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

Mr Zoat · Aug 24, 2020

Darko said:
'to be wearing'
'fully armored'
this one feels a bit weird, maybe 'it attaches to the frame' or 'is attached'
'tries to crouch'
maybe add 'is not long'
'stop'

Ngamer11 said:
Should be 'an arc'.

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch · Aug 24, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
2nd May
03:16 GMT -5

The first bunkroom is just that: a bunk room.

Presumably where the guards that once used this fort dwelt. I somehow doubt the Sheeda would deign to use their beds, if they even bother to sleep...

The second is also a bunkroom, but this time it's occupied. Warlock-breed lie on the beds, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. They appear to wearing… Whatever the Sheeda picked them up wearing. No… Obvious-. Ah, a neck clamp of some sort. Presumably holding them in near-total paralysis, 'near-total' because I can just about see them struggling to breath. Storage for whatever they're planning on doing with them? I'll come back once the Sheeda are dealt with.

Presumably, they'll keep an hour or two longer. The bastards don't want them dead, after all.

The third room is also a bunkroom. And a mortuary. Or.. possibly meat storage. I don't remember whether the Sheeda had any particular problem with cannibalism. The bodies have been mutilated, cut open and… Parts removed. There the flesh has been stripped from the left side of the skull, which in turn has been opened to allow the removal of parts of the brain. Next to that unfortunate a rib cage has been opened up and the lungs and liver are missing. The rest are in worse condition still. I'm not sure which part of this world the victims came from. I can't see any mutated parts, but I'd have to check their genes with an active scan to be certain.

Something for later. I wonder why the randomness of the damage? Some manner of exerimentation?

Why be selective? There's no way they have the facilities to analyse arcane physiology like this here. Are they removing them? Planning on taking them back to the future for some reason? I'd consider it as taking hunting trophies if there was any rhyme or reason to the parts they were taking. Donation? I wouldn't think so, and the remains here certainly seem… Fresh enough.

"Mamuraghahhhhhhhhh…"

Oh, yeah, someone being tortured nearby. Focus, OL.

I phase through the wall in the direction of the noise.

Two figures in bleached armour are standing next to a warlock-breed who is strapped to a mobile platform. The one on the right is holding some sort of beetle, which is chewing through their victim's right arm. No, chewing though connective tissue, like a scalpel with mandibles. It looks like the warlock-breed has.. some sort of exoskeleton growth? And it's being peeled away in sections. Other pieces of skin have already been removed, and laid out on a… On an organic frame, which appears to be supplying them with a green fluid in place of blood from a slowly-beating bladder at the base.

Salvaging useful materials for study? Planning a harvest at some point in the future? What knowledge could they possibly gain from this?

"We are fortunate with this one."

"Melmoth's loss is our gain."

"Come now. This would not have bought him back into her good graces."

Chatty, aren't they? Bet they're natural gossips...

They're both full armoured but I can only see their side arms. And as far as I can tell they're both looking at their victim. Who's still conscious, but no longer able to make noise due to the damage to his throat.

"Nor would it us. I am concerned about the Lantern."

As well you should be, little elf. Don't want to get the attention of greater powers than your queen...

They ride giant insects and their surgical tool is an insect. That skin loom thing looks… If not 'alive' then at least biological. Is their armour alive as well?

"Why? This world is far from Earth."

But still within space known to have Lanterns, clearly. That the Sheeda, hailing from a far distant future, know of them? That's interesting. Presumably they've looted records from alternate futures they've raided...

"If the profligates have Lanterns, that implies that they are close to freeing themselves from Earth. If that is true, then this harvest-."

Left glares at right. "Do not speak it."

Yeah, not so fun when the prey can bite back, is it? Especially during this age of superheroes.

"As you insist. But you understand-?"

Left returns his attention to his victim. "An alternative would be preferable in any case. Something that gets us out of the sun. Events merely emphasise the importance of-" With a tug a section of carapace comes free, and it attached to the frame. "-our work here."

So, they're definitely some manner of scientific material-gathering expedition...

"Melmoth's work here. It is unfortunate that he is dead. It would be enlightening to question him."

"I will trust Melmoth to remain dead when the Queen eats his still-living body, and not a moment before. I suspect that we will find his trail once we move on."

And they found no trace of Melmoth in the old halls? Interesting.

"The leg, you think?"

"The fleshborer thinks not. The taint of summer's dawning is too great for it to have use to us."

Hmm... Conflicting genetic modifications? Or perhaps some reference to the local sun?

"It is well-intact."

"We have no need for revenants. These people are broken. It would serve no purpose, even as a distraction, and our flies are well-fed."

Fuuuck, with just a few words, they make themselves so hateable.

"It seems so wasteful. We could create a true reclamation vat."

"I did not volunteer for this duty in order to 'recycle responsibly'. For this brief time we may be as profligate as our ancestors. I suggest that you enjoy it, for it will not come again."

Ugh. Some assholes just want to see the world burn, don't they?

"The Queen's order-."

"Applies under the vampire sun, yes. But we are no longer there. And her commandments relating to Earth do not apply, for we are not there."

And of course this guy's one of those to play up when he thinks he's free to.

"True. But if we are to be profligate, may we not do so properly? The larger settlements are more likely to have treasures worth plundering."

"Alas, we are bound to our task. Still… It would not hurt to acquire specimens from there also."

All the more reason to stop them now, I think...

"And food, and drink."

"If you wish to be violently ill, be my guest. We are not as our ancestors were."

Oh, that's interesting. Their biology is so different, they can't eat our food? But is it a side-effect of their modifications, or changing tastes in the environment?

Left shrugs and gestures to his victim's throat with the beetle.

"A simple fix. I could take his tongue and temporarily replace my own. That would grant me the taste."

"If you could make it function, which is not a certainty."

Clearly they people are experts in biomanipulation. Explains the nature of their gear.

"I would have many attempts."

"Perhaps. We must process our current cull first. Then if Anarawd has not stirred himself there would be no harm in it."

Guessing that's the one OL laid out. Looks like he took more damage than anyone realised.

Left raises his beetle.

"May he rest well and true."

Disposing of his test subject? Let's not let that happen...

He moves it towards his victim's throat-.

I take an x-ionised blade out of subspace and send it at his throat!

Decapitatioo-..!

He reacts a fraction of a second before it hits, catching the blade on a neck-ring rather than the seam I aimed for as he turns aside and tried to crouch. The construct holding the blades registers the hit, but his head remains lamentably on his shoulders. He backpedals while his colleague draws his gun and fades from view.

..Denied! Sunnova-!

I drop the blade and open fire with a mixed volley of crumbler and phasic rounds at the one who went invisible, while the other gets a orange energy pulse as I move around the room. An entropic beam punches a hole through the wall where I was a moment before, and some equipment is knocked back as my railgun rounds hit something. The orange energy pulse wrecks the other Sheeda's side arm and it-

Blind-fire for the win!

"E-h."

-stumbles as the gun's power cell detonates against its leg.

Oooh, that's just got to sting.

Then Abednego steps out of its shadow and jams a witch-sign through its helmet's eye, causing it to freeze up as the sigil shudders! Railgun rounds clearly unreliable I switch to a beam singularity and fire a arc across the origin point for the entropic ray. The Sheeda fades back into visibility, my beam having caught him across the hips and sliced him in two. He's still alive and he's dropped his gun, but he's bleeding freely and from his limpness not long for this world.

Not quite the Ludicrous Gibs I was hoping for, but still a decent amount of damage.

I send out filaments and step the bleeding, then reach into his soul.

"Brand."

His torso spasms, his eyes snap open and flare orange-.

You want answers, huh?

His body collapses, decaying into flakes of dust that I turn my sensors up to maximum to try and analyse… No, I'm not getting anything helpful. I know what ash looks like.

Abednego's opponent appears to have a similar reaction to his witch-sign; his eyes flare white as Abednego steps away and-.

Dust again.

Self-destruct mechanics, eh? Presumably to minimise the effects on history (and the obvious analysis) if a local somehow manages to take them down.

Damn it-!

No, can't worry about it. I remove the severed tissue from the frame, press it into the wounds of the vivisection victim and take out a purple healing ray.

I doubt he's going to enjoy the next few hours while he heals up, but at least he's alive...

Now see what I mean by the power of Prep-time? That and surprise got them a kill in a single round of combat. Too bad they couldn't interrogate the bastard elves... Unless they can find the third one.

FourthPear · Aug 24, 2020

Handlewithcare said:
Anyone else lack the lore background to understand what they talked about?

Ultraviolet Lantern Corps?

Chirox · Aug 24, 2020

Handlewithcare said:
Anyone else lack the lore background to understand what they talked about?

I suspect this is one of those bits that is intentionally a bit cryptic and vague which will be explored as we really get into the Sheeda arc. All I know about them is what I've learned through this fic, which is basically "dying future race of earthlings that raid the past, have a queen, are super dangerous and completely amoral" so the conversation made sense in the context of setting up further reveals

Vaermina · Aug 24, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
I send out filaments and stop the bleeding, then reach into his soul.

Looks like Zoat forgot he had Paul insert the rings into his body.

Mr Zoat said:
"Brand."

His torso spasms, his eyes snap open and flare orange-.

And to think, these are just disposable footsoldiers.

Have to wonder what's going to happen when the big boys show up.

Darko · Aug 24, 2020

Vaermina said:
Looks like Zoat forgot he had Paul insert the rings into his body.

Read the explanations I gave for how he could do it with the rings in his body.

You can find them yourself.

Edit: Ah heck, we know you won't try to do the work.

Darko said:
An explanation for how OL can get around these restrictions, assuming they exist and Zoat decides to add them, is that he can make a small filament pierce his body in a way which causes little to no damage and make constructs when the filament is out.OL prefers using filaments.

rkyeun · Aug 24, 2020

Darko said:
Read the explanations I gave for how he could do it with the rings in his body.

It's even simpler than that. He can phase and turn invisible in construct armor.
That means constructs can be phased and invisible.
Filaments are constructs. He doesn't even have to make a hole.

Nervaqus987 · Aug 24, 2020

Vaermina said:
Looks like Zoat forgot he had Paul insert the rings into his body.

Now, if only he had ultra fine filaments he could send through his body to do the absolute minimum possible damage and that then expand the moment they leave.

But no, he couldn't possibly have developed that skill very early in the story.

Mr Zoat · Aug 24, 2020

rkyeun said:
It's even simpler than that. He can phase and turn invisible in construct armor.
That means constructs can be phased and invisible.
Filaments are constructs. He doesn't even have to make a hole.

I may not have been entirely clear. While there are ways to make constructs invisible to particular observers, generally when the SI goes invisible he drops his construct armour.

david · Aug 24, 2020

Random question, what episode did Paul go to Blue's parallel and fight the DCAU Justice League again?

Mr Zoat · Aug 24, 2020

david said:
Random question, what episode did Paul go to Blue's parallel and fight the DCAU Justice League again?

Doppelgängered.

Stsword · Aug 24, 2020

Handlewithcare said:
Anyone else lack the lore background to understand what they talked about?

The Sheeda attack the past for resources, "harvesting."

If Terrans go interplanetary, no more harvesting. Not actually a part of the DC lore, Zoat filling in the blanks as it were.

Apparently, in the past, the Sheeda forces were allowed much more liberties, hence one of them wanting to take advantage of the loophole that they were not on Sheeda-Earth, nor on the Earth on the past, so orders about how to behave on Sheeda-Earth or Earth of the past don't apply. Also not part of the lore, but the Sheeda did go from King Melmoth to the Queen, so administrations having different rules is sensible enough.

And for whatever reason the mutations of the warlockbreed were of scientific interest to the Sheeda, hence their going all Nazi scientist on them. Also not part of the DC lore that I can recall.

But I'm just guessing here since you didn't specify what parts of the dialogue you found confusing.

So if I guessed wrong, correct me.

Dres · Aug 24, 2020

I stumbled across this browsing the user fiction on Spacebattles and have been trying to catch up for the last two weeks. Totally didn't expect to enjoy a Young Justice story so much. Glad to see something that's this long not get dropped halfway through for once, even if it has hopped multiple forums.

Coda · Aug 24, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
struggling to breath.

breathe

Mr Zoat said:
beam singularity

Oh dear. Jumping to the big guns without even warning his teammates.

Sockmonkey said:
IIRC, independent constructs like Teekl were still connected by a filament of some sort, it just only existed on the spiritual plane or something. OL was able to see it with Ophidian-vision. I think that scene took place in the vodon restaurant.

That's a metaphysical connection, not a construct tether. The whole idea behind construct-lanterns is that they are their own self-contained source of orange light so they don't NEED a tether.

Mr Zoat · Aug 24, 2020

Coda said:
breathe

Thank you, corrected.

Darko · Aug 24, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
Look like

'looks like'

Mr Zoat · Aug 24, 2020

Darko said:
'looks like'

That combination of words occurs quite a lot. Can you please give me the whole sentence?

Darko · Aug 24, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
That combination of words occurs quite a lot. Can you please give me the whole sentence?

Mr Zoat said:
. Look like they basically occupy the space in children's entertainment that the Turtles

Should be 'looks like'

Xmaster3000 · Aug 24, 2020

No, rings do not need to be connected to constructs. See Exhibit A.

Mr Zoat · Aug 24, 2020

Darko said:
Should be 'looks like'

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · Aug 25, 2020

2nd May
03:27 GMT -5

Anarawd sticks his head up through the mist, then freezes.

Mr. Yao nods politely. "Greetings, Anarawd."

A shift in the position of his right shoulder suggests that he's reaching for something.

I raise a construct autocannon. Abednego holds two pistols at the ready. Leonid brings his energy blasts to the 'ready to fire' status.

"I would advise you to think very carefully before doing anything precipitous."

Anarawd relaxes his shoulder, then raises his hands. I note that he's not wearing the armour his comrades were, meaning that I'm getting my first good look at a Sheeda. His nails are inch-long claws and his fingers are just slightly longer than those of normal humans. His skin is bone-white, and the tips of his ears extend to the level of the top of his head which is shaved but for a top-knot. A thin decorative tattoo has been stencilled across his forehead and his eyes are a gloss black in iris and sclera.

"Thank you. I was not certain that Sheeda could surrender."

"Huuuuuman."

"I am the Accomplished Perfect Physician. Would you like a hand out?"

The Sheeda's eyes narrow. "You will die."

Mr. Yao nods. "Yes, someday. But not today, and not by your hand."

Anarawd considers for a moment, then puts his hands on the edge of the pit and pulls himself out. Stronger than a baseline human would be with arms that thin. He's still wearing a pair of pants, and there's an unpleasant-looking knife strapped to the belt. He doesn't resist as Leonid relieves him of it.

"Do you have my colleagues?"

"I regret to inform you that they are dead."

"Then.. I am your prisoner." He brings his wrists together in front of him. "What will you do with me?"

"You will be interrogated at length. We know that there is a harvest fleet due to return to the present. This will be the final Harrowing."

Abednego places manacles around Anarawd's wrists, locking his entire forearms together. He then kneels to lock looser chains around Anarawd's ankles before standing and looking the Sheeda over.

"The terror of my forebears. 'Tis a strange thing to see you in the flesh. Do you know what Melmoth had planned for us, or are you ignorant of his aims?"

"I am not of the High-Born. Whatever schemes Dark Melmoth had in mind, he would not have stooped to tell me." His eyes narrow slightly. "And if you have slain my colleagues, you must have some idea of what we are doing. And if you know of the Harrowing, you must know something of what my Queen has planned. I am uncertain of what knowledge you hope to gain from me."

Mr. Yao nods. "And uncertain you may stay. Mister Abednego, can you secure this prisoner?"

"Aye, though it is not our common practice."

"You have a common practice for Sheeda?"

"Aye." He nods. "We have slain every Sheeda we have ever fought. T'was but one before today, but we were thorough with it." He puts his right hand firmly upon Anarawd's left shoulder. "And I would consider it no bad thing to add another Sheeda to that tally, so tempt me not."

He pushes Anarawd, and the Sheeda begins walking where Abednego indicates.

Leonid and I turn to Mr. Yao.

"What now, boss?"

"Orange Lantern, please inform the surviving people of this town that the Sheeda are dead. If there is some connection to their world and era, try to discover it. If they have physicians, ask that they come at once to assist Mistress Butler. Starfire, please pick up the young woman who aided us and bring her here so that Mister Abednego can unbind her."

"Sir, she said that she wanted to become like the Sheeda. Are you certain that we should release her?"

"That will be up to the people of this town. We are not here to set this world to rights."

Leonid nods, and we turn to walk towards the exit.

"I'll have to test how effective this armour is later."

"They did not detect you. I would say that it was effective." He grimaces. "That was disgusting."

"Your first time seeing mass murder?"

"Yes, thankfully." He shakes his head. "We are shown pictures. We see the remains of the dead that are recovered in the field to try to reduce how it shocks us. But to pin a man, a woman or a child to a bench and then cut them apart with a beetle… That is not the same thing as dying in battle." We reach the courtyard in silence. "It was not your first time?"

"My first time was after Klarion split the world. I don't know if you heard the interview, but I spent some time removing the bodies of children whose aircraft crashed."

"The League asked you to?"

"No, it just needed doing, and since I can't be traumatised like a normal person anymore I thought it was best if I did it. Diana still needed to bench me after I went into a fugue at the sheer senselessness of it."

I look over to where the flies are continuing to eat, blissfully ignorant of what's going on around them.

"The gordanians I marooned?" He nods. "They used implanted bombs to keep their prisoners in line. I've seen recordings of what the psions did to their prisoners; recordings made by the psions themselves for entertainment purposes. I've seen recordings of Spider Guilders eating the crews of entire ships alive, and I've seen the Reach drug entire planetary populations into executing each other." I shrug. "We deal with these things so that other people don't have to."

"How fortunate for us."

"Would you prefer it if we weren't?"

"No, I suppose not."

I shrug. "I'm afraid that all too often this is what the job is about. You… Find a pile of bodies and deal with it as best you can. I'm sorry, but I'm not really… Shockable in the way that most people are. I can get Lantern Gardner to talk to you if you like. Or… I think Robin's encountered a few things like this if that would be easier."

"No, I… Think that I will talk to my priest, when we return. And… Perhaps I will request a leave of absence."

I nod. "Quite reasonable, under the circumstances. But… Look, I know that the Russian government wants you to graduate to the Justice League eventually. This… Is unusual, but-."

"But I will see it again. And again." He looks at the ground for a few moments. "Yes. Yes, I understand. This is the job that we take on."

He rises into the air, and flies back towards the dead forest.

Right then!

I fly upwards and generate giant sonic projectors and cinema screens showing my face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it is my great pleasure to announce that your Sheeda domitors are either dead or in custody. Your town is no longer under their control. Would anyone with medical knowledge please report to the barrack building. Would the town mayor or other civil leader please report to the barrack building for a full debriefing. Would anyone with an immediate security concern please report it to the glowing orange man. Would anyone…"

Darko · Aug 25, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
you what Melmoth

'know what'

Mr Zoat said:
want you to graduate

'wants'

Mr Zoat · Aug 25, 2020

Darko said:
'know what'
'wants'

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch · Aug 25, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
2nd May
03:27 GMT -5

Anarawd sticks his head up through the mist, then freezes.

Yeah, you are about to have quite the bad day, knife-ears. Worse than what you've already had.

Mr. Yao nods politely. "Greetings, Anarawd."

A shift in the position of his right shoulder suggests that he's reaching for something.

Cocky, isn't he? I don't think he's quite realised the position he's in here...

I raise a construct autocannon. Abednego holds two pistols at the ready. Leonid brings his energy blasts to the 'ready to fire' status.

"I would advise you to think very carefully before doing anything precipitous."

After all the effort his buddies went through to patch him up, it'd be a shame to waste their hard work before he can be questioned.

Anarawd relaxes his shoulder, then raises his hands. I note that he's not wearing the armour his comrades were, meaning that I'm getting my first good look at a Sheeda. His nails are inch-long claws and his fingers are just slightly longer than those of normal humans. His skin is bone-white, and the tips of his ears extend to the level of the top of his head which is shaved but for a top-knot. A thin decorative tattoo has been stencilled across his forehead and his eyes are a gloss black in iris and sclera.

Very, very strong Dark Elf/Dark Eldar vibes. It's hardly an original idea to GW, anyway. After all, they were copying Elric of Melniboné...

"Thank you. I was not certain that Sheeda could surrender."

"Huuuuuman."

"I am the Accomplished Perfect Physician. Would you like a hand out?"

Man, the knife-ears must feel like a grade-A jackass right now. It's really satisfying to see...

The Sheeda's eyes narrow. "You will die."

Mr. Yao nods. "Yes, someday. But not today, and not by your hand."

Bonus points for the quote, Physician.

Anarawd considers for a moment, then puts his hands on the edge of the pit and pulls himself out. Stronger than a baseline human would be with arms that thin. He's still wearing a pair of pants, and there's a unpleasant-looking knife strapped to the belt. He doesn't resist as Leonid relieves him of it.

"Do you have my colleagues?"

Technically, yes. Though they're in no shape to be answering questions...

"I regret to inform you that they are dead."

"Then.. I am your prisoner." He brings his wrists together in front of him. "What will you do with me?"

"You will be interrogated at length. We know that there is a harvest fleet due to return to the present. This will be the final Harrowing."

Got to love that Leaguer confidence. He's learned well from the Americans.

Abednego places manacles around Anarawd's wrists, locking his entire forearms together. He then kneels to lock looser chains around Anarawd's ankles before standing and looking the Sheeda over.

"The terror of my forebears. 'Tis a strange thing to see you in the flesh. Do you what Melmoth had planned for us, or are you ignorant of his aims?"

As if he'd know anything more than what he needed for his mission...

"I am not of the High-Born. Whatever schemes Dark Melmoth had in mind, he would not have stooped to tell me." His eyes narrow slightly. "And if you have slain my colleagues, you must have some idea of what we are doing. And if you know of the Harrowing, you must know something of what my Queen has planned. I am uncertain of what knowledge you hope to gain from me."

Mr. Yao nods. "And uncertain you may stay. Mister Abednego, can you secure this prisoner?"

Depends on how intact you want him...

"Aye, though it is not our common practice."

"You have a common practice for Sheeda?"

Execution, probably. I would probably do it by burning...

"Aye." He nods. "We have slain every Sheeda we have ever fought. T'was but one before today, but we were thorough with it." He puts his right hand firmly upon Anarawd's left shoulder. "And I would consider it no bad thing to add another Sheeda to that tally, so tempt me not."

He pushes Anarawd, and the Sheeda begins walking where Abednego indicates.

I see he's sensible enough to not resist. Pity, but they do need him able to talk...

Leonid and I turn to Mr. Yao.

"What now, boss?"

Stow the humour, OL.This isn't really the best time...

"Orange Lantern, please inform the surviving people of this town that the Sheeda are dead. If there is some connection to their world and era, try to discover it. If they have physicians, ask that they come at once to assist Mistress Butler. Starfire, please pick up the young woman who aided us and bring her here so that Mister Abednego can unbind her."

"Sir, she said that she wanted to become like the Sheeda. Are you certain that we should release her?"

Eh... You can't leave her tied up forever...

"That will be up to the people of this town. We are not here to set this world to rights."

Leonid nods, and we turn to walk towards the exit.

"I'll have to test how effective this armour is later."

Your armour or theirs, OL? Because yours seemed fine.

"They did not detect you. I would say that it was effective." He grimaces. "That was disgusting."

"Your first time seeing mass murder?"

Probably not something he'd be familiar with, at his age.

"Yes, thankfully." He shakes his head. "We are shown pictures. We see the remains of the dead that are recovered in the field to try to reduce how it shocks us. But to pin a man, a woman or a child to a bench and then cut them apart with a beetle… That is not the same thing as dying in battle." We reach the courtyard in silence. "It was not your first time?"

"My first time was after Klarion split the world. I don't know if you heard the interview, but I spent some time removing the bodies of children whose aircraft crashed."

Dark times. Not sure if it's better or worse than seeing people vivisected (because no way would those unfortunates have been dead before the Sheeda started cutting open skulls or chests.)

"The League asked you to?"

"No, it just needed doing, and since I can't be traumatised like a normal person anymore I thought it was best if I did it. Diana still needed to bench me after I went into a fugue at the sheer senselessness of it."

And even with his Enlightenment, that actually impacted his ability to use his ring, too.

I look over to where the flies are continuing to eat, blissfully ignorant of what's going on around them.

"The gordanians I marooned?" He nods. "They used implanted bombs to keep their prisoners in line. I've seen recordings of what the psions did to their prisoners; recordings made by the psions themselves for entertainment purposes. I've seen recordings of Spider Guilders eating the crews of entire ships alive, and I've seen the Reach drug entire planetary populations into executing each other." I shrug. "We deal with these things so that other people don't have to."

To sum up: OL's seen some serious shit.

"How fortunate for us."

"Would you prefer it if we weren't?"

"No, I suppose not."

Because someone has to do it. Better it be someone who honestly feels for people, even if it hurts.

I shrug. "I'm afraid that all too often this is what the job is about. You… Find a pile of bodies and deal with it as best you can. I'm sorry, but I'm not really… Shockable in the way that most people are. I can get Lantern Gardner to talk to you if you like. Or… I think Robin's encountered a few things like this if that would be easier."

"No, I… Think that I will talk to my priest, when we return. And… Perhaps I will request a leave of absence."

Understandable. He's not even eighteen, is he?

I nod. "Quite reasonable, under the circumstances. But… Look, I know that the Russian government want you to graduate to the Justice League eventually. This… Is unusual, but-."

"But I will see it again. And again." He looks at the ground for a few moment. "Yes. Yes, I understand. This is the job that we take on."

Just try not to lose that sense of horror and disgust at the things you see. As OL once said: Rejoice when you discover Evil, for when you are done, there will be one less Evil in the universe.

He rises into the air, and flies back towards the dead forest.

Right then!

I fly upwards and generate giant sonic projectors and cinema screens showing my face.

Oh, you're going to enjoy this, aren't you?

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it is my great pleasure to announce that your Sheeda domitors are either dead or in custody. Your town is no longer under their control. Would anyone with medical knowledge please report to the barrack building. Would the town mayor or other civil leader please report to the barrack building for a full debriefing. Would anyone with an immediate security concern please report it to the glowing orange man. Would anyone…"

I'm sure they'll do that, once they overcome the confusion at the sight...

This isn't the end of the affair, of course. Between learning more of the Sheeda's plans, seeing to their prisoner, and helping the Warlock-breed get their town back in order, there's still a lot ahead.

...and there's a unpleasant-looking knife...

...and there's an unpleasant-looking knife...

...traumatised like a normal person...

Double space there.

Handlewithcare · Aug 25, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
Would anyone…"

...like some cake?"

Darko · Aug 25, 2020

Handlewithcare said:
...like some pie?"

How about some giant cake?

moralrelativity · Aug 25, 2020

Handlewithcare said:
...like some pie?"

Correction, "... like some cake?"

Handlewithcare · Aug 25, 2020

moralrelativity said:
Correction, "... like some cake?"

Argh, you're right. Fixing it.

Darko · Aug 25, 2020

Handlewithcare said:
Argh, you're right. Fixing it.

No need for that.

Paul sometimes has to make more than just cake to keep things interesting.

Xelloss · Aug 25, 2020

First there will be tests.
Then there will be cake.

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

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