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

[Idkusername]

I was considering taking a break from the thread so that I could binge all of this delicious episode together, but it seems we're past the setup.

 

[Vaermina]

He shakes his head, frowning slightly. "Who?"

Click to shrink...

I guess it's too early in his timeline for the Brotherhood of Evil arc.

 

[Darko]

Jade is a fairly minor character overall, so it makes sense he would have never heard of her.

 

[Cuchulin]

I guess it's too early in his timeline for the Brotherhood of Evil arc.

Click to shrink...

That or the last name confuses him.

 

[Shotiegun11]

"I also need to locate your version of Jade Nguyen. Apparently she's the second pick."

He shakes his head, frowning slightly. "Who?"

Click to shrink...

The Next Update:

"Cheshire? Vietnamese-American League of Shadows assassin. Maybe tried to nuke a counrty in another alternate reality?"

"Ah, her." He doesn't grimace so much as grin in a way I find unsett- Ah, I... see. "Yeah, she's dead. Killed her a few months ago when she almost nuked South Rhelasia. Got her skull at my place if you just need whatever is left."

 

[DAT_NOOB]

"Angelika, I never thought to ask. Do you have a significant other waiting for you back home?"

She doesn't look at me, instead peering at the coastline.

"I told you. I am infertile."

Ring, when and where?

3rd January 2005
21:36 GMT -5

"And I do not appreciate you bringing it up."

"I'm… Okay, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to rub it in, but there are probably plenty of people who wouldn't care, and then there's adoption or biotechnolo-."

"Are you going to tell Jade Nguyen?"

"Ah? Tell her what?"

Ring, find me.

I think I can manage that.

A violet waypoint appears in my visual field and I fly towards it. After a momentary delay Angelika follows.

"About your feelings."

"I-." She's clearly referring to something that I've missed. "So that we don't spend the next ten minutes talking past each other, could you please assume that I've got no idea what you're talking about and just tell me directly?"

"Violet rings are catalysed by love. You were able to use it to… 'Help' me, then you asked if I was dating someone. I had wondered why you were so much more eager to spend time with me than your friends."

"Ahh-?"

Oh. Okay. She…

"You know that these don't depend solely on-."

"-on romantic love, yes. Is that what you are claiming? That what you feel is not romantic love? Even after asking me if I am single?"

Of all the conversations I didn't think I'd be having today…

"Angelika, I like you, but I'm perfectly happy with the relationship that I'm in."

"That does not stop some people."

"I'm not carrying on behind Jade's back and -attractive as you are- I don't plan on starting. While I'm sympathetic to your situation, your intense racism is simply too unpleasant, and with my empathic vision I see it all the time."

A coastal city up ahead. Neither it not the area around it precisely map onto anywhere in America 16, but-.

There's a.. tower shaped like a 'T' on a small island oh gods I'm in Teen Titans. A Red Lantern me ended up here?

"Ah." Angelika seems to cringe slightly in the air. "I… Ah. I apologise-."

"Don't worry about it. Harmless mistake." I flash her a reassuring smile but she's.. shut down. Gone into full business mode. We'll talk about it later. Possibly with Harleen? "Can you see anything?"

Click to shrink...

Paul that is entirely your fault and you know it, I'm certain you aren't that dense what other possible reason could she have taken from that and considering the question she is remaining remarkably calm.
If you keep this up your density will create another harem

 

[Radiant Knight]

I guess it's too early in his timeline for the Brotherhood of Evil arc.

Click to shrink...

No, our Paul just mentioned knowing about her in Teen Titans, so it's more likely the memory of the setting he's in getting deleted. Our Paul doesn't have cartoon memories of Earth 16, this Paul doesn't remember Teen Titans, etc.

 

[Aeess]

He probably killed her considering his own occupation, now that I think about it Anit Green Paul probably did as well.

 

[Agent Orange]

He probably killed her considering his own occupation, now that I think about it Anit Green Paul probably did as well.

Click to shrink...

Last Anti Green chapter has him Krona snatched alongside local version of Jade so probably not?

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

Angelika and I float in the air off the Atlantic coast, the portal swirling shut behind us.

"Ring, when and-?"

I exhale sharply through my nose, bowing my head. No, can't do it like that any more.

Click to shrink...

Still, you are adapting quite quickly to the mindset needed... Joy of being a power ring specialisation build.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Angelika, I never thought to ask. Do you have a significant other waiting for you back home?"

She doesn't look at me, instead peering at the coastline.

"I told you. I am infertile."

Click to shrink...

You know, I'm sure between the Jor-El simulacrum and the Dru-Zod one, they should be able to fix that...

Ring, when and where?

3rd January 2005
21:36 GMT -5

Click to shrink...

Thank you, Internet time-clock. Interesting that he was able to use affection for Overgirl to access it.

"And I do not appreciate you bringing it up."

"I'm… Okay, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to rub it in, but there are probably plenty of people who wouldn't care, and then there's adoption or biotechnolo-."

Click to shrink...

And she grabs the wrong end of the stick in three... Two...

"Are you going to tell Jade Nguyen?"

"Ah? Tell her what?"

Click to shrink...

Yup. She's just assumed he's hot for her, because Violet Ring... But there's more than one form of love...

Ring, find me.

I think I can manage that.

Click to shrink...

Imagine hearing that snark in your grandmother's voice...

A violet waypoint appears in my visual field and I fly towards it. After a momentary delay Angelika follows.

"About your feelings."

Click to shrink...

Time for your true superpower: Common Sense!

"I-." She's clearly referring to something that I've missed. "So that we don't spend the next ten minutes talking past each other, could you please assume that I've got no idea what you're talking about and just tell me directly?"

"Violet rings are catalysed by love. You were able to use it to… 'Help' me, then you asked if I was dating someone. I had wondered why you were so much more eager to spend time with me than your friends."

Click to shrink...

I hope she likes the taste of her boot leather...

"Ahh-?"

Oh. Okay. She…

Click to shrink...

Yes. She is. It's your own fault. How can someone so sensible be so oblivious?

"You know that these don't depend solely on-."

"-on romantic love, yes. Is that what you are claiming? That what you feel is not romantic love? Even after asking me if I am single?"

Click to shrink...

Let's see: Sibling love, close friendship (such as 'Nakama')... There's also 'Love for fellow men' though that comes dangerously close to straight Compassion...

Of all the conversations I didn't think I'd be having today…

"Angelika, I like you, but I'm perfectly happy with the relationship that I'm in."

"That does not stop some people."

Click to shrink...

"Well, I'm not 'some people'."

"I'm not carrying on behind Jade's back and -attractive as you are- I don't plan on starting. While I'm sympathetic to your situation, your intense racism is simply too unpleasant, and with my empathic vision I see it all the time."

Click to shrink...

Blunt, but necessary. I hope she can respect that...

A coastal city up ahead. Neither it not the area around it precisely map onto anywhere in America 16, but-.

There's a.. tower shaped like a 'T' on a small island oh gods I'm in Teen Titans. A Red Lantern me ended up here?

Click to shrink...

It could be worse, OL, it could be worse.

"Ah." Angelika seems to cringe slightly in the air. "I… Ah. I apologise-."

"Don't worry about it. Harmless mistake." I flash her a reassuring smile but she's.. shut down. Gone into full business mode. We'll talk about it later. Possibly with Harleen? "Can you see anything?"

Click to shrink...

Yeah, she's gonna need some girl talk to sort that out...

"A group of metahumans are fighting either soldiers in power armour or combat robots. They are shielded against my vision so I cannot see inside."

Click to shrink...

I do hope they can be scanned, if only to avoid the messier outcome...

I see clouds of brick and concrete dust drifting through the air in several places, while a.. few small fires are burning in a couple of places. The local fire brigade appears to be following the same sort of rules of engagement as their America 16 alter egos; hanging way back to douse the area of the fire more to keep them from spreading than to put them out. They can't risk bringing enough people into the area of a metahuman fight to put it out properly.

Click to shrink...

A sensible practice. Don't want to get hit by flying debris, such as some invulnerable punk getting tossed.

No freeze rays, though. Are there people in the buildings, or do they just not have them?

"Follow me."

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I doubt Raul has had the time or connections to do the uplift thing. Probably as a side-effect of the Rage.

I fly off the coast and down one of the main roads. I can see my objective up ahead, his anger and hate focused into a scalpel-point. But just under that, his intense love for… Komand'r, apparently. I thought that the Teen Titan version of her was kind of a psycho, but I suppose that their version of Jade wasn't any better.

And… Quite a bit younger, if I remember correct-

Click to shrink...

Oh, don't worry, they sorted that out themselves. Bonding over the flayed skull of an interplanetary tyrant, if I remember it right?

"No man escapes the Manhunters!"

-ly.

A surprisingly female-looking robot shoots off the ground below, the pulse plasma guns built into its forearms opening fire!

Click to shrink...

"When did the Guardians start putting breasts on their robot soldiers?"

Not confident of my ability to block shots from a Manhunter with this ring, I opt to evade and leave the smashing to my companion.

"Robot! Smash away!"

Click to shrink...

Ah, just the thing to work out some annoyance at her ally's obliviousness.

Shots from its forearms strobe through the air, missing me and mostly hitting nothing. A few punch through the windows and walls of the surrounding buildings. That need to st-.

Angelika blinks twice, red rays burning through the cowling around the Manhunter's guns and causing a flashback in the fuel cell. The forearms explode, the Manhunter wheeling to face the new thre-.

Click to shrink...

Too slow. These Manhunters may be tough, but they're not up to resisting Kryptonians one-on-one.

Angelika's there and ripping, some.. thing coming out of its chest and being tossed aside, another flash of heat vision burning through its eyes, blinding it for the fraction of a second it remains whole before she shoves her hands deeper and pulls it in two.

Then she floats down to street level and carefully puts them down, so as to not add to the property damage.

Click to shrink...

...Okay. Hell of a shift from Doomguy-tier 'Rip and tear! Huge Guts!' to calm consideration for property damage. Wow.

"Where does this robot keep its memory?"

I float down after her and give it a scan.

Click to shrink...

See, getting the hang of it! Your only real problem now will be charging it...

"Not sure. Guardians don't share data on Manhunter layouts, and these are different enough to the models the Controllers are familiar with that I'm not sure how much is applic-. No, there it is."

I point to an armoured compartment where the lower lungs would be in a human.

Click to shrink...

So, just below the breasts. Yoink! and a little Giggity.

"Long term data storage. We'll be lucky if we can actually read it, but-."

"-last one, so if I find it first then-."

Click to shrink...

Ah, your objective. Business face on, OL.

Komand'r 32 and my own alter ego fly out of a side street and immediately spot us. I raise my right hand in greeting.

"Good evening, me."

Click to shrink...

Ah, the blasé attitude of someone who's met other versions of himself before.

He looks… Thinner, and he has the characteristic glowing irises which often accompany ring usage. But he's not spitting acid blood, which is a good sign.

"No, just an evening."

Click to shrink...

Well, your dinner date got busted up. The only thing that can save the evening now is ultra-violence!

"Ah, Red?" Komand'r floats a little closer to him, the purple plasma around her hands fading slightly. "You got a brother you didn't tell me about?"

"Parallel universe." / "Parallel universe."

Click to shrink...

I'm picturing OL's version being all 'yes, yes, nothing special' while Raul is pleasantly interested.

He raises his eyebrows slightly. "Old hat for you?"

"You're the second 'us' I've actually met. But we've all got a problem. Krona the Fallen Guardian is picking different instances of us up to make a giant inter-planar tuning fork. I assume you're up for stopping him?"

Click to shrink...

Yup, it's a Crisis. Of course some manner of tuning fork is involved. Because DC and vibrational frequencies.

He tilts his head back and sighs. "I just wanted a quiet evening."

I hold my hands out to the side. "Events, dear boy, events."

Click to shrink...

At least you can hope the universe doesn't get retconned into something worse off. Like 'Teen Titans Go!'...

"Right. I'll get my armour and sort out the sidekick team, then I'll be with you."

"I also need to locate your version of Jade Nguyen. Apparently she's the second pick."

He shakes his head, frowning slightly. "Who?"

Click to shrink...

Now, did he say it 'nuh-goo-yen', 'Nuh-win' or 'Hwin'? Because I doubt Raul has had to learn the difference.

A nice, calm meeting, between Lanterns of the widest end of the Spectrum (technically.) Now, on to collecting the local Jade (if she's still alive.) Then what, I wonder? Comparing notes and realising the whole 'missing local meta-knowledge' thing?

 

[DbDRAKE]

That's a pretty off hand way of saying "the core of your personality and the way your interact with the world sickens me to the point I could never be with you", my dude.

Nice/10

 

[Aeess]

Last Anti Green chapter has him Krona snatched alongside local version of Jade so probably not?

Click to shrink...

Ah, I think I missed that one.

 

[Belenus]

If you keep this up your density will create another harem

Click to shrink...

I think at this point it's more of an accretion disk than a harem.

 

[WereDragon]

"Good evening, me."

Click to shrink...

You sir have been in comicbook land too long.

"Events, dear boy, events."

Click to shrink...

I was given to understand that the Red Ring didn't come with youth treatment. Isn't Raul viably older than Paul?

 

[TheEyes]

I was given to understand that the Red Ring didn't come with youth treatment. Isn't Raul viably older than Paul?

Click to shrink...

He's taking the opportunity to be British at somebody who won't misunderstand him.

 

[Handlewithcare]

Oh I'm looking so forward to Paul talking with himself again.

...is not something you write every day.

 

[Chaoswind]

"You're the second 'us' I've actually met. But we've all got a problem. Krona the Fallen Guardian is picking different instances of us up to make a giant inter-planar tuning fork. I assume you're up for stopping him?"

Click to shrink...

He is actually the third one, unless Paul is lying.

 

[Darko]

Hey Zoat I was rereading some of the alternate chapters on SV and after the Bereave part 7 chapter you left a little tidbit that in year 6 two people from Earth are going to be recruited for the Indigo Tribe.

One a compassionate magic user and another more traditional recruit who doesn't even remember his name because of the brainwashing.

You also said that one of them, or maybe both, will be from Hellblazer.

I was wondering which of the two will be from Hellblazer?

 

[Agumentic]

He is actually the third one, unless Paul is lying.

Click to shrink...

Pretty sure Paul doesn't know that Time Trapper is actually another version of him.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Hey Zoat I was rereading some of the alternate chapters on SV and after the Bereave part 7 chapter you left a little tidbit that in year 6 two people from Earth are going to be recruited for the Indigo Tribe.

One a compassionate magic user and another more traditional recruit who doesn't even remember his name because of the brainwashing.

You also said that one of them, or maybe both, will be from Hellblazer.

I was wondering which of the two will be from Hellblazer?

Click to shrink...

I'm sure that you were.

 

[IndigoAbyss]

It would be hilarious If Red Lantern Paul killed the Jade of earth 32 and is keeping her skull in his trophy room.

 

[TheMidnightRook]

He is actually the third one, unless Paul is lying.

Click to shrink...

Pretty sure Paul doesn't know that Time Trapper is actually another version of him.

Click to shrink...

He doesn't.

"You escaped. Why did he abduct parallel universe versions of me and you?"

Click to shrink...

"At the moment I only have your word that anything is even happening. And you're just some guy in a robe.

Click to shrink...

 

[Darko]

If that whole Brotherhood of Evil thing happened and he was there he may just have the skulls, or brain cases, of the leaders in his trophy room, not their individual agents.

Also Zoat, please answer my question of which of the two recruits, or abductee, is from Hellblazer.

 

[DrThoth]

He probably killed her considering his own occupation, now that I think about it Anit Green Paul probably did as well.

Click to shrink...

We actually saw him meet and fight Cheshire just before they were both taken by Krona, and though I don't remember, I'm fairly sure they were both alive.

 

[Mr Zoat]

If that whole Brotherhood of Evil thing happened and he was there he may just have the skulls, or brain cases, of the leaders in his trophy room, not their individual agents.

Also Zoat, please answer my question of which of the two recruits, or abductee, is from Hellblazer.

Click to shrink...

It's really not that hard to work out. What characters in Hellblazer are characterised by their great compassion or its total absence?

 

[Darko]

For the first one I'm not sure.

For the second one... where to start.

 

[Maelgwyn]

Now I'm wondering if Raul is going to recognize Overgirl when she introduces herself, then ask "wait, so you're nazi Supergirl?", and we start that whole nazi/national socialist dance all over again.

 

[Aeess]

What eye colour does paragon have at the moment, Pink or Orange?

 

[Awkward]

What eye colour does paragon have at the moment, Pink or Orange?

Click to shrink...

At a guess? Both, since he's orane-lightened and using a violet ring

 

[LazySloth13]

As the Paragon's using a violet ring he obviously has violet iris, orange irises would be the result of him directly tapping into the orange light of avarice which he isn't, and green would mean his natural eye color.

And as far as Overgirl's presence goes "strange times make for strange bedfellows" and while most Pauls or Jades may take issue with working with a nazi, as most people would, they have bigger issues to deal with.

Plus Indigo-Paul, of The Boys, work under Voight America who's 'heroes' have done some pretty heinous shit in the name of profit; murder/manslaughter, various acts of sexual assault, experimentation of dangerous chemicals which lead to unsuspecting civilians being exposed and mutated, and recruit an actual nazi.