on this largely irrelevant topic.

Click to shrink...

Feeling rather jilted here. You've been answering all of Darko's questions. What am I, chopped liver?

 

[KillingYouNicely]

I expect it has more to do with alot of religious people giving his words WAY too much weight so he has gotten in the habit of watching them.

Click to shrink...

To me, it feels similar to being part of the Indigo Core. I never thought about that being a thing outside of the indigo light, interesting.

 

[Darko]

Bramble jealousy doesn't suit you.

Anyway nice chapter.
Still you really are pushing the boundaries of realism with this chapter Zoat.
I mean dealing with Constantine and coming out of it better is just plain ridiculous

But seriously what does Angel Paul want from Waller?