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

hkim · Jul 5, 2025

Marines often end up in the Color Corps because they remind them of their favorite foods.

Chojin Patriarch · Jul 5, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
Common Sense (part 11)

1st October 2010
17:41 GMT -6

"Alan, I have a question."

The image of his head floating over my ring nods. "Sure, go right ahead. I can work and chew gum at the same time."

Ah, a universe where the heroes haven't learned to be wary when an OL calls them up for a chat. I suspect this is going to change that quite soon.

With Lantern Jordan having semi-official authorisation to let Alan recharge from his personal lantern, Alan leaped at the chance to help with the vine attacks. Right now he's helping move the dying vines out of the cities where they erupted and to uninhabited places where they can be safely studied or disposed of.

Heh. And of course, that won't take him all that much charge, so he's gonna be set for a while off that one charge.

"It's probably a bit personal to you, and I imagine that you'd rather than no one else heard. Ah, except Mister Garrick or Jack Knight, if he's there."

"Huh. Kind of a… Odd combination. I haven't spoke to Jack in… Ah, since he was a boy. Hold on a sec… There. Better?"

Always fun when you think of an old friend's family like that. "Ah, I haven't seen him in... Way too long."

"Are you carrying a heavy object?"

"You're that-? Oh." His face becomes noticeably more solemn. "You wanna ask about Rag Doll."

Ah, yes. The fifties-era serial killer and cult leader that several heroes chose to use lethal force against when he tried to escape after threatening their families..

"Yes."

"How'd you find out about that, anyway?"

Power RIngs, Alan. He's not exactly familiar with their full capabilities due to having no Ring AI, but surely he knows it can sense things?

"I've got a power ring. There was organic residue that… Crime scene investigators at the time probably wouldn't have been able to detect. Ring blasts and cosmic bolts have a distinct damage pattern…" I shrug. "I was curious as to why him, rather than some of the other people you fought. But not so curious that I wanted to… Bring something like that up."

Never underestimate what a man will do when his family is threatened...

"He told us that he was gunna use his cult to go after our families. It seems ridiculous now, but at the time a lot of people saw him as some.. kinda… Nihilistic messiah. There wasn't any way we coulda kept them safe, unless we… Locked them all in a bunker somewhere."

"No one else ever tried that?"

Would their loved ones have wanted to live like that?

"No. Not even with Jay. I wore a mask because I thought that kinda thing would be common, but Joan hardly ever got into that kind of danger. And there aren't many criminals who target the families of police. I guess… I guess our villains were… Not… Better people, but… Less crazy about it." He frowns. "Ted told Jack?"

It was a bit funny that Jay never actually wore a mask, just his classy Hermes cap. I suppose he could vibrate his face as speed to blur ht, though...

"Yes, when they were patching things up. I don't know.. exactly what made him bring it up. Maybe Jack killing Mist Two?"

"Huh. I guess the reason you're bringing this up is the same as the reason why all the vines dropped dead. Who was it?"

Very astute of him. Plenty of context clues, though I wonder what he'll think of the total-kill approach?

"Clean sweep."

"Oh. Ah. Okay. Are all the kids alright?"

Yeah, that level of destruction is something a Lantern Ring with no restrictions is very good at.

"Oh, I just brought Kaldur, and he's…" I look over to where he's using his water bearers to remove Smilex chemicals from the surrounding swamp water. Too late for quite a few swamp-living animals who have keeled over, but hopefully he can stop it spreading to the whole region. "Thinking about things."

I mean, he's seen combat, but not destruction like this, has he?

"How old is he?"

"Sixteen. And a member of the Atlantean army, which is how I'm justifying that to myself."

Aquaman might approve, but some of the more American members might balk at it.

"You said you were an admin guy before you came here. I guess this is the first time you've killed anyone."

"Yes." I nod. "Yes it is."

"How are you holding up?"

Well, he was in the moral right, given their actions. Just a matter of how he's handling casually ending people like that...

"The nice thing about supervillains of their calibre is that there's no room for doubt. They definitely just murdered thousands of people, and not in the name of an ideology, but for money and fun. They were literally the most deserving people they could possibly be. I've been… I know that some people get traumatised even when it's… When it's self defence or… Whatever. I've… Sort of been waiting for it to hit me, but honestly I don't feel… Much at all about it. Needed to be done, and now it's done."

Might be a sign of Orange Light contamination, mind. Doing what he needed to and showing minimal regrets?

"I can't argue that they had it coming, but… If you do wanna talk to someone about it, you know where I am."

"Yes. Thank you."

Alan - best mentor.

"You told Diana yet?"

"No. Nor Batman, who is sure to be pretty angry. Or my other team mates, who are sure to be annoyed about getting left out.

Oh, Batman is going to be apocalyptically angry. Diana at least understands that yes, sometimes she might need to wound or kill...

"You want me to..? Talk to anyone?"

"No, I can handle that myself. Thank you for the offer, though."

Eh, he's going to be doing a lot of talking in the next few hours, methinks...

"What the Hell happened here!?"

"Who was that?"

I look up at the brilliant green glow. "Lantern Jordan. Thank you for speaking to me, but I should probably let you get back to it."

A bit late to the party, but without lethal force, he wouldn't have been super-useful.

He nods. "You wanna get dinner later?"

"Ah, yeah, assuming that I'm not in custody. Meet up at… Ah, eight, eastern standard?"

He's realistic but confident, I'll give him that.

"I'll see you then."

His head vanishes, and I rise up into the air to meet Lantern Jordan. "Lantern Jordan. I'm not sure this is an efficient use of your time."

On the other hand, is Oranger Lantern went rogue, he'd probably be one of the best options the League has to take him down without invoking the oath kill-switch.

He glances at me, then returns to staring at the ruins. "Did they just..? Blow themselves up or something?"

"No, I killed them all, but this still isn't-."

His head jerks back to me. "What?"

Not sure whether to read that as disbelief that CS!OL could manage that, or shock that he was able to do it... Perhaps both?

"It's not an efficient use of your time because the remaining vines are a threat to public health whereas-."

"You killed them."

"Yes."

And then disintegrated their bodies, don't forget that detail.

"How?"

"Ah… Sword, railgun, missiles, constructs, and assimilation. I can actually speak Welsh now, er nad wyf yn gwybod pam y byddwn i eisiau."

I'm guessing he said 'and without any trace of an English accent, no less...'

"Shouldn't that-. Oh."

"Oh?"

What, Green Power Rings can't translate Welsh?

Or it picked up on the intent to have it untranslated for illustration.

"Using lethal force like that outside of very specific situations makes green rings shut down. I though you had the same thing."

I shake my head. "I'm afraid not."

And I bet Hal is feeling a little jealous now, since there's probably been times he wished he could use lethal force.

He looks over the area again. "Collateral damage?"

I shrug. "One of my railgun rounds overpenetrated and hit an alligator. It's dead. Environmental cleanup is required, but the whole area needed that anyway."

And you don't feel motivated enough to handle it yourself. Understandable.

"Right." He nods. "You know you've got a ton of shit heading your way over this."

"I factored Batman in when I made the decision. Legally, it's an open and shut case of Defence of Another."

Still not gonna make him any less angry about it, though.

"Vertigo was the Head of State of Vlatava."

"Then they should thank me that I've saved them from being invaded by the vengeful nations of the world."

Besides, he was all but pulling his dick out and waving it at the world on live teevee. Not really gonna be able to cover that up, even with Diplomatic Immunity.

"And the Justice League's charter is really unclear about lethal force, but that doesn't cover you anyway." He shrugs. "It's a good kill as far as I'm concerned-. You check with General Lane?"

"Yes."

"Then I guess Batman's your problem."

Yes, yes he is...

Well, hopefully this won't be CS!OL's last heroic deployment. This will really put the cat amongst the pigeons in the League meetings, not least of which was his apparently rogue action. Yes, he cleared it with General Lane, But I doubt certain League members will like that he went under the table on this.

BR549 · Jul 5, 2025

Chojin Patriarch said:
I'm guessing he said 'and without any trace of an English accent, no less...'

According to Google Translate, that's "although I don't know why I would want to".

Duke Long · Jul 5, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
"It's probably a bit personal to you, and I imagine that you'd rather than no one else heard. Ah, except Mister Garrick or Jack Knight, if he's there."

'that'

Mr Zoat said:
"Huh. Kind of a… Odd combination. I haven't spoke to Jack in… Ah, since he was a boy. Hold on a sec… There. Better?"

'an…', but it works as informal speech.
'spoken'?

Darko · Jul 5, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
annoyed about getting left out.

"You want me to..? Talk to anyone?"

Add a " at the end of Paul's sentence.

Mr Zoat said:
"Ah… Sword, railgun, missiles, constructs, and assimilation. I can actually speak Welsh now, er nad wyf yn gwybod pam y byddwn i eisiau

Thought he'd speak Norse now.

Granted, Woran may have learned Welsh.

It sure sounds like something from a Cthulhu story.

Mr Zoat · Jul 5, 2025

Ngamer11 said:
That should say 'thought'

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch said:
It was a bit funny that Jay never actually wore a mask, just his classy Hermes cap. I suppose he could vibrate his face as speed to blur ht, though...

The Earth 16 version had a public identity. In the comics, how many people would have seen both Jay Garrick, mild mannered professional chemist and The Flash, superhero, up close? Bear in mind that it was the forties and fifties and cameras weren't anything like as good as they are now. Heck, it was a plot point in one JSA story that once the government started sending agents specifically to identify them it was actually pretty easy.

I'm guessing he said 'and without any trace of an English accent, no less...'

It's 'though I don't know why I would want to', actually.

Lovely people, the Welsh.

Duke Long said:
'that'
'spoken'?

Thank you, corrected.

'an…', but it works as informal speech.

Given how he hesitated, I think I'll leave it.

Darko said:
Add a " at the end of Paul's sentence.

Thank you, corrected.

Thought he'd speak Norse now.

I just like the idea of him being Welsh. I mean, how many Welsh supervillains can you name?

Signaller · Jul 5, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
Signaller said:

(Incidentally, at the end of that exercise four people got stickers, but I think the count should have been five? Here - https://forum.questionablequesting....-justice-si-thread-fourteen.8938/post-3016861 - the count is Green Arrow, Flash, Hawkwoman and an unidentified fourth. At the end of Part 21, Lantern Jordan becomes the fifth. Unless the event was numbers 2-4 and Jordan as 5, with Nabu the first, but thr context of that chapter doesnt make it clear. Maybe change "Four. Excuse me" to "Three today. Excuse me."?)

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

If the correction was only to Part 21 and not earlier or later parts as well, then it went the wrong way, it now makes Jordan in part 26 the sixth death out of four (or out of five, if we count Nabu).

Mr Zoat said:
"Was [Flash] the second one to die [after Green Arrow]?"

"Yes, and-. Oh, there goes Hawkwoman to a rather lucky headshot." I smile at him. "Three League members dead so far [Green Arrow, Flash, Hawkwoman]."
...
"Four's more than most real villains manage." [Nabu?, GA, Flash, HW]
...
"Five. Excuse me." [Nabu?, GA, Flash, HW, 5th?, later Jordan as 6th]

If the intent is that Flash adds +1 for Nabu in the second last line here, then Paul has no (named) reason to increase it to five.

If the SI is counting Nabu in addition to the exercise deaths, then "Three's more than most real villains manage." ... "Three today. Excuse me." fixes the exercise count while keeping the reference to Nabu.

Mr Zoat · Jul 5, 2025

So..? What do I need to change? Was it right originally?

Doccer · Jul 5, 2025

It's gonna be so weird of nobody gets upset and gives OL the business.

Clell65619 · Jul 5, 2025

CrazyNoVa said:
Yeah, but we all know that some writers are really anal about that sort of thing and will project their feelings unto the characters. Some of them will even portray Stewart as if he had never killed anyone before…despite the fact that he was, y'know, A FREAKING MARINE.

Believe it or don't there have been lots of Marines who, even during wartime, who never killed anyone.

That being said, I've never met a member of any US service, including COs (who were opposed to doing it themselves due to their faith(s)), who were opposed to mass murdering psychopaths being allowed to reach room temperature.

Clell65619 · Jul 5, 2025

Doccer said:
It's gonna be so weird of nobody gets upset and gives OL the business.

Well... He works for Wonder Woman, who is an Amazon Warrior, and has killed people far less deserving than the Injustice League. She might be upset, but only due to not being offered the chance to join in.

Batman and Superman will both end up on their High Horses, while actively ignoring how many people have died due to their refusal to deal with their mass murdering bad guys.

Flash (I forget, is this universe's Flash, Barry or Wally?) knows what Jay went through and has (comics) canonically 'dealt' with Zoom, among others in a final manner, only to have Time Travel screw that up.

Honestly, I doubt that anyone in the League has a logical leg to stand on. And Paul can always point out that neither of the people he is required by his Oath to Gaia to obey ever told him to not slaughter mass murderers who would gleefully killing people worldwide.

crazygrox · Jul 5, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
"One of my railgun rounds overpenetrated and hit an alligator. It's dead.

Watch as some sort of intelligent alligator goes after you for killing their father, or it turns out the alligator was inhabited by a spirit of the red checking up on what the heck the green was doing with these plants, or something else.

CrazyNoVa · Jul 5, 2025

Clell65619 said:
Believe it or don't there have been lots of Marines who, even during wartime, who never killed anyone.

That being said, I've never met a member of any US service, including COs (who were opposed to doing it themselves due to their faith(s)), who were opposed to mass murdering psychopaths being allowed to reach room temperature.

Yeah, I know that, but I'm pretty sure Stewart has been shown to have participated in actual combat in his backstory before he became a lantern, so I don't think he's not one of those Marines who have never killed anyone.

Besides, regardless if Stewart did kill or not, that doesn't change the fact that he willingly joined the U.S. Military, an organization that is well known to not be shy about the usage of lethal force when necessary, even if they don't actively encourage killing just for it's own sake. Thus, if Stewart really has a problem with using lethal force when circumstances call for it, then that would make him a massive hypocrite.

Clell65619 said:
Well... He works for Wonder Woman, who is an Amazon Warrior, and has killed people far less deserving than the Injustice League. She might be upset, but only due to not being offered the chance to join in.

Batman and Superman will both end up on their High Horses, while actively ignoring how many people have died due to their refusal to deal with their mass murdering bad guys.

Flash (I forget, is this universe's Flash, Barry or Wally?) knows what Jay went through and has (comics) canonically 'dealt' with Zoom, among others in a final manner, only to have Time Travel screw that up.

Honestly, I doubt that anyone in the League has a logical leg to stand on. And Paul can always point out that neither of the people he is required by his Oath to Gaia to obey ever told him to not slaughter mass murderers who would gleefully killing people worldwide.

Don't forget that they'll probably make Rational Paul have mandatory counselling sessions with Black Canary, probably in an attempt to fix him or make him realize the error of his ways or some bullcrap like that.

Hell, maybe they'll even have him tested for sociopathy or other similar conditions due to his willingness to kill people without batting an eye. And when the results come back and inevitably show that there's nothing wrong with Rational Paul, they would all be baffled and horrified.

Ardy · Jul 5, 2025

crazygrox said:
Watch as some sort of intelligent alligator goes after you for killing their father, or it turns out the alligator was inhabited by a spirit of the red checking up on what the heck the green was doing with these plants, or something else.

Florida Man lays siege to Mount Justice!

Mr Zoat · Jul 5, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
So..? What do I need to change? Was it right originally?

Anyone?

CrazyNoVa · Jul 5, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
Anyone?

Sometimes, the real change you need to make is within yourself.

Ryumancer · Jul 5, 2025

Chojin Patriarch said:
Not sure whether to read that as disbelief that CS!OL could manage that, or shock that he was able to do it... Perhaps both?

I'm inclined to think it's neither... As the conversation goes on, he understands the reason, but as a flat out admission "Oh, no, they didn't kill themselves. I killed them"? It's not the kinda thing someone would typically expect to hear in the context of Young Hero from Batman's Team, vs Group Of Supervillains.

AmericanNumbers · Jul 5, 2025

Common Sense Orange Lantern isn't a League member and he cleared his actions with the US military beforehand. He's absolutely in the clear. I can't see Diana having any issue. Batman? Sure but he's in the wrong.

CrazyNoVa · Jul 5, 2025

AmericanNumbers said:
Common Sense Orange Lantern isn't a League member and he cleared his actions with the US military beforehand. He's absolutely in the clear. I can't see Diana having any issue. Batman? Sure but he's in the wrong.

The sad thing is that if this was in the comics, the writers would portray Paul as being worse than Satan for doing this.

Duke Long · Jul 5, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
Anyone?

Mr Zoat said:
"Four's more than most real villains manage."

I stop smiling.

"Five. Excuse me."

'Three's'
'Four.'

This segment is supposed to be Flash commenting on how Oh El 'killed' three members of the Justice League so far (Green Arrow, The Flash, Hawkwoman), then Oh El makes a.. dark joke? About how it's actually four because he killed Nabu. Later on we learn that the total 'death toll' of the exercise included four Justice Leaguers; the three already listed plus Lantern Jordan.

I believe Signaller was confused as to whether the "Four. Excuse me." referred to Nabu or was referring to another Leaguer who 'died' in the exercise. If the former they asked for more clarity in the 'joke', and if the latter there would be one person missing from the list in the debrief, which would require correction.

In conclusion there was no actual error. The only error has been introduced by the attempt at correction.

Prince Charon · Jul 6, 2025

B00ki5h said:
If this Paul isn't in a public relationship… I wonder how Hippoltya would respond to a proposed marriage alliance? Because Perdita will be grateful.

Um, isn't Perdita about ten at this point? Pretty sure any version of Paul that we've seen would be against that.

ShadowScion626 · Jul 6, 2025

CrazyNoVa said:
Hell, maybe they'll even have him tested for sociopathy or other similar conditions due to his willingness to kill people without batting an eye. And when the results come back and inevitably show that there's nothing wrong with Rational Paul, they would all be baffled and horrified.

There's something deeply ironic about the idea of Justice League members, and let's be honest super hero's in general, casting shade or worrying about the mental health and stability of someone else and wanting them tested. Cus for the life of me, I can't come up with a single super, hero, villain or other, that could actually be considered perfectly mentally stable and healthy themselves.

Vaermina · Jul 6, 2025

ShadowScion626 said:
There's something deeply ironic about the idea of Justice League members, and let's be honest super hero's in general, casting shade or worrying about the mental health and stability of someone else and wanting them tested. Cus for the life of me, I can't come up with a single super, hero, villain or other, that could actually be considered perfectly mentally stable and healthy themselves.

Of course you can't, there have been so many different writers over the years that character inconsistency is the only consistency at this point.

ShadowScion626 · Jul 6, 2025

Vaermina said:
Of course you can't, there have been so many different writers over the years that character inconsistency is the only consistency at this point.

Even without taking that in account, I still can't think of any. Can you think of one? Most of the most famous ones start because of some sort of trauma from guilt (Spider-man,Iron Man [MCU],) trauma from loss (Batman, Daredevil) or some sense of duty that goes beyond healthy (Wonder Woman, Captain America).

Ironically, the most mentally healthy and stable hero i can think of, might very well be the one who does it for the most selfish reasons on the service. Saitama, who became a hero simply because he's bored if everything else, might just be the most mentally healthy hero i can think of.

Mr Zoat · Jul 6, 2025

Duke Long said:
'Three's'
'Four.'

This segment is supposed to be Flash commenting on how Oh El 'killed' three members of the Justice League so far (Green Arrow, The Flash, Hawkwoman), then Oh El makes a.. dark joke? About how it's actually four because he killed Nabu. Later on we learn that the total 'death toll' of the exercise included four Justice Leaguers; the three already listed plus Lantern Jordan.

I believe Signaller was confused as to whether the "Four. Excuse me." referred to Nabu or was referring to another Leaguer who 'died' in the exercise. If the former they asked for more clarity in the 'joke', and if the latter there would be one person missing from the list in the debrief, which would require correction.

In conclusion there was no actual error. The only error has been introduced by the attempt at correction.

Thank you, corrected.

Words for the Word God.

Mr Zoat · Jul 6, 2025

19th July 2013
A little more past ten, local time.

O-kay…

I remember… Roughly, a video of someone analysing the traps Nightmare Moon used on the Mane Six in the first episode of My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic as if they were in Dungeons and Dragons. They-. Oh, let's be honest, he pointed out that the fear trap was the least dangerous. The group could just keep making checks until they all passed, which wouldn't take that long. They didn't have a deadline for stopping Nightmare Moon, so it didn't really matter how long passing took them, and there wasn't anything attacking them which benefited from their paralysis.

Likewise, I'm inside the soul… Mind? Unconscious? Of a city. As long as I don't walk out into somewhere where a car is likely to hit me… And maybe not even then, I don't have to worry about anything attacking me. I'm confident that I will eventually escape, because I remember that in the Sandman comic the people stuck inside eventually bumbled their way out. And while the demands on my time are many, there's nothing… Super-essential that I need to get back for right now. Even if the Justice League fail to stop Batman, Mr. Sage and Dr. Tetch know what's going on and presumably have some sort of plan. The idea that Mr. Sage is working with him makes me significantly happier about it because he wouldn't accept doing anything extremely immor… Al.

Assuming that Dr. Tetch isn't using the globe to supercharge his mind control abilities and influence Mr. Sage.

What happens if he brings that globe here?

Plenty of people could get here, but would they know where to look? No one's mentioned knowing this place exists, and I didn't put it in any.. files.

Alright, need to get out. How?

Three basic possibilities.

The first, the one which I know works, is wander around until I bump into someone, tell them what's happening, and then take the proffered exit. Drawback, I don't know how long that will take.

Second, study how this place works until I can trick my way out. Drawback, I don't know how long that will take. Probably not as long as waiting patiently, but I can't be sure of that, particularly since it will involve me moving to an auspicious location and then staying there.

Third, brute force my way out. Assimilate the soul of Hub City, or at least enough that the city panics and chucks me out. Or the reverse: force the orange light into the city-soul until it gains true consciousness and awakens. Even if that doesn't work, it should force Mr. Sage to put in an appearance to stop me. Drawback, I really don't know what that will do to the material world.

And if I was serious about trusting the Justice League to handle things… I think I'll pick the less Earth-scorching approach.

I take a moment to check my direction, and then keep walking in the direction of the reclamation zone. Not only should it be the area of the city where the me-ness is strongest, but it's also experiencing radical change. And the symbiote clinic is probably the greatest focus on avarice in America for its freely available low-cost healthcare. And if that doesn't work, I can take a train towards Liberty Island and see if I can get into the Heartlands from here.

"Hail Tyche, patron of cities. I haven't tried talking to you before. Which might seem a bit odd given my interests, but it turns out that the Hellenic people have a lot of gods and I've.. been kind of busy. But if we hadn't had two apocalyptic events in quick succession, I'm reasonably sure that I'd have remembered that you exist eventually."

Heh. I'm glad that I'm ninety plus percent sure that she can't hear me here.

"But before you get annoyed about my insolence, consider the fact that I have remembered now, and I'm in the middle of rebuilding a large city. I'm not sure exactly what Helmut was planning regarding civic statues, but I very much doubt that Hub City has a single notable who would pass any sort of morality check. Which means that we need someone else to inspire pedestrians."

Should be coming up on my patch in a moment. Be interesting to see if there's any difference.

"Plus, I can have devotional mottos placed on literally every piece of civic architecture. The local tourist office can hand 'can you find every plaque' booklets out for visitors. And hey, Helmut might be a devout Catholic, but you're on the list of 'safe to treat with' entities, as long as you don't ask for anything unclean. He can listen to your suggestions and action them."

Now, let's see… Ah! I take the emergency libation flask out of my equipment harness, unscrew the cap and take a sniff.

"And have you considered space cities? The moon should be within reach of the Earth's thaumosphere, to say nothing of orbital cities. Those are pretty specialised; I'm not sure that we'll need that sort of off-planet shipbuilding, but factory-ships can be city-sized and function like one. And Hephaestaean is still single; if you're thinking of angling for the crown I can make introductions."

I wait at a zebra crossing for the traffic to stop… Does it do that, or does this place just alter the quantum traffic variables?

And take out the emergency fire lighter, flick, and set fire to the alcohol.

"Oh glorious, rationalistic Tyche, please accept this offering. And if you can nudge this city into granting me an exit, I'd be much obliged."

I wait for it to finish burning, and… Nothing happens.

Oh. Yes it does.

The traffic has stopped flowing over the zebra crossing.

I'll take it.

I stow the flask, not wanting to find out how this cityscape enforces its anti-littering laws, and stride across the road at the designated crossing point.

What other.. gods might..?

"Hail Janus, God of Boundaries and Transitions. Vulcan might have mentioned me. I got him his new job. I haven't tried speaking to you before because you're kind of a fringe deity."

I wait for the Gods of Rome to finish groaning as I check that the city's layout hasn't changed. No, it's staying consistent. I pick up the pace a little.

"And you're not Greek. But I'd like to find a place to transition from inside this to outside of it. By which I mean get back into the material world. There's a ring road in it for you."

Okay, so… That's the shopping centre/clinic. Getting into my territory now. Okay, I know exactly what the desires of the people around here feel like. I should… Be able… To-.

No, nothing. Don't know why, but I can't feel the Honden from here at all. My guess would be that either Mr. Sage did something, or Mr. Sage and Dr. Tetch together are doing something, possibly using the globe.

Hm.

I sit down, laying my palms flat against the pseudo flagstones.

They might be able to cut me off from what's outside, but everything that's in the city is represented here. Recent desires won't have made much of an impression, but older desires -the shopping centre should be enough, and it was a street market before that- which means that this whole place should be a hub of desires relating to selling and acquiring…

Yes. A back door.

I

shift into the Honden, holding myself there for a moment. Can't… See anything untoward, but perhaps a walk..?

I follow the desires of the genomorphs performing the implantation procedure, dim and rigid as they are. And then follow the thread back to Dubbilex at the centre of their group mind… And then

appear in his office.

He blinks at me slowly.

"Orange Lantern?"

"Sorry for the intrusion. Someone wasn't quite as clever as they thought they were, but that will also be true of me if I don't get back in contact with Superwoman right away."

ShadowScion626 · Jul 6, 2025

Oh… you really did that. You swapped back to main story just as we were about to reach a really good part in the Common Sense one!

Darko · Jul 6, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
The idea that Mr. Sage is working with him makes me significantly happier about it because he wouldn't accept doing anything extremely immor… Al.

Assuming that Dr. Tetch isn't using the globe to supercharge his mind control abilities and influence Mr. Sage.

You also have to remember that Sage got a front row seat at a super dictator taking over the planet, so he may do everything to stop another one from doing it.

Mr Zoat said:
sure of that. particularly

"that. Particularly"

Or

"that, particularly"

Mr Zoat said:
And Hephaestaean is still single; if you're thinking of angling for the crown I can make introductions."

Pretty sure he and Athena are going steady.

Duke Long · Jul 6, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
I remember… Roughly, a video someone analysing the traps Nightmare Moon used on the Mane Six in the first episode of My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic as if they were in Dungeons and Dragons. They-. Oh, let's be honest, he pointed out that the fear trap was the least dangerous. The group could just keep making checks until they all passed, which wouldn't take that long. They didn't have a deadline for stopping Nightmare Moon, so it didn't really matter how long passing took them, and there wasn't anything attacking them which benefited from their paralysis.

'of someone'

Mr Zoat said:
Plenty of people could get here, but would they know where to look? No one's mentioned knowing this place exists, and I didn't put it in any.. files.

No one knows about city souls in general, or Hub City and The Question's access to it specifically? Because if people know about city souls in general I think it wouldn't be a huge stretch for Nommo to be allocated to checking whether Oh El is in the soul of the city he's rebuilding. Probably not the first place they'd look but I imagine they'd get around to it.

Mr Zoat said:
And if that doesn't work, I can take a train towards Liberty Island and see if I can get into the Heartlands from here.

Clever. I don't think we ever got to actually see the Heartlands, right? Just the Lunglands?

Mr Zoat said:
I wait at a zebra crossing for the traffic to stop… Does it to that, or does this place just alter the quantum traffic variables?

'do'

Mr Zoat said:
Now, let's see… Ah! I take the emergency libation flask out of my equipment harness, unscrew the cap and take a sniff.

Now that's some nice preparedness.

Mr Zoat said:
"Hail Janus, God of Boundaries and Transitions. Vulcan might have mentioned me. I got him his new job. I haven't tried speaking to you before because you're kind of a fringe deity."

And that's a nice pun.

Chojin Patriarch · Jul 6, 2025

Mr Zoat said:
19th July 2013
A little more past ten, local time.

O-kay…

I remember… Roughly, a video someone analysing the traps Nightmare Moon used on the Mane Six in the first episode of My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic as if they were in Dungeons and Dragons. They-. Oh, let's be honest, he pointed out that the fear trap was the least dangerous. The group could just keep making checks until they all passed, which wouldn't take that long. They didn't have a deadline for stopping Nightmare Moon, so it didn't really matter how long passing took them, and there wasn't anything attacking them which benefited from their paralysis.

Sadly, 'real life' doesn't work like D&D, or any other sort of role-playing game no matter how simulationist. People aren't going to react to something scary by going 'I roll a Will Save!' unless they have a very loose grip on reality.

Likewise, I'm inside the soul… Mind? Unconscious? Of a city. As long as I don't walk out into somewhere where a car is likely to hit me… And maybe not even then, I don't have to worry about anything attacking me. I'm confident that I will eventually escape, because I remember that in the Sandman comic the people stuck inside eventually bumbled their way out. And while the demands on my time are many, there's nothing… Super-essential that I need to get back for right now. Even if the Justice League fail to stop Batman, Mr. Sage and Dr. Tetch know what's going on and presumably have some sort of plan. The idea that Mr. Sage is working with him makes me significantly happier about it because he wouldn't accept doing anything extremely immor… Al.

Although, given the loose nature of time and perception within a dream, the one example of being trapped in a city's dream like that might have taken just a minute or two in the real world... Circumstances didn't allow for the person telling his story to answer questions of logic and mechanics, after all.

Assuming that Dr. Tetch isn't using the globe to supercharge his mind control abilities and influence Mr. Sage.

What happens if he brings that globe here?

The problem is would he think to do that? Would Vic suggest it to him, control or no control?

Plenty of people could get here, but would they know where to look? No one's mentioned knowing this place exists, and I didn't put it in any.. files.

Alright, need to get out. How?

To be fair, OL, when would you ever have had to discuss something like this with anyone?

Three basic possibilities.

The first, the one which I know works, is wander around until I bump into someone, tell them what's happening, and then take the proffered exit. Drawback, I don't know how long that will take.

And there's always the chance the person you encounter isn't willing to help you. Or be someone you don't want to casually meet.

Second, study how this place works until I can trick my way out. Drawback, I don't know how long that will take. Probably not as long as waiting patiently, but I can't be sure of that. particularly since it will involve me moving to an auspicious location and then staying there.

Hard part being able to actually perform analytical processes on the realm. I'm sure your Rings are having trouble making much sense of the place...

Third, brute force my way out. Assimilate the soul of Hub City, or at least enough that the city panics and chucks me out. Or the reverse: force the orange light into the city-soul until it gains true consciousness and awakens. Even if that doesn't work, it should force Mr. Sage to put in an appearance to stop me. Drawback, I really don't know what that will do to the material world.

Or try pulling open a portal into the Honden and greediporting out, but that's much the same as the other proposed options.

And if I was serious about trusting the Justice League to handle things… I think I'll pick the less Earth-scorching approach.

I take a moment to check my direction, and then keep walking in the direction of the reclamation zone. Not only should it be the area of the city where the me-ness is strongest, but it's also experiencing radical change. And the symbiote clinic is probably the greatest focus on avarice in America for its freely available low-cost healthcare. And if that doesn't work, I can take a train towards Liberty Island and see if I can get into the Heartlands from here.

Which can also qualify as the 'meet someone helpful' option.

"Hail Tyche, patron of cities. I haven't tried talking to you before. Which might seem a bit odd given my interests, but it turns out that the Hellenic people have a lot of gods and I've.. been kind of busy. But if we hadn't had two apocalyptic events in quick succession, I'm reasonably sure that I'd have remembered that you exist eventually."

Heh, we were just talking about her. Also, nice way to start off your prayer. "Sorry I haven't prayed to you before, but in my defence..."

Heh. I'm glad that I'm ninety plus percent sure that she can't hear me here.

"But before you get annoyed about my insolence, consider the fact that I have remembered now, and I'm in the middle of rebuilding a large city. I'm not sure exactly what Helmut was planning regarding civic statues, but I very much doubt that Hub City has a single notable who would pass any sort of morality check. Which means that we need someone else to inspire pedestrians."

And there's certainly lots of options for depictions of her, with many major Hellenic cities having their own representation of her image.

Should be coming up on my patch in a moment. Be interesting to see if there's any difference.

"Plus, I can have devotional mottos placed on literally every piece of civic architecture. The local tourist office can hand 'can you find every plaque' booklets out for visitors. And hey, Helmut might be a devout Catholic, but you're on the list of 'safe to treat with' entities, as long as you don't ask for anything unclean. He can listen to your suggestions and action them."

And Tyche is probably rolling her eyes in amusement at his blatant sucking up.

Now, let's see… Ah! I take the emergency libation flask out of my equipment harness, unscrew the cap and take a sniff.

"And have you considered space cities? The moon should be within reach of the Earth's thaumosphere, to say nothing of orbital cities. Those are pretty specialised; I'm not sure that we'll need that sort of off-planet shipbuilding, but factory-ships can be city-sized and function like one. And Hephaestaean is still single; if you're thinking of angling for the crown I can make introductions."

And either of those suggestions might have her sit up and take notice, if she was hearing them.

I wait at a zebra crossing for the traffic to stop… Does it to that, or does this place just alter the quantum traffic variables?

And take out the emergency fire lighter, flick, and set fire to the alcohol.

Lacking a ceremonial brazier to flick it onto, of course.

"Oh glorious, rationalistic Tyche, please accept this offering. And if you can nudge this city into granting me an exit, I'd be much obliged."

I wait for it to finish burning, and… Nothing happens.

Welp, there goes that plan.

Oh. Yes it does.

The traffic has stopped flowing over the zebra crossing.

Huh. Coincidence, or an actual reply? Well, if Hephaestean contacts him about what he said to Tyche about seeking marriage...

I'll take it.

I stow the flask, not wanting to find out how this cityscape enforces its anti-littering laws, and stride across the road at the designated crossing point.

Also don't want to test their views on 'crossing without due care and attention.' What you Americans might call Jaywalking...

What other.. gods might..?

"Hail Janus, God of Boundaries and Transitions. Vulcan might have mentioned me. I got him his new job. I haven't tried speaking to you before because you're kind of a fringe deity."

Huh, that's actually a good choice of deity to appeal to.

I wait for the Gods of Rome to finish groaning as I check that the city's layout hasn't changed. No, it's staying consistent. I pick up the pace a little.

"And you're not Greek. But I'd like to find a place to transition from inside this to outside of it. By which I mean get back into the material world. There's a ring road in it for you."

Clever. Offer him claim over a road defining the boundary of an area of the city. Right in his wheelhouse.

Okay, so… That's the shopping centre/clinic. Getting into my territory now. Okay, I know exactly what the desires of the people around here feel like. I should… Be able… To-.

No, nothing. Don't know why, but I can't feel the Honden from here at all. My guess would be that either Mr. Sage did something, or Mr. Sage and Dr. Tetch together are doing something, possibly using the globe.

Or it's something about the City's dream-/mind-scape getting in the way, like a spiritual faraday cage.

Hm.

I sit down, laying my palms flat against the pseudo flagstones.

So he's going to look for a wired connection through the cage.

They might be able to cut me off from what's outside, but everything that's in the city is represented here. Recent desires won't have made much of an impression, but older desires -the shopping centre should be enough, and it was a street market before that- which means that this whole place should be a hub of desires relating to selling and acquiring…

Makes you wonder what the dreamscapes of older cities are like. London? Rome? Athens? Constantinople, even.

Yes. A back door.

I

shift into the Honden, holding myself there for a moment. Can't… See anything untoward, but perhaps a walk..?

There we go. Uploaded himself out of there like a misplaced file.

I follow the desires of the genomorphs performing the implantation procedure, dim and rigid as they are. And then follow the thread back to Dubbilex at the centre of their group mind… And then

appear in his office.

I wonder if the Genomorphs can sense him coming a moment before he appears or if his arrival is just as sudden for them as for anyone.

He blinks at me slowly.

"Orange Lantern?"

"Sorry for the intrusion. Someone wasn't quite as clever as they thought they were, but that will also be true of me if I don't get back in contact with Superwoman right away."

Dubbilex: "Who?"

OL's really got to keep track of his own in-jokes with people. I bet the next few people other than Kara-One he mentions that name to will be all 'Who?' At any rate, let's hope he didn't lose too much time in there, and that she hasn't pulled the Lighthouse down around her in a panic. That could be a bit noisy for the neighbours...

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

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