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

[DAT_NOOB]

I thought it was Dragons or maybe Adventuring?

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Which word are you replacing here?

 

[Darko]

Considering Warhammer Paul's plan will be to starve the Gods of Chaos out of existence, as those gluttonous horrors and their daemonic hordes feed upon the drives and passions of mortalkind, how exactly does he plan to cut their supply off fully?

Instituting mandatory meditation practices, and commissioning talismans/amulets from the Asur that captures and purifies the power produced by such emotions before returning it to energy-system of the owner possessing such a object, maintaining the overall physical, mental and spiritual health of the individual?

Click to shrink...

Here's the chapter where he explains his plan.

32nd Nachgeheim 2512
Early afternoon

"I doubt that you are unique in that regard. They are a blight upon the world, and their conquest would result in all things being undone."

And I can't tell whether she's humouring me or not.

"How do you intend to realise that goal?"

"My current plan has some.. fairly large holes in it. Initially, I intend to purge chaotic, vampiric and orcoid areas within the territory of the world's civilised peoples. Once the interior is sufficiently protected, I intend to commission a series of waystones to be built at sites of geomantic significance with the aim of controlling the winds of magic, stopping it flowing in ways useful to chaos and allowing my allies to prevent its use by such people. The elves of Ulthuan and the lizardmen of Lustria already use such techniques in their own territory, and Magister Patriarch Verspasian Kant of the Light College has expressed an interest in the creation of such a network within the Reikland Empire."

The leading Liche Priest stirs very slightly at that announcement.

"Obviously, the involvement of either the elves or the slann would be preferable, given the experience they have with such systems. However, the knowledge of the Mortuary Cult in the manipulation of hysh would be invaluable. I'm not sure that the Light College has quite gotten their heads around the idea of the undead being able to use it."

Queen Khalida turns her head slightly to her left. "Speak, Djubti, lest your ire incite our guards to violence."

"My queen, quite aside from the madness of attempting to slay the Gods of Chaos in their own realm, this is a transparent attempt to trick us into sharing secrets of the arcane with these primitives."

"Your reverence, there is no deceit here. I am directly asking you to share your wisdom with the ignorant so that we may all benefit from it. And then only on the subject of hysh manipulation; the secrets of life extension and reanimation are yours to keep and share only with the devout. We both know that the slaves of the Chaos Gods have come to Nehekhara before, and all too often have done so from the lands to the north. It is in all of our interests to stop this."

"Do not think that I did not see the daemons amongst your own host, charlatan."

"Ah, those." I turn my head towards Queen Khalida. "May I demonstrate, your majesty?"

"With caution, ambassador."

I hold out my left hand and call forth a daemonette. Without any way to transmit their hypnotic glamour they're a lot less physically appealing. It looks more like a skinny transsexual beastman than a succubus.

"This was once a daemon of Slaanesh. Then it faced me and tried to make me desire it. It failed, and the ring I wear converted every mote of magic in its make up into orange light. I take particular pride in destroying daemons in this way, since each daemon is a fragment of its patron and by doing this I permanently weaken them." Though in an equivalent period they're probably gaining more than that amount of power from their mortal servants. At least I'm reducing the net gain. "Test it, if you will. There is no longer anything of Chaos about it."

He looks to his queen. She nods. He raises his right hand, skeletal fingers half-clenched as he calls the wind of magic to him. For a fraction of a second bands of blinding white light swirl around his fingers, then they unify into a brilliant beam of white light which blasts into my construct.

And does precisely nothing. I'll give Djubti credit for not staring at his fingers.

I'm not sure exactly what spell that was. In my day you needed High Magic for Banishment, but Alric made it clear to me that that isn't the case in reality. If-.

Djubti raises both hands, and his acolytes do the same, all chanting words so magic-infused that the ring can't translate them for me. The general tone sounds like ancient Nehekharan, though the intonation is different to the versions I've heard before. This time I'm forced to shield my eyes with my hands as the light blasts forth… Again, to no effect.

"Satisfied, your reverence?"

His teeth click against one another. "Your majesty, it is free of all Chaotic influence. What it is, I cannot say."

"Could it be that he can do as he says?"

"It is conceivable. The sites of all cities in Nehekhara were chosen with geomantic considerations in mind; it does not surprise me to learn that the barbarians to the north were less discerning. Creating an alignment over a larger area would benefit all those who exist under its aegis. But it would not kill a Chaos God; merely reduce their influence."

"Of course not. That's just stage one."

The queen regards me curiously. "Then what would you do next?"

"Rebuild the Old One's polar gates, and so restrict the flow of the winds of magic to the world."

Djubti's eyes flare. "You do not have that knowledge!"

I hold up my hands in a placatory gesture. "True. Quite true. But I can hope that the slann do, and if they don't… Anything that can be discovered can be rediscovered. In the north, we're.. so used to thinking of the realms of chaos to the far north and south as being infinite, and their internal dimensions are. But measured around the sides, or from above? It's not all that big. I believe that they grew out from the site of the gates above the world, and that if we push them back far enough we may learn more. This is why the leaders of nations sponsored me to come here; they are used to fighting to survive a year, a decade… I have been able to convince them that ultimate victory is possible; that the permanent extinction-" The daemonette vanishes and the ring dims. "-of our greatest enemies is possible. That though it may be far off, there exists a path we may walk towards it. Peace, prosperity, and a world without monsters."

"Tell me, your majesty: what does ultimate victory look like for you? For the people of Nehekhara?"

"I would see vampire kind extinguished."

"You will find few in the north who would not see that as a good thing. The Lahmians, the von Carsteins, the Necrarchs and the Blood Dragons all assail the lands to the north, and I promise that any knowledge you share of how to fight them will be most eagerly put to use. Furthermore, all information collected by my masters would be available to you in turn. I-. The Emperor of Reikland has.. seen fit to grant parole to certain vampires living within his lands in exchange for saving his life. But they are very few in number. Certainly, Neferata's death would be met with nought but celebration."

"I would see all of the treasures looted from our lands returned to us."

"We can make that a part of any trading relationship. Not.. that you should have to trade for things stolen from you, but my masters don't keep track of everything brought into their lands. Locating artefacts will be a time consuming business, but well worth it to maintain an alliance."

"We would seek to be restored to the flesh which Nagash the Great Betrayer denies to us."

"I believe that all things are eventually possible. I can restore your-" Cross fingers. "-mask now, if you would like? And flesh…" This is tricky. "I will try and be as plain as I can. I have no idea how to transfer the magics binding your spirit to your mortal remains to anything else. However, it is well within my abilities to cover the bones of.. any of you, in flesh. Living flesh, as near as possible to what you had in life."

Djubti's eyes flare again. "Insane kings have wrapped themselves in stolen flesh before. All it does is draw carrion and the gods' wrath."

"Your majesty, it may be easiest for me to demonstrate? If I could have a volunteer, and if the venerable Mortuary Priest could watch closely?"

Queen Khalida raises her left hand, and one of her -check the shoulder to waist ratio- handmaidens walks forward and stops just in front of me. "Have a care, ambassador. My patience is not limitless."

I close my eyes, focusing on my desire to bring people together through my actions, to unify and strike back against the monstrosities using this world as their playground. My desire to heal the woman before me. I focus on the intact genetic code in her bones and how it compares to those of modern Nehekharans, the precise structure of her skull and how the muscles and fat and skin would lie on it. I float into the air, both hands held out towards her as the ring begins to create flesh from orange energy. Organs appear to precipitate out of the air, held in place by orange light. Next, connective tissues, muscle, fat, veins and arteries, blood, skin and-. Ah. clothes. A thought and a heart beats in her chest for the first time in centuries, another and her organs start oozing their enzymes. One last check… Good.

Not perfect. Her eyes are still vacant, her brain… It's in pristine condition but there's nothing going on.

I lower myself to the ground with a shrug. "That is the best I can do, majesty. Perhaps the priesthood or.. others, can improve upon my work, but-."

"Djubti, you are to begin the study of this at once."

"Yes, my queen." He raises his right hand again and the handmaiden turns and heads for a side exit, followed by him and his aides.

I look to Queen Khalida. "I hope I have not offended?"

"I am very far from offended. For the first time since I awoke to this new life I can believe that perhaps the promises of the Liche Priests may still be fulfilled in full. I will tell you now that I am most interested in pursuing an alliance with your masters. More than that, I wish to reward you personally as well. Is there some gift which I could bestow upon you?"

"There is… One thing, but… I don't know enough about Nehekharan culture or your particular religious oaths to know whether I can ask without causing great offence to you, which is the farthest thing from my desires."

"Ask. I will not be offended."

"Your majesty… Are you free to marry?"

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[Tzeentch]

Here's the chapter where he explains his plan.

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Well, he did say there are fairly large holes in his plan.

Finding out ways similar if not exactly what I suggested, to deprive the Chaos Gods of some of their main power sources would certainly fill some of them.

 

[nick012000]

One of those holes is the fact that the Chaos Gods are connected to multiple universes, one of which is Warhammer 40,000. If he wants to starve the Chaos Gods of power, the Old World will just be the first of millions for him to fix.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Faed Away

Earth 12
15th January 2002
10:37 GMT -5

The Brown farm has clearly seen better days.

Back in 1997 a farmer by the name of Enoch Brown developed a growth hormone which could turn a normal farm animal into a giant farm animal. He first unveiled it to the public at the Gotham Agricultural Expo, where he displayed a sheep nine feet tall. He claimed that his work could end world hunger, which was obviously incorrect… But maybe he just made that claim for press release purposes.

But whatever his work could have done for the world of agriculture, his work came to a screeching halt when the sheep broke out of its cage and ran amuck. Mr. Brown gave it a sedative and no one was significantly hurt, but the resulting panic spooked a local judge into ordering him to cease his research and barring him from bringing giant animals into Gotham. I'm not… Quite sure how a judge had the authority to do that, but no one other than Mr. Brown was interested in contesting it at the time. I suppose that after the first few 'angry' scientists the people of Gotham rather lost patience with that sort of thing.

What happens next is a relatively predictable revenge story where a slighted scientist uses his work to take revenge on those who've wronged him, leading to a brief altercation with Mr. Wayne and his eventual incarceration.

Between the criminal damage, assault, blackmail and the attempted murder of a police officer, both Enoch Brown and his daughter Emmylou Brown received rather substantial prison sentences. And yet, a mere three years later, Emmylou Brown is out on parole at the family farmstead. I suppose criminals being in and out of incarceration is something else that Gotham has gotten used to, as I wasn't able to find a mention of it in the local papers. I only found out by chance, when I tried to get Detective Bullock to talk to me about some of the local… 'Characters', and he definitely hasn't forgiven her for trying to feed him to a giant pig.

Given that this is private property and I'm in America, I make a point of having my hands empty and clearly visible as I walk up the driveway. Neither she nor her still imprisoned father have any history of using firearms, but I imagine that's one of the things that prison life can teach you.

"Hello!?"

The newspapers said that the animals were removed after their arrest, a claim confirmed by Detective Bullock. He also said that some people 'from the Feds' went through the laboratory to make sure that it was safe. But while owner and daughter were in prison no one was doing any upkeep on the place. The fence around the farm has lost most of its paint to the elements and is rotting in places. The land is almost completely overgrown, and even the dirt lane from the closest road appears to have the weeds cut back only recently.

"Hello?! Miss Brown?!"

It's quiet out here. We're far enough from Gotham that there's barely any noise from the city other than the occasional muffled blast of a foghorn from the docks, and at this time of year the wildlife isn't particularly active.

"I'd like to talk to you about your father's work!? If that's at all possible!?"

The house and farm buildings look mildly dilapidated, but the house is more of a piece of cover for the underground bunker where most of Mr Brown's sensitive work took place. So once the mess the hazardous materials team made is cleared up it should still be perfectly habitable.

"Excuse m-?!"

A hard door slams and a well-built young woman in farm overalls strides out, glaring at me.

"WHAT?!"

I stop talking, because while Miss Brown isn't technically super strong she's still far stronger than someone of her proportions should be. Strong enough to lift an obese police detective over her head and throw him with no apparent effort.

"I'd like to talk to you about your father's work!"

She's striding towards me and looks irritated, though whether that's me or the situation I'm not at all sure.

She slows slightly, looking at me suspiciously as she gets to within non-shouting conversation distance.

"Who are you, anyhow?"

I smile warmly. "My name is Peter Wynne. I run a company called 'Schizo Applications'. We specialise in helping people bring.. exotic products to market, and fund research with the aim of turning good ideas into marketable ideas. I.. heard about your father's work while I was in Gotham-"

Deciding that if the local version of Pamela Isley was 'turning people into plants' crazy then she was a risk beyond what I'm willing to take.

"-and I thought that I'd see if anyone was home."

"This here's private property."

"And I'll leave at once if that's what you want. I.. did try phoning, but I couldn't get through-"

"They cut us off."

"-when I-. Yes. And you didn't reply to my letter."

"Mail man don't deliver 'round here."

"So I thought I'd pay you a visit in person. Though -as I said- if you'd rather I leave then I'm happy to do that."

She tilts her head to the right, her gaze more quizzical than suspicious.

"Who'd you say you worked for again?"

"'Schizo Applications'. And.. I don't work for them. I own the company. We… Recently became the largest supplier of electricity in both North America and Europe?"

"They cut the power, too."

"Ah." … "Sorry?"

"None'a Pa's work had anything to do with electricity."

"I've already got electricity. But I think that there's a market for enhanced farm animals… Perhaps not as enhanced as some of the ones which you and your father produced-"

"Mister Bleaty just got scared by alla them flash bulbs!"

"-but there's definitely a market there. As well as for your own enhancements."

She frowns.

"You work fer the gub'mint?"

"No. I mean, we probably supply them with electricity, and I've.. been involved in negotiations with various government bodies… I'm not sure what you're implying."

She nods, her face relaxing.

"Don't pay it no mind. My daddy's not here right now. But if ya'll come up to the house I'll listen to your offer."

I nod. "Thank you. Though before we can begin… Can I make sure that your release from prison was legitimate? It's just.. something the human resources department are a bit hot on."

"I ain't suppose to talk about it. Daddy made a deal, and I'm out."

"'Out' as in you were pardoned, or-?"

"I ain't suppose to talk about it."

"But nothing that will stop you being officially employed?"

"No."

"Well, that's.. fine, then."

I suspect that someone in the superhuman security apparatus pulled something. That or Lex Luthor paid someone off. But she's out and the local police aren't planning to try to arrest her, so that shouldn't be a problem.

"Have you been back long?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

Considering Warhammer Paul's plan will be to starve the Gods of Chaos out of existence, as those gluttonous horrors and their daemonic hordes feed upon the drives and passions of mortalkind, how exactly does he plan to cut their supply off fully?

Instituting mandatory meditation practices, and commissioning talismans/amulets from the Asur that captures and purifies the power produced by such emotions before returning it to energy-system of the owner possessing such a object, maintaining the overall physical, mental and spiritual health of the individual?

Click to shrink...

The above is mostly wrong.

Regularising flows of magic across the world won't do a thing to starve the gods. They will still be empowered by the world's emotions and beliefs, and even if they weren't they would still have the rest of the universe to draw upon. What it will do is counteract the dark magic related pollution effects felt across the world.

 

[Grimnar]

"-when I-. Yes. And you didn't reply to my letter."

"Mail man don't deliver 'round here."

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Isn't that Illegal in the US?

 

[Darko]

a sheep

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the sheep

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Thought it was a cow.

Then again the animal did look kinda weird, so maybe the hormones changed the sheep in ways other than its size.

that she was a risk

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Maybe 'then she was'

so that's shouldn't be a problem.

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'that' not 'that's'

I suspect that someone in the superhuman security apparatus pulled something

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My bet is on Waller, or someone else, having the good doc/farmer make their soldiers have the enhanced strength of his daughter.

 

[Ngamer11]

Earth 12
15th January 2002
10:37 GMT -

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Nice. I mentioned Farmer Brown earlier in the thread. A shame Peter can't hire him, bit I'm still hoping he can hire Miss Brown to be a bodyguard or driver. Sort of like Mercy but with the appearance similar to Harley Quinn.

 

[Darko]

Isn't that Illegal in the US?

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Maybe, but I don't think a lot of people are going to try and take action against a mailman when the place he has to deliver the mail to belonged to a guy that released mutated animals to attack the city, and the person that helped him is still living there.

Gotham has enough problems on its plate, so a reasonably paranoid mailman that refuses to deliver mail to some locations is pretty low on the list.

 

[Whenever Possible]

Isn't that Illegal in the US?

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The USPS is bound by a universal service obligation that requires them to provide service to everyone in the US, regardless of where they live, with a minimum required range of products, with a minimum frequency of delivery, and with a minimum acceptable quality of service. In practice, it's more complicated

But... Gotham

 

[Scholar of Time]

Isn't that Illegal in the US?

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As a former ruralite...not really.

Someplaces are too far from roads, and if you upset the post office enough, they won't give you a P.O. box address at the nearest post office. That being said, having learned this through family shenanigans, if you annoy the post office _enough_, they'll build a new headquarters 10 miles away just so you shut up and can get your mail until the roads are finished or (in the case of the Grand Canyon) the donkey arrives.

 

[Ganurath]

Isn't that Illegal in the US?

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Neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. If they're being denied their mail, I suspect meddling to keep them isolated from Peter, or others trying to copy his business model.

 

[Cherico]

looked her up she's cute.

 

[Darko]

Nice. I mentioned Farmer Brown earlier in the thread. A shame Peter can't hire him, bit I'm still hoping he can hire Miss Brown to be a bodyguard or driver. Sort of like Mercy but with the appearance similar to Harley Quinn.

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She did help him out with his operations, so maybe she also has some knowledge and skill like he has, so she may be able to help him out on the scientific front in ways that don't just consist of giving him her fathers notes.

He can also correspond with him through prison and have him give instructions to his scientists through a computer.

Paragon did something similar with Snart if I remember correctly.

 

[Tzeentch]

The above is mostly wrong.

Regularising flows of magic across the world won't do a thing to starve the gods. They will still be empowered by the world's emotions and beliefs, and even if they weren't they would still have the rest of the universe to draw upon. What it will do is counteract the dark magic related pollution effects felt across the world.

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*Sigh* Well, I suppose it was too much to hope that the Fantasy versions of the Four weren't the same as the ones in 40k.

 

[Darko]

Zoat in the spoiler pieces on the first page you forgot to add that this was episode 102.

 

[Citizen]

Isn't that Illegal in the US?

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It's illegal in our universe, but I'm willing to consider some alterations in the policy in a place where "attacked by sentient plants" is a thing

 

[Whenever Possible]

*Sigh* Well, I suppose it was too much to hope that the Fantasy versions of the Four weren't the same as the ones in 40k.

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As much fun as the theory that "Sigmar was the Forgotten Primarch before he ascended to divinity" is, both the existence of the Eldar Pantheon concurrently with Slaanesh and the divinity shuffling that took place in the End Times would seem to indicate that the WHFB chaos gods are separate from the 40k equivalents.

 

[Darko]

Neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds

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But Gotham will stop them dead in their tracks.

And they have a guy that freezes people alive, one that burns people alive(Firefly), and Gotham has ample amounts of gloom.

If they're being denied their mail, I suspect meddling to keep them isolated from Peter, or others trying to copy his business model.

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I think it's just that the mailman is scared to go there and she just got unlucky that she didn't have electricity anymore, and not some conspiracy.

 

[Vaermina]

The above is mostly wrong.

Regularising flows of magic across the world won't do a thing to starve the gods. They will still be empowered by the world's emotions and beliefs, and even if they weren't they would still have the rest of the universe to draw upon. What it will do is counteract the dark magic related pollution effects felt across the world.

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Paul is a couple editions off on that.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Maybe 'then she was'
'that' not 'that's'

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Zoat in the spoiler pieces on the first page you forgot to add that this was episode 102.

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Z3r0Sama]

Ah yes! Best Paul is back in da house! I'm honestly disappointed he didn't call it Supervillain Inc for maximum trolling.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

Faed Away

Earth 12
15th January 2002
10:37 GMT -5

Click to shrink...

Another Peter Wynne interlude? Wonder who he's recruiting this time...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

The Brown farm has clearly seen better days.

Back in 1997 a farmer by the name of Enoch Brown developed a growth hormone which could turn a normal farm animal into a giant farm animal. He first unveiled it to the public at the Gotham Agricultural Expo, where he displayed a sheep nine feet tall. He claimed that his work could end world hunger, which was obviously incorrect… But maybe he just made that claim for press release purposes.

Click to shrink...

Farmer Brown, though the DC Fandom wiki is rather sparse on him. Be sure to check the episode link for more detail...

But whatever his work could have done for the world of agriculture, his work came to a screeching halt when the sheep broke out of its cage and ran amuck. Mr. Brown gave it a sedative and no one was significantly hurt, but the resulting panic spooked a local judge into ordering him to cease his research and bars him from bringing giant animals into Gotham. I'm not… Quite sure how a judge had the authority to do that, but no one other than Mr. Brown was interested in contesting it at the time. I suppose that after the first few 'angry' scientists the people of Gotham rather lost patience with that sort of thing.

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And of course, he took it as poorly as any other.. 'angry' scientist who thinks himself wronged.

What happens next is a relatively predictable revenge story where a slighted scientist uses his work to take revenge on those who've wronged him, leading to a brief altercation with Mr. Wayne and his eventual incarceration.

Click to shrink...

If you didn't follow the link above: He set his enhanced critters loose on the city, and got face-punched by Batman.

Between the criminal damage, assault, blackmail and the attempted murder of a police officer, both Enoch Brown and his daughter Emmylou Brown received rather substantial prison sentences. And yet, a mere three years later, Emmylou Brown is out on parole at the family farmstead. I suppose criminals being in and out of incarceration is something else that Gotham has gotten used to, as I wasn't able to find a mention of it in the local papers. I only found out by chance, when I tried to get Detective Bullock to talk to me about some of the local… 'Characters', and he definitely hasn't forgiven her for trying to feed him to a giant pig.

Click to shrink...

Heh, usually, it's Bullock eating the pork, not the other way around.

Given that this is private property and I'm in America, I make a point of having my hands empty and clearly visible as I walk up the driveway. Neither she nor her still imprisoned father have any history of using firearms, but I imagine that's one of the things that prison life can teach you.

"Hello!?"

Click to shrink...

And since this is taking place before 'Covert Community', his ring is still completely empty. Not that he's helpless, what with him carrying a Cosmic Rod most of the time.

The newspapers said that the animals were removed after their arrest, a claim confirmed by Detective Bullock. He also said that some people 'from the Feds' went through the laboratory to make sure that it was safe. But while owner and daughter were in prison no one was doing any upkeep on the place. The fence around the farm has lost most of its paint to the elements and is rotting in places. The land is almost completely overgrown, and even the dirt lane from the closest road appears to have the weeds cut back only recently.

Click to shrink...

At a guess, they didn't endear themselves to the neighbours enough for them to look after the place... Assuming there's no talk of 'curses'...

"Hello?! Miss Brown?!"

It's quiet out here. We're far enough from Gotham that there's barely any noise from the city other than the occasional muffled blast of a foghorn from the docks, and at this time of year the wildlife isn't particularly active.

Click to shrink...

Plus, Gotham. This is a city where the Joker can turn up nearly anywhere. Caution would be ingrained.

"I'd like to talk to you about your father's work!? If that's at all possible!?"

The house and farm buildings look mildly dilapidated, but the house is more of a piece of cover for the underground bunker where most of Mr Brown's sensitive work took place. So once the mess the hazardous materials team made is cleared up it should still be perfectly habitable.

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Admittedly, you have to wonder how he built the bunker in the first place. I doubt that was a converted storm cellar.

"Excuse m-?!"

A hard door slams and a well-built young woman in farm overalls strides out, glaring at me.

"WHAT?!"

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And lacking a picture, I'm imaging the typical humanised Applejack: tall, tan and muscular, with a cowboy hat and pigtails... Or maybe a straw hat... At any rate: big, hot and short-tempered.

I stop talking, because while Miss Brown isn't technically super strong she's still far stronger than someone of her proportions should be. Strong enough to lift an obese police detective over her head and throw him with no apparent effort.

"I'd like to talk to you about your father's work!"

Click to shrink...

Better have that Cosmic Rod ready, Peter...

She's striding towards me and looks irritated, though whether that's me or the situation I'm not at all sure.

She slows slightly, looking at me suspiciously as she gets to within non-shouting conversation distance.

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Okay, not in a screaming rage. That's a good sign.

"Who are you, anyhow?"

I smile warmly. "My name is Peter Wynne. I run a company called 'Schizo Applications'. We specialise in helping people bring.. exotic products to market, and fund research with the aim of turning good ideas into marketable ideas. I.. heard about your father's work while I was in Gotham-"

Click to shrink...

I hope research into the effects of eating the modified meat is going to be a major part of it. If it causes people to gain super-strength, well...

Deciding that if the local version of Pamela Isley was 'turning people into plants' crazy that she was a risk beyond what I'm willing to take.

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Good call.

"-and I thought that I'd see if anyone was home."

"This here's private property."

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Lady has a point... But you know how Wynne gets when he's chasing a lead...

"And I'll leave at once if that's what you want. I.. did try phoning, but I could get through-"

"They cut us off."

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Unsurprising. I doubt they had any arrangements to pay the bills while in lock-up.

"-when I-. Yes. And you didn't reply to my letter."

"Mail man don't deliver 'round here."

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While a dereliction of duty, as others have noted: Gotham.

"So I thought I'd pay you a visit in person. Though -as I said- if you'd rather I leave then I'm happy to do that."

She tilts her head to the right, her gaze more quizzical than suspicious.

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She's sniffing the bait. If Peter had a ring, he'd probably be seeing traces of Orange Light right now...

"Who'd you say you worked for again?"

"'Schizo Applications'. And.. I don't work for them. I own the company. We… Recently became the largest supplier of electricity in both North America and Europe?"

"They cut the power, too."

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So no catching up on the news. No wonder she's testy.

"Ah." … "Sorry?"

"None'a Pa's work had anything to do with electricity."

"I've already got electricity. But I think that there's a market for enhanced farm animals… Perhaps not as enhanced as some of the ones which you and your father produced-"

Click to shrink...

Again: side effects of eating the modified meat, and all that...

"Mister Bleaty just got scared by alla them flash bulbs!"

"-but there's definitely a market there. As well as for your own enhancements."

Click to shrink...

And of course she wouldn't see the giant monster livestock as anything but cute and cuddly, having raised it...

She frowns.

"You work fer the gub'mint?"

"No. I mean, we probably supply them with electricity, and I've.. been involved in negotiations with various government bodies… I'm not sure what you're implying."

Click to shrink...

Sounds like someone else tried giving her a recruitment speech... Cadmus, the DEO or any number of secret super-soldier projects that pop up in DC, most likely.

She nods, her face relaxing.

"Don't pay it no mind. My daddy's not here right now. But if ya'll come up to the house I'll listen to your offer."

Click to shrink...

Well, she's bit. And with her on side, it'd be easier to recruit her father too.

I nod. "Thank you. Though before we can begin… Can I make sure that your release from prison was legitimate? It's just.. something the human resources department are a bit hot on."

"I ain't suppose to talk about it. Daddy made a deal, and I'm out."

Click to shrink...

Oh, that's worrying. Let's hope Mr Brown didn't get 'disappeared' into one of those super-soldier programs I mentioned...

"'Out' as in your were pardoned, or-?"

"I ain't suppose to talk about it."

Click to shrink...

Yes, nothing shady there at all. Nosirree.

"But nothing that will stop you being officially employed?"

"No."

"Well, that's.. fine, then."

Click to shrink...

The only worry is of someone watching her for signs of backsliding. I bet it wouldn't be the first time Peter's encountered that...

I suspect that someone in the superhuman security apparatus pulled something. That or Lex Luthor paid someone off. But she's out and the local police aren't planning to try to arrest her, so that's shouldn't be a problem.

"Have you been back long?"

Click to shrink...

Ah, polite small talk. One British thing Peter is good at...

Well, here we go. The title just screams 'Sheeda incoming', doesn't it? But will it be a race to get back to Earth to get their nose into a Harrowing, or shenanigans here on Witchworld? Could it be something related to Melmoth? That might be a way to mess with the Queen - bring her King back from the dead. It's not like the Fae are known for conventional relationships with mortality (or morality.)

 

[Darko]

Ah yes! Best Paul is back in da house! I'm honestly disappointed he didn't call it Supervillain Inc for maximum trolling.

Click to shrink...

While I'm betting a lot of his scientific minds are former villains, that doesn't mean that all of them are.

There are plenty of superheroes in comics who can use their inventions to better society, but they never got the chance to due to things like people not being interested or their work being sabotaged.

Unlike their evil counterparts however, they chose to still work to better society, even if it was not in the most efficient way possible.

It's just that the ones that turn to the dark side tend to outnumber the ones that decide to become heroes.

He may also not want to encourage them into thinking that they're still villains, as I'd think I'm right in guessing that some of them think that what Peter is doing is some kind of scam to fool the people into thinking that he's a good guy, all the while preparing his evil plan for world domination, kinda like that thing Luthor did in Kingdom Come if I remember correctly, and Peter doesn't want to do more to encourage that belief.

Naming his company Supervillain Inc may have also made a lot of people very uncomfortable and resistant to doing business with him.

 

[Massgamer]

Always did feel kinda bad about Mr Brown from that episode, so it would be nice to see if his daughter and work can't go back to original dream he hoped for.

The enhanced meat and how it apparently makes one peak human alone would be a goldmine.

 

[Darko]

And since this is taking place before 'Covert Community', his ring is still completely empty. Not that he's helpless, what with him carrying a Cosmic Rod most of the time.

Click to shrink...

And who knows what else he's carrying.

If that guy that fights Alva in the comics exists in this universe than he may also have a belt like Rocket does.

I can see Peter trying to help him out with getting away from Alva.

Admittedly, you have to wonder how he built the bunker in the first place. I doubt that was a converted storm cellar.

Click to shrink...

Maybe he made animals capable of working to build such a thing.

Wouldn't be the craziest thing to happen in a comic universe.

And lacking a picture, I'm imaging the typical humanised Applejack: tall, tan and muscular, with a cowboy hat and pigtails... Or maybe a straw hat... At any rate: big, hot and short-tempered.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: farmers daughter

She's sniffing the bait. If Peter had a ring, he'd probably be seeing traces of Orange Light right now...

Click to shrink...

Probably, but colored texts have shown up even when he doesn't have his ring, so she may not have all that much orange in her now.

There was a lot of violet when he talked to Cheetah when Batman broke in.

And of course she wouldn't see the giant monster livestock as anything but cute and cuddly, having raised it...

Click to shrink...

Hey Fluttershy considers big and scary animals to be cute, so why wouldn't more people.

Sounds like someone else tried giving her a recruitment speech... Cadmus, the DEO or any number of secret super-soldier projects that pop up in DC, most likely.

Click to shrink...

That or she just suspects that he works for such a group if he's wearing a suit, and she may have her suspicions on why she was released so early and who her father talked to about that.

The only worry is of someone watching her for signs of backsliding. I bet it wouldn't be the first time Peter's encountered that...

Click to shrink...

He apparently has very good track record of people not betraying him.

Only two out of eighty did that, and one was working for Luthor.

 

[Darko]

trying to feed him to a giant pig.

Click to shrink...

Heh, usually, it's Bullock eating the pork, not the other way around.

Click to shrink...

This made me think of this:

 

[Darko]

Ah, polite small talk. One British thing Peter is good at...

Click to shrink...

Maybe the various versions can have Vivian Hargrave educate them on proper British ways.

Though it will be a painful process.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

Spoiler: farmers daughter

Click to shrink...

...Oh, well, I'm almost disappointed now... Because of course the DCAU only has three body-types for females: Bombshell (pretty much any female hero, from Batgirl to Big Barda), Tank (Amanda Waller and Granny Goodness for example) and preteen.

He apparently has very good track record of people not betraying him.

Only two out of eighty did that, and one was working for Luthor.

Click to shrink...

I actually meant the government were probably watching her, meaning he'd have to work around them but good point.

Now, back to these Slave Ogryn miniatures...