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

[Darko]

Think it could be ' I am ashamed ' instead of 'I am shame'

 

[RichardWhereat]

Oh nice, at last we get to the military matters. I'd like to see how manga king handles these affairs,

 

[OrigamiPhoenix]

Ah yes, his actualization team "might" have one of the most advanced tools in the galaxy... He didn't care enough to even give them a cursory inspection before sending them on their way.

"Legally. De jure. Do that have orange power rings?"
customer service! I am shame!"

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Do they have
ashamed (?)

 

[FreeGod]

Think it could be ' I am ashamed ' instead of 'I am shame'

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No that is consistent with how he talks in general.

 

[AidanMorgan]

That seems like it was on purpose to me.

 

[Handlewithcare]

"Yes, hello, this is Customer Service, Lord Lantern Manga Khan from Conneticut speaking. How many giant squids did you say were attacking?"

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

9th April
13:24 GMT

"Lord-Lantern Manga Khan, this is-."

His head jerks around.

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...Really? Really? He forgot his own use-name? <headdesk> gods above, why did Dox give this... This... Village Idiot a power ring?

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Who?"

"M'lord, 'Lord-Lantern Manga Khan' was the name which you chose to be identified with while dealing with the planet Earth."

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At least someone's on the ball... Seriously, is L-Ron the real reason he's so successful?

"It was?"

"If you've changed your mind, m'lord, you have merely to inform me and I will ensure that everyone whom you informed of your initial choice of name is also informed that you've changed it."

"Did I tell you why I chose 'Lord-Lantern Manga-. HAHAHAHA!"

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I do hope OL is recording this for Dox's later reference...

"What?"

"HEHOOHAHA!"

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Because MK here is really not giving a good showing. And people call OL flighty?

There's an electrical… Huffing noise.

"I just worked it out. I'm a wit."

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Would the young man like to share with the class?

"Y.. es." Thalia is giving me a decidedly sceptical look. "I need to talk to you about the reason why you're here."

"Well, sometimes, two clouds of vapour impregnated with exotic particles are exposed to an electrical discharge, which results in the spontaneous-."

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I suppose it wouldn't be Manga Khan without completely and comically missing the point...

"No. No. The reason why you're here on Earth, as opposed to wherever you were when Vril Dox contacted you."

"Oh, the defence contract. I handed that off to our actualisation team, and they're eagerly awaiting contact from our client!"

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...Do they know whether the client has any way to contact them? Or is this a case of 'we e-mailed you about your inability to log into your e-mail...'

"Are the people on your actualisation team members of the Orange Lantern Corps?"

"Spiritually?"

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...Seriously, OL has far better control than I, for I would have a handprint permanently embedded in my forehead by now...

"Legally. De jure. Do that have orange power rings?"

"I don't know. They might. L-Ron, do-?"

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"I'm the ideas guy, I'm not supposed to sweat details! Whatever 'sweat' is..."

"Lantern Khan, I'm-"

"Lord and Manga."

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Methinks it's beginning to hit him that he might be in trouble?

"-afraid that while I don't have any right to instruct you in how to carry out your commercial business, and am empowered to check up on how you perform as an Orange Lantern. Dox gave you the orders, and you alone are responsible for ensuring that they are carried out."

L-Ron floats a little closer. "Sensor scans revealed no combat taking place in the area indicated in Clarissi Dox's information packet."

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That's no good reason not to do your job.

"Did that information packet also mention that Atlantean weapons are usually magic-based, and therefore don't show up reliably on regular sensors?"

Manga Khan puts his right fist to his chin.

"It.. may have..?"

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He didn't read it, did he? Did he even look at it, or tell L-Ron to handle it?

"Did you read it? Dox is usually very thorough. I'm sure that it would have been very helpful."

"I.. skimmed it."

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<smack> ow. My forehead... Why, Dox... Why?

"Lantern Khan, several-"

"Lord and Manga."

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His protestations grow feebler and feebler.

"-million people made a contract with NEMO. You were tasked as our primary delivery agent. And you're telling me that you've not.. made.. any attempt to deliver. You personally had one obligation here, and you have not undertaken to discharge it. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to insist that you prioritise it."

"Sigh."

"I hope that's a 'sigh, yes'."

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OL might be better off channelling Kilowog here. Get Drill Sergeant Nasty on this maroon.

"None of our security units are specialised for aquatic combat. I though it most likely that a species like humans would not dare assume that the ClusterShip was not capable of intervening in this conflict and that its presence would be nearly as much of a disincentive to hostile action as the confirmed presence of the capacity, while being less harmful to any civil negotiations than an open display of martial power."

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Did he consider that Earth has little knowledge of starship systems and weaponry? How are they supposed to know that?

"I agree with your assessment. But that still means that you prioritised ClusterCorp trading operations over reassuring a NEMO stakeholder. At the very least, you should have personally visited King Cyprian to assure him that we were prepared to back our words. As things stand, the only NEMO assets in this system are you and me, which means that it open warfare did commence the two of us would be obliged to go down there in person."

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Ah, appealing to his fear of Customer Service complaints...

He throws his left arm out to the side, and presses his right hand into his face plate.

"You're right! I neglected the most basic principles of customer service! I am shame!"

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And out comes the melodrama... Stop dabbing, you twit!

"I'm glad that you recognise your oversight." I step aside as he collapses to his knees. "This is Archmage Thalia. She's here on behalf of the government of Venturia. She will be able to provide you with more specifics on the situation, and inform you what the Venturian government expects from us."

I crouch down so that I'm on his level.

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I don't think you could lower yourself to his level... That would take a major change of character...

"I expect you to prioritise this."

"I WILL EXPUNGE MY SHAME WITH ULTRA-PLATINUM LEVELS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE!"

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Okay, Manga Khan, dial it back a little...

I stand, and… Thalia looks even less certain.

"He's actually very good at his job. He just gets a bit over enthusiastic about some aspects of it sometimes."

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I would hope so, because one alternative is that he slept his way to the top...

"IF I HAD FLESH I WOULD REND IT!"

L-Ron extrudes a manipulator arm to pat his master on the helmet.

"There there, m'lord."

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He's going to be at this for hours, isn't he?

"I'm going to leave you in his care while I relay King Cyprian's message to King Orin."

Less certain still.

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Methinks she's reconsidering her decision to volunteer for this position...

"I'll be back in an hour at the latest."

I raise my right hand to more forehead, and don't miss her sketching a sensory mandala in the air as I do it.

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Still peeking at his greediports, I see. More data!

9th April
11:27 GMT -2

I hold up King Cyprian's letter as the guards at the Poseidonis royal palace level their sonic impellers at me.

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I know he's not on the best of terms with Orin, but this is getting silly.

"I'm serving as King Cyprian's herald at the moment. Is High King Orin at home, or should I try the Hall of Justice?"

They lower their guns, without any obvious reluctance. I suppose there's a good chance that the exact state of relations with Venturia hasn't really percolated through wider Atlantean society quite yet.

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Though there are probably plenty of rumours, I bet. Halfway around the world while the Truth is still getting its boots on, and all that.

The detail's leader swims forwards slightly.

"Please come with me, Orange Lantern. If King Orin isn't available, someone else will be able to receive you."

"Thank you. Very kind."

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Queen Mera, most likely. Which might be helpful, she's less likely to yell.

So glad things are starting to wind down for this debacle... I have the feeling everyone will be glad to see the back of this episode... Hopefully, it ends peacefully. Despite me almost missing chapters ending with a bang...

 

[Mr Zoat]

Change "and" to "I".
Change "though" to "thought".
Change "it" to "if".

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Darko]

'to my forehead' not 'to more forehead' I think.

 

[Citizen]

"-afraid that while I don't have any right to instruct you in how to carry out your commercial business, and am empowered to check up on how you perform as an Orange Lantern.

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Not sure if 'and' is the word you're looking for here. Perhaps 'I am empowered'?

 

[Mr Zoat]

'to my forehead' not 'to more forehead' I think.

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Grek]

Think it could be ' I am ashamed ' instead of 'I am shame'

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No, I don't really think it should be.

 

[WereDragon]

"He's actually very good at his job. He just gets a bit over enthusiastic about some aspects of it sometimes."

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Citation very much needed.

Giving this guy a ring and a mission was a test, correct? A trial to see if 'used car salesman' was a good base from which to forge a high quality Orange Lantern.
Well, test concluded. Result: A resounding no.

Presumably the poor mage is remembering that Paul, for all his vast power and insight, is still nutty enough to be called The Cake Man by the surface world. Why should his subordinates be any less… eclectic?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Citation very much needed.

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Immediately upon hearing that it existed, he took a Clustership to a isolated world with unique resources and began attempts to trade with them. The rest of Sector 2814 know about Earth; they've met the Lanterns who come from there. But aside from one incident when Jordan needed to be kidnapped to make him do his job? No contact.

Giving this guy a ring and a mission was a test, correct? A trial to see if 'used car salesman' was a good base from which to forge a high quality Orange Lantern.
Well, test concluded. Result: A resounding no.

Presumably the poor mage is remembering that Paul, for all his vast power and insight, is still nutty enough to be called The Cake Man by the surface world. Why should his subordinates be any less… eclectic?

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No, it's to see what happens when you give a ring to a merchant rather than a police officer or soldier. A single incident that hasn't even finished yet isn't enough to draw a conclusion.

 

[Ace Dreamer]

Do that have orange power rings?

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'they'?

---

I've been enjoying LLMK, a fun character, and an interesting situation.

I've been waiting for OL to be called 'Over-Lord Orange Lantern', because, he must obviously out-rank LLMK, and, 'Clarissi' is a rank that means nothing to most people...

When the name 'Thalia' was given I was wondering why OL had brought the Muse of Comedy along, and, that she was a mage of that name came as a bit of a surprise.

I think canonically the universe is much smaller in the DC universe.

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I think that's open to question. Some of the things Superman's done, for example, might suggest it's at least twice the size of our universe. Other things suggest it's a lot smaller, and, maybe, other galaxies are just 'lights on the wall'. Or, the DC Universe has got bigger, or smaller, in various retcons. As usual with DC, it's ambiguous.

"Whatever's convenient to the story, and doesn't break your suspension-of-disbelief, too much", is probably the answer.

 

[Darko]

'they'?

---

I've been enjoying LLMK, a fun character, and an interesting situation.

I've been waiting for OL to be called 'Over-Lord Orange Lantern', because, he must obviously out-rank LLMK, and, 'Clarissi' is a rank that means nothing to most people...

When the name 'Thalia' was given I was wondering why OL had brought the Muse of Comedy along, and, that she was a mage of that name came as a bit of a surprise.

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They are descended from Greeks so it makes sense they would sometimes be given the names of gods.

Lot of people in Norway called Thor.

 

[Ace Dreamer]

They are descended from Greeks so it makes sense they would sometimes be given the names of gods.

Lot of people in Norway called Thor.

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Yes, I realise that, but, I thought the idea of dragging-in the Muse of Comedy to ask her if she thought LLMK was amusing had... a certain element of humour.

 

[Darko]

Yes, I realise that, but, I thought the idea of dragging-in the Muse of Comedy to ask her if she thought LLMK was amusing had... a certain element of humour.

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The SI does know Calioppe at least a bit and rescued her, so it wouldn't be that hard to believe that one of her sisters would visit him.

Zoat if the paragon going to interact with Calioppe anytime in your story again?

 

[Mr Zoat]

'they'?

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Thank you, corrected.

The SI does know Calioppe at least a bit and rescued her, so it wouldn't be that hard to believe that one of her sisters would visit him.

Zoat if the paragon going to interact with Calioppe anytime in your story again?

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I have no plans for him to do so.

 

[WereDragon]

Immediately upon hearing that it existed, he took a Clustership to a isolated world with unique resources and began attempts to trade with them. The rest of Sector 2814 know about Earth; they've met the Lanterns who come from there. But aside from one incident when Jordan needed to be kidnapped to make him do his job? No contact.

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Making sales is not his job, it is his hobby.
Also given he had to be told about this amazing potential market that all of Sector 2814 has known about for decades, the example isn't even an indicator of him being good at his hobby.

No, it's to see what happens when you give a ring to a merchant rather than a police officer or soldier. A single incident that hasn't even finished yet isn't enough to draw a conclusion.

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An incident where the Illustres reminded the test subject what he is supposed to be doing isn't going to be valid even when fully completed. And unless Dox is supplying a big enough sample size to generate statistically significant data he will never have enough to draw a proper conclusion.

Given they clearly aren't going for rigorous scientific investigation they must work with what info they get. And thus far everything points to this merchant in particular being utterly unsuited for the job.

 

[RichardWhereat]

I've been waiting for OL to be called 'Over-Lord Orange Lantern', because, he must obviously out-rank LLMK, and, 'Clarissi' is a rank that means nothing to most people...

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King rolls off the tongue a little smoother than Overlord.

 

[Coda]

He can, however, throw rocks. And what is a rock thrown at near-light speed but a relativistic weapon?

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The Flash is not Flicker.

over enthusiastic

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Either hyphenated or one word.

I raise my right hand to my forehead, and don't miss her sketching a sensory mandala in the air as I do it.

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Probably remove the comma, but you could write "and I don't miss" if you prefer that.

 

[Impartial Panic]

...Really? Really? He forgot his own use-name? <headdesk> gods above, why did Dox give this... This... Village Idiot a power ring?

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Dox is experimenting to see who makes a good orange lantern.
While the idiot had sufficient avarice Manga Khan was a sub optimal result in Dox's experiment he wasn't entirely useless.

Cluster corp has the resources to uplift earth into a useful asset and
sending Lord Idiot Manga Khan to paul to hopefully get trained into a more useful lantern was a win win for dox.

and if it didn't pan out then Paul was there the minimize the damage.

Hell The Green lanterns had G'nort so Manga Khan getting a ring isn't unbelievable.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Making sales is not his job, it is his hobby.
Also given he had to be told about this amazing potential market that all of Sector 2814 has known about for decades, the example isn't even an indicator of him being good at his hobby.

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No, it's really more the other way around. He is paid to be CEO of ClusterCorp. He isn't paid to be an Orange Lantern.

An incident where the Illustres reminded the test subject what he is supposed to be doing isn't going to be valid even when fully completed. And unless Dox is supplying a big enough sample size to generate statistically significant data he will never have enough to draw a proper conclusion.

Given they clearly aren't going for rigorous scientific investigation they must work with what info they get. And thus far everything points to this merchant in particular being utterly unsuited for the job.

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I don't really think that evaluating a long term project by the first couple of days is a fair way to assess it. Particularly when you don't even have much data on those days.

Either hyphenated or one word.

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Thank you, corrected.

Probably remove the comma, but you could write "and I don't miss" if you prefer that.

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No, I think I'll leave it as it is.

 

[Ardy]

You know, I actually had a nightmare last night (last night before first law class, so not unusual) that this was cancelled due to stress and Zoat might come back in a year.

Then I woke up and another chapter is posted.

So far, so good.

 

[Darko]

You know, I actually had a nightmare last night (last night before first law class, so not unusual) that this was cancelled due to stress and Zoat might come back in a year.

Then I woke up and another chapter is posted.

So far, so good.

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Hope it doesn't happen.

With the way things are going any sense of stability is needed.

 

[Mr Zoat]

I'm not saying that reading my story will sure my sharona cyrus... But I'm not saying it won't.

 

[Darko]

Does renegade Supes know that Karsta and the renegade are cloning Kryptonians?

Did paragon propose to Amalak to clone his species using the cloning tech, and if he did then did Amalak accept?

Helping a species rebuild itself and avoid genetic degredation due to lack of diversity would be a nice PR move.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Does renegade Supes know that Karsta and the renegade are cloning Kryptonians?

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If he does then it wasn't because the Renegade told him.

Did paragon propose to Amalak to clone his species using the cloning tech, and if he did then did Amalak accept?

Helping a species rebuild itself and avoid genetic degredation due to lack of diversity would be a nice PR move.

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The SI doesn't have enough genetic records to do that, and he feels that it's a subject he should consider very carefully before he brings it up with a kryptonian.

 

[Darko]

If he does then it wasn't because the Renegade told him.

The SI doesn't have enough genetic records to do that, and he feels that it's a subject he should consider very carefully before he brings it up with a kryptonian.

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He could probably ask a Maltusian to help him with the Amalak issue. They're a race of super geniuses so making a good genetic record of his people, so they can make a sufficiently diverse gene pool, should be something they can do.

Would he need to consult a Kryptonian to make sure that neither Amalak or his newly resurgent species try to attack all remaining Kryptonians in the universe?

If not this then I don't see the point of asking a Kryptonian their opinion on this issue.