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

[fappingtoyourpost]

A sun that destroys everything except living creatures seems like the opposite of something Nekron would do.

Click to shrink...

It would make sense if it was something the defenders did to ward off black lanterns. It would be a great mindscrew if we found out earth was the only planet with living things on it, and the entire rest of the galaxy was full of the dead.

 

[Agent Orange]

It would be a great mindscrew if we found out earth was the only planet with living things on it, and the entire rest of the galaxy was full of the dead.

Click to shrink...

Or the rest of the galaxy is just fine, business as usual, with Sol system being one of those quarantined areas. Because the Vamp-Ra is too personally powerful for any would be saviours to bother trying anything (the planet's already mostly dead, there's an entire galaxy to look after and there's never enough men or budget to cover everywhere) besides, he seems to enjoy playing Sims with the Drow wannabes, let him. At least this way he's not making mess anywhere else and it's not like he's hurting anyone of consequence. Sol sys stopped being relevant to the Human Commonwealth many millenia ago anyway.

 

[Mr Zoat]

than
she lifts

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

twenty-five

Click to shrink...

I don't think I've been doing them like that.

 

[DAT_NOOB]

It's probably this guy.

Stsword guessed him first and Zoat left a like there, so chances are high that it's him.

He wears dark clothing and is a vampire.

Also he's a Sun Eater, so there's that.

As for why the Sheeda don't look like him, well that could be explained as him having his appearance change over the millenia, or the ones that made the Sheeda weren't that successful in replicating how he looked.

Click to shrink...

I didn't expect 'vampire sun' to be this literal

 

[Assblaster5000]

It's probably this guy.

Stsword guessed him first and Zoat left a like there, so chances are high that it's him.

He wears dark clothing and is a vampire.

Also he's a Sun Eater, so there's that.

As for why the Sheeda don't look like him, well that could be explained as him having his appearance change over the millenia, or the ones that made the Sheeda weren't that successful in replicating how he looked.

Click to shrink...

The main issue I see with it being Starbreaker is that he's the adult form of a Sun Eater, which don't exactly have genetics, not as we understand the term at least.

You are probably right though.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Bullish
Start

Lord Caeryg has actually turned out for this one in person. Quite why he decided to turn it into a social event rather than keep it top secret eludes me, but there are Highborn representatives from several other Sheeda cities along with their escorts. Servants are moving around the demonstration area with platters of edible beetles, and a small cluster of flesh shapers are making final checks on the booster beetle.

They've even put out some glow flies, though it's still dingy as heck here. I suppose that explains the full face helms the Sheeda who were part of the Harrowing fleet wore: our bright light must be blinding to them. Caeryg hasn't been quite daring enough to grow back his severed limb, but this is effectively him 'coming out' as a Queen-doubter. I imagine that Sheeda politics are about to get very interesting.

I take a moment to check the etchings on the booster beetle. Since it's a reasonable assumption that the 'vampiric' effect will get stronger as we get closer, this beetle will effectively be integrated into my armour's soul circuitry. Not fully; the Sheeda don't have the ability to make the materials I need for that. But a close enough resemblance mixed with a little magic make something which sort of works.

All looks fine to me…

I pat the carapace, though I know full well that it's far too insensitive to feel it, and far too simple-minded to understand the concept of familiarity. And since it's almost certainly going to die in the next few hours that's just as well, really.
Flawless Posture.
On the launch pad, Artemis stretches, eye stalk arrows ready to be plucked from their unfortunate donor. Telepathy is unknown to the Sheeda, but psychometry clearly isn't.

I nod to the flesh crafters, and they ignite their sigils and lead the booster beetle towards the launch platform.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Highborn of the Sheeda, scholars and warriors, today I and my faithful steed take the first glimpse at the universe beyond the mist shrouding the Earth."

I make a circuit of the viewing area, making sure to make eye contact with at least the leaders of the delegations.

"I wish to take in the state of the rest of the universe! And I wish to share that knowledge with all of you, so that you will have less reason to doubt my intentions. Each of you has had the opportunity to check the equipment; each of you knows that what you see will be what I see. What is actually there. And perhaps it will go some way to solving the mystery of your situation."

Or if I'm really lucky, get me to somewhere from which I can boom tube away, recharge my rings and build up a decent production centre. If I'm less lucky, then whatever's keeping the red giant away only extends as far as the edge of the mist and I'm about to get horribly burned. Or the beetle could blow up and I'll get horribly burned from that.

My tested level of resilience is why Artemis is staying on the ground rather than taking her chances on the beetle.
Fortify.
I head towards the beetle, smiling to myself as a couple of magic-focused Highborn get their fingers burned by the sigils they were using to covertly monitor the magics in my body. Could be they think I'm a novel Highborn created in Caernouid at Caeryg's instruction. If he's bringing people in at this stage I assume that he's got his story and approach sorted out for bringing them around to his point of view.
Fortify.
I walk down the short series of steps that lead underneath the booster beetle and pull my armour's goggles and seldom-used face covering into place. Then I take a firm hold on the carapace's handholds.
Fortify.
"Artemis, ready?"
Fortify.
"Whenever you are."
Fortify.
The idea of using the beetle to get off the surface was a non-starter. A beetle acting as a rocket would have to be the size and composition of a rocket, and survive having me hanging off it as it powered up to escape velocity. And if something went wrong or if the Vampire Sun doesn't act in the way we tentatively think it does, we'd be rogered.
Fortify.
Ping.
Fortify.
I activate my aero-discs and rise, slowly lifting the beetle off the launch pad. Learning to keep the aero-discs functioning under ground-level disruption took… A while, as measured by Artemis's beetle clock. But I took it up to the upper levels of the miasma and with a map memorised I'm confident that I can avoid falling on anything too important.
Fortify.
Once I reach eye level with Artemis I nod. She draws, and looses the first shot.
Fortify.
She can only bridge to places she knows, but she can fire an arrow pretty much any distance. If she fires an arrow with an eye on the end? We're back in bridge-business.
Fortify.
The rainbow explosion goes off just above me and I rise. It's not fast, not compared to ring-based flight and even compared to what I managed with aero-discs back in the past. But as Artemis sends an arrow through the bridge ahead of us the booster beetle and I are accelerating at a slow but steady rate.
Fortify.
And then space gets peculiar for a moment and we're… Not all that high up, actually. With a quick glance I can still just about make out the lights of the city below. But we're about as far up as fly-mounts can take their riders.
Fortify.
Then the bridge behind me closes and a new one opens in front of me. Keep going.
Fortify.
This one opens further up. The ground is fully shrouded and the sky above me similarly obscured. I can see my hand where it's gripping the beetle, but not much further than that. I don't see the arrow that creates the next rainbow bridge, but fortunately the bridge itself is bright enough that I can still aim at it.
Fortify.
I feel a momentary kinship with the early hot air balloon aviators getting caught in a cloud. At least the beetle's carapace is surviving having its entire weight pressing on my hands.
Fortify.
Up again, and this time while I can't see anything at least the clouds above me are bright enough to let me know that I'm going in the right direction. They don't shine white, of course; it's red light all the way and really does put me in mind of the fire pits, when the fug from the forges gets really bad and the overseers have to move their lowlies into shelters or lose the whole lot of them.
Fortify.
Up again, and this time there's a shape to the redness. I can see the outline of the sun, the baleful glare strong enough to trigger my goggles.
Fortify.
And up again. The clouds are wisps, the sun disturbingly large in the sky, and… Ugh. I can't see stars, but I can see that there's enough dust in the system that they could well be blotted out. The sun itself… I'm no expert in solar dynamics, but it looks like an early stage red giant in the growing phase. What I'd expected from the illumination but not from the chronology. Red giants don't grow particularly fast, but they grow faster than this. Once things get hot enough to evaporate all surface water… But again, the surface of the Earth isn't all that hot.
Fortify.
And now I'm standing in what passes for its full glare I'm not that hot, either. Oh, at this distance a red giant wouldn't do me measurable harm, but I would feel the distance. Light without heat? I'm not feeling as if I'm being drained at an accelerated rate, and my armour feels just as functional as it did at ground level.
Fortify.
I can't see the moon…
Fortify.
Wait. Don't I remember that in the comics the Dominators blew it up? But Earth was the centre of human civilisation in that comic, whereas I've had it confirmed that it isn't here. Won't be, here. Then again, there is a lot of dust. Maybe they do?
Fortify.
Mother Box?
Fortify.
Ping.
Fortify.
Good show. I turn away from the sun and trigger the booster beetle. And after a brief delay, its internal gas bladders undulate and release the thrust plume that propels us forward.
Fortify.
Ahead is… The dull glow of light from the sun reflecting off a billion billion particles of dust. I can't see any object of any size, which makes sense. This beetle is an organic booster rocket. It doesn't have a faster than light drive, if only because there are very few organic non-arcane faster than light drives and they all require substances we don't have. But the thrust is constant, my armour is replenishing my air and I'm not being harmed. I could pretty much just go to sleep here and wake up when we've gone far-
Fortify.
Ping.
Fortify.
-enough… Really? Already? And you're sure that it's New God?
Fortify.
Ping.
Fortify.
That's lucky. I switch the setting of my goggles to pick up anything that touches the Source.
Fortify.
Let me know when we're close…
Fortify.
Enough…
Fortify.
Oh.
Fortify.
Dimly through the dusty miasma I look left and right, up and down, at the outlines of the titans whose imprisoned forms make up the Source Wall.

 

[The Unaligned Player]

Well. That's terrifying.

 

[DeathlessProficiency]

So the Earth has been moved to the edge of the universe, by the Source Wall?

 

[Assblaster5000]

Right then, this is... interesting.

Still a small bit too soon to call what exactly we're dealing with, but it's likely a New God.

Probably.

 

[Darko]

her can fire

Click to shrink...

'she can fire'

for its for its full glare

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remove one 'for its'

that comics

Click to shrink...

either 'that comic' or 'those comics'

are very few organic non-arcane faster than light drives

Click to shrink...

That Effigy guy was made to be able to travel faster than light with science.

 

[Silveraith]

Have we finally reached the point where Grayven yells at the Source Wall? That tidbit was leaked to us years ago.

 

[Darko]

Have we finally reached the point where Grayven yells at the Source Wall? That tidbit was leaked to us years ago.

Click to shrink...

No, I think Zoat said he's going to yell at the wall when his story ends and I doubt it's going to end here.

 

[Assblaster5000]

No, I think Zoat said he's going to yell at the wall when his story ends and I doubt it's going to end here.

Click to shrink...

I don't know, this is feeling sufficiently "Final Boss" to me. Grayven doesn't have his rings charged, Mother Box still doesn't seem to be doing all that well, and he doesn't have any backup.

Honestly, what were the devs thinking? Having a quest like this at, what? The mid-game? I get that they wanted to model things as closely as they could to the source material, but this is insane! What if you stumbled into this quest chain as an Entrepreneur build like Peter? You'd get crushed instantly all because of the Dynamic World code they put in making you fight an end-game boss just a few years in!

 

[BlueMangoAdea]

That Effigy guy was made to be able to travel faster than light with science.

Click to shrink...

By a Controller. Not exactly your normal species.

 

[PrinceJonathan]

So the Earth has been moved to the edge of the universe, by the Source Wall?

Click to shrink...

I was thinking the DC Universe has shrunk by the time of the Sheeda to where it's only large enough to contain the Earth and whatever the hell the Vampire Sun is.

Have we finally reached the point where Grayven yells at the Source Wall? That tidbit was leaked to us years ago.

Click to shrink...

Titan Stuck in the Wall: "Welcome to God Burger, Source of the God Burger. May I take your order?"

Grayven: "Yes, I'll have a Double Stack 4-for-4, with coke and BBQ sauce. No onions please."

-5 minutes later-

Grayven: "I SAID NO ONIONS!"

No, I think Zoat said he's going to yell at the wall when his story ends and I doubt it's going to end here.

Click to shrink...

It can't end here! Grayven hasn't married Best Princess yet!

 

[Darko]

I don't know, this is feeling sufficiently "Final Boss" to me. Grayven doesn't have his rings charged, Mother Box still doesn't seem to be doing all that well, and he doesn't have any backup.

Click to shrink...

Zoat also said his final opponent will be Darkseid...and given the Source Wall this may very well be Darkseid.

By a Controller. Not exactly your normal species.

Click to shrink...

I know that, that's why there are very few non arcane organic FTL drives as the renegade said.

 

[Agent Orange]

Each of you has had the opportunity to check the equipment;

Click to shrink...

"Nothing up my sleeves, as you can clearly see... Now let's see if I can pull that rabbit out of this totally empty hat!"

[it] took… A while, as measured by Artemis's beetle clock.

Click to shrink...

You know... There's some sentences that only make sense in the context but take them out of it...

This beetle is an organic booster rocket. It doesn't have a faster than light drive, if only because there are very few organic non-arcane faster than light drives and they all require substances we don't have.

Click to shrink...

What? Sheeda cannot build you Starburst equipped beetle? For shame. Maybe they should subcontract it to the Builders.

Really? Already? And you're sure that it's New God?

Click to shrink...

Oh? That was fast! Is he about to meet his future self? Does vampirism count as STD? Where's Luna?

Dimly through the dusty miasma I look left and right, up and down, at the outlines of the titans whose imprisoned forms make up the Source Wall.

Click to shrink...

...

I am very confused. Is Sol sys surrounded by the Source Wall? Or did someone break it and the 'bricks' decided to hang around the Sun of all places for some reason?

 

[Assblaster5000]

Titan Stuck in the Wall: "Welcome to God Burger, Source of the God Burger. May I take your order?"

Grayven: "Yes, I'll have a Double Stack 4-for-4, with coke and BBQ sauce. No onions please."

-5 minutes later-

Grayven: "I SAID NO ONIONS!"

Click to shrink...

I couldn't help it.

 

[BlueMangoAdea]

I was thinking the DC Universe has shrunk by the time of the Sheeda to where it's only large enough to contain the Earth and whatever the hell the Vampire Sun is.

Click to shrink...

Hm. If the universe was shrunk to such a small size, the average temperature of the universe would be very very high. Maybe the vampire sun is a desperate attempt to drain the energy so that the universe's temperature is bearable?

 

[Assblaster5000]

...

I am very confused. Is Sol sys surrounded by the Source Wall? Or did someone break it and the 'bricks' decided to hang around the Sun of all places for some reason?

Click to shrink...

It seems like there's a portal to The Source Wall, rather than it physically being in Sol. That's how I understood it at least.

Hm. If the universe was shrunk to such a small size, the average temperature of the universe would be very very high. Maybe the vampire sun is a desperate attempt to drain the energy so that the universe's temperature is bearable?

Click to shrink...

Certainly possible, but it brings up questions about why The Seehda don't have records about that, why it has a portal(?) to The Source Wall, and what cuased this whole mess int he first place.

 

[kedgisgo]

Oh... are they on the wrong side of the source wall? like some kind of bubble?

That could be bad? or at least incredibly strange.

 

[Assblaster5000]

Oh... are they on the wrong side of the source wall? like some kind of bubble?

That could be bad? or at least incredibly strange.

Click to shrink...

If that was the case then we'd either be in n52 territory which is... no as far as Zoat is concerned, or they'd be in The Source considering they aren't just in a white void, which is also rather unlikely.

 

[Zig]

So the Earth has been moved to the edge of the universe, by the Source Wall?

Click to shrink...

Sounds more like the source wall has contracted and surrounds the Earth but not sure.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

Bullish
Start

Lord Caeryg has actually turned out for this one in person. Quite why he decided to turn it into a social event rather than keep it top secret eludes me, but there are Highborn representatives from several other Sheeda cities along with their escorts. Servants are moving around the demonstration area with platters of edible beetles, and a small cluster of flesh shapers are making final checks on the booster beetle.

Click to shrink...

So... He's going up to orbit to get a good look at things himself? I wonder just how long that took to arrange...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

They've even put out some glow flies, though it's still dingy as heck here. I suppose that explains the full face helms the Sheeda who were part of the Harrowing fleet wore: our bright light must be blinding to them. Caeryg hasn't been quite daring enough to grow back his severed limb, but this is effectively him 'coming out' as a Queen-doubter. I imagine that Sheeda politics are about to get very interesting.

Click to shrink...

Hopefully not too noisy, though. The last thing Grayven needs right now is getting dragged into a war of succession. I mean, he might well have to take a hand and end up conquering the lot.

I take a moment to check the etchings on the booster beetle. Since it's a reasonable assumption that the 'vampiric' effect will get stronger as we get closer, this beetle will effectively be integrated into my armour's soul circuitry. Not fully; the Sheeda don't have the ability to make the materials I need for that. But a close enough resemblance mixed with a little magic make something which sort of works.

All looks fine to me…

Click to shrink...

Let's hope it holds up. Last thing you want is it going kablooey when you're hitting the edge of the atmosphere. Otherwise it'll be a short, hot trip back down.

I pat the carapace, though I know full well that it's far too insensitive to feel it, and far too simple-minded to understand the concept of familiarity. And since it's almost certainly going to die in the next few hours that's just as well, really.
Flawless Posture.
On the launch pad, Artemis stretches, eye stalk arrows ready to be plucked from their unfortunate donor. Telepathy is unknown to the Sheeda, but psychometry clearly isn't.

Click to shrink...

...Ew. I'm guessing her Rainbow Bridge technique will be involved in this launch, then.

I nod to the flesh crafters, and they ignite their sigils and lead the booster beetle towards the launch platform.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Highborn of the Sheeda, scholars and warriors, today I and my faithful steed take the first glimpse at the universe beyond the mist shrouding the Earth."

Click to shrink...

A noble goal. I wonder how many of them actually buy that. No doubt many have their suspicions.

I make a circuit of the viewing area, making sure to make eye contact with at least the leaders of the delegations.

"I wish to take in the state of the rest of the universe! And I wish to share that knowledge with all of you, so that you will have less reason to doubt my intentions. Each of you has had the opportunity to check the equipment; each of you knows that what you see will be what I see. What is actually there. And perhaps it will go some way to solving the mystery of your situation."

Click to shrink...

Oh, this is going to be fun.

Or if I'm really lucky, get me to somewhere from which I can boom tube away, recharge my rings and build up a decent production centre. If I'm less lucky, then whatever's keeping the red giant away only extends as far as the edge of the mist and I'm about to get horribly burned. Or the beetle could blow up and I'll get horribly burned from that.

My tested level of resilience are why Artemis is staying on the ground rather than taking her chances on the beetle.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I don't think she'd take a fall from near-orbit quite as well as you can, even with her 'Just Cause'-style grappling shenanigans. Never mind all the other risks.

Fortify.
I head towards the beetle, smiling to myself as a couple of magic-focused Highborn get their fingers burned by the sigils they were using to covertly monitor the magics in my body. Could be they think I'm a novel Highborn created in Caernouid at Caeryg's instruction. If he's bringing people in at this stage I assume that he's got his story and approach sorted out for bringing them around to his point of view.
Fortify.

Click to shrink...

Heh. Yeah, New Gods are quite a bit higher-octane on the magical scale than they are. With any luck that eases their nerves just a little. Instead of making them more paranoid.

I walk down the short series of steps that lead underneath the booster beetle and pull my armour's goggles and seldom-used face covering into place. Then I take a firm hold on the carapace's handholds.
Fortify.
"Artemis, ready?"
Fortify.
"Whenever you are."

Click to shrink...

Flinging himself into orbit using a giant beetle (some modification of a bombardier beetle?) a rookie New God's arrow transportation techniques, and more than a little luck. Bet he didn't see himself doing this when he went to interview Harley Rathaway back when this all started.

Fortify.
The idea of using the beetle to get off the surface was a non-starter. A beetle acting as a rocket would have to be the size and composition of a rocket, and survive having me hanging off it as it powered up to escape velocity. And if something went wrong or if the Vampire Sun doesn't act in the way we tentatively think it does, we'd be rogered.
Fortify.
Ping.

Click to shrink...

Translation: "Frankly, being sodomised by whatever it is would probably be much less painful than whatever we're headed into."

Fortify.
I activate my aero-discs and rise, slowly lifting the beetle off the launch pad. Learning to keep the aero-discs functioning under ground-level disruption took… A while, as measured by Artemis's beetle clock. But I took it up to the upper levels of the miasma and with a map memorised I'm confident that I can avoid falling on anything too important.
Fortify.
Once I reach eye level with Artemis I nod. She draws, and looses the first shot.

Click to shrink...

Operation 'Grayven-pult' is a go, repeat, go!

Fortify.
She can only bridge to places she knows, but her can fire an arrow pretty much any distance. If she fires an arrow with an eye on the end? We're back in bridge-business.
Fortify.
The rainbow explosion goes off just above me and I rise. It's not fast, not compared to ring-based flight and even compared to what I managed with aero-discs back in the past. But as Artemis sends an arrow through the bridge ahead of us the booster beetle and I are accelerating at a slow but steady rate.

Click to shrink...

As one of the nobles comments, "You know, I thought this would go faster..."

Fortify.
And then space gets peculiar for a moment and we're… Not all that high up, actually. With a quick glance I can still just about make out the lights of the city below. But we're about as far up as fly-mounts can take their riders.
Fortify.
Then the bridge behind me closes and a new one opens in front of me. Keep going.

Click to shrink...

Like taking a flying leap in Seven league Boots.

Fortify.
This one opens further up. The ground is fully shrouded and the sky above me similarly obscured. I can see my hand where it's gripping the beetle, but not much further than that. I don't see the arrow that creates the next rainbow bridge, but fortunately the bridge itself is bright enough that I can still aim at it.
Fortify.
I feel a momentary kinship with the early hot air balloon aviators getting caught in a cloud. At least the beetle's carapace is surviving having its entire weight pressing on my hands.

Click to shrink...

Would have killed the plan if he picked it up, and it promptly cracked open and slid down over him... Bet it would have earned a few laughs, though.

Fortify.
Up again, and this time while I can't see anything at least the clouds above me are bright enough to let me know that I'm going in the right direction. They don't shine white, of course; it's red light all the way and really does put me in mind of the fire pits, when the fug from the forges gets really bad and the overseers have to move their lowlies into shelters or lose the whole lot of them.
Fortify.
Up again, and this time there's a shape to the redness. I can see the outline of the sun, the baleful glare strong enough to trigger my goggles.

Click to shrink...

Let's hope it isn't too close. As amusing as it would be for him to come flying into orbit and smack head-first into Starbreaker's nose or something...

Fortify.
And up again. The clouds are wisps, the sun disturbingly large in the sky, and… Ugh. I can't see stars, but I can see that there's enough dust in the system that they could well be blotted out. The sun itself… I'm no expert in solar dynamics, but it looks like an early stage red giant in the growing phase. What I'd expected from the illumination but not from the chronology. Red giants don't grow particularly fast, but they grow faster than this. Once things get hot enough to evaporate all surface water… But again, the surface of the Earth isn't all that hot.
Fortify.
And now I'm standing in what passes for its for its full glare I'm not that hot, either. Oh, at this distance a red giant wouldn't do me measurable harm, but I would feel the distance. Light without heat? I'm not feeling as if I'm being drained at an accelerated rate, and my armour feels just as functional as it did at ground level.

Click to shrink...

Things are just getting weirder and weirder. More and more physical improbabilities...

Fortify.
I can't see the moon…
Fortify.
Wait. Don't I remember that in the comics the Dominators blew it up? But Earth was the centre of human civilisation in that comics, whereas I've had it confirmed that it isn't here. Won't be, here. Then again, there is a lot of dust. Maybe they do?

Click to shrink...

To be honest, even if they did, Humanity would probably have managed to reconstruct it later on, given the quite variable level of technology assorted future eras showed off. Plus, five or so billion years... Anything could have happened to ol' Mundus Luna.

Fortify.
Mother Box?
Fortify.
Ping.

Click to shrink...

Hmm... Was that 'Moon's still there... I think.' or 'We're high enough, you can stop now.' I wonder...

Fortify.
Good show. I turn away from the sun and trigger the booster beetle. And after a brief delay, its internal gas bladders undulate and release the thrust plume that propels us forward.

Click to shrink...

Ah, I see, the beetle is his extra-atmospheric manoeuvring gear.

Fortify.
Ahead is… The dull glow of light from the sun reflecting off a billion billion particles of dust. I can't see any object of any size, which makes sense. This beetle is an organic booster rocket. It doesn't have a faster than light drive, if only because there are very few organic non-arcane faster than light drives and they all require substances we don't have. But the thrust is constant, my armour is replenishing my air and I'm not being harmed. I could pretty much just go to sleep here and wake up when we've gone far-

Click to shrink...

And miss this view? Well, probably, yeah. It does not sound particularly picturesque...

Fortify.
Ping.
Fortify.
-enough… Really? Already? And you're sure that it's New God?

Click to shrink...

...What. Oh, this should be good.

Fortify.
Ping.
Fortify.
That's lucky. I switch the setting of my goggles to pick up anything that touches the Source.

Click to shrink...

Just watch for overload. Whatever's out there, it could be very, very big.

Fortify.
Let me know when we're close…
Fortify.
Enough…

Click to shrink...

And it's enough to render Grayven speechless. This must be amazing.

Fortify.
Oh.
Fortify.
Dimly through the dusty miasma I look left and right, up and down, at the outlines of the titans whose imprisoned forms make up the Source Wall.

Click to shrink...

...What. Wait, has the universe contracted or something? What's going on? There are so many questions!

I'll be honest, I don't think anyone was expecting this, in-story or in thread. Seriously, what. The. Ever-loving. Hand-holding. Fuck. I doubt Grayven's going to be yelling at the Source Wall tomorrow, but there better be something...

Godspeech:

I pat the carapace, though I know full well that it's far too insensitive to feel it, and far too simple-minded to understand the concept of familiarity. And since it's almost certainly going to die in the next few hours that's just as well, really.
Flawless Posture.
On the launch pad, Artemis stretches, eye stalk arrows ready to be plucked from their unfortunate donor. Telepathy is unknown to the Sheeda, but psychometry clearly isn't.

Click to shrink...

And he's also calling 'Fortify.' between nearly every line after that. Wow.

 

[Assblaster5000]

Sounds more like the source wall has contracted and surrounds the Earth but not sure.

Click to shrink...

The main issue with that is The Source Wall exists, traditionally, outside of the regular multiverse, so it exists beyond space-time. Which would mean that if it's contracted to surround Sol in The Sheeda's timeline it would have done the same in every timeline.

 

[Fellow]

If I'm less lucky, then whatever's keeping the red giant away only extends as far as the edge of the mist and I'm about to get horribly burned. Or the beetle could blow up and I'll get horribly burned from that.

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This seems unusually risky of him. Shouldn't they have at least done a test of some sort first before attempting this? He says he's resilient, but he barely survived a nuke way back when and that was with a fully functioning power ring.

 

[Darko]

So... He's going up to orbit to get a good look at things himself? I wonder just how long that took to arrange...

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According to Artemis they spent some time there that she slept several times, so as far as we know they could have been there for weeks or even months.

A noble goal. I wonder how many of them actually buy that. No doubt many have their suspicions.

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I doubt hope is something they can feel.

Oh, this is going to be fun.

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Fun and interesting in the Chinese sense of the word.

Seriously if Melmoth was telling the truth and all Sheeda are evil then maybe giving them the opportunity to travel to outer space isn't such a good idea, seeing as they may try to try being space raiders instead of time raiders.

Heh. Yeah, New Gods are quite a bit higher-octane on the magical scale than they are. With any luck that eases their nerves just a little. Instead of making them more paranoid.

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Or it does worry them, since if they are evil they may think that beating them and torturing them after this is over will be harder.

Flinging himself into orbit using a giant beetle (some modification of a bombardier beetle?) a rookie New God's arrow transportation techniques, and more than a little luck. Bet he didn't see himself doing this when he went to interview Harley Rathaway back when this all started.

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To be fair few people see this happening.

 

[Darko]

This seems unusually risky of him. Shouldn't they have at least done a test of some sort first before attempting this? He says he's resilient, but he barely survived a nuke way back when and that was with a fully functioning power ring.

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True, but now he's much, much more powerful than he was back then, so maybe he figures he can survive it.

 

[Agent Orange]

Shouldn't they have at least done a test of some sort first before attempting this?

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Like what? Sending a dog a Highborn strapped to the beetle rocket first?

 

[Fellow]

Like what? Sending a dog a Highborn strapped to the beetle rocket first?

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They could've attached a really long tendril to the beetle, sent it to space, then reeled it back in to see if it survived or something.

Edit: Granted the tendril would have to be 100km long, but I'm sure there could be some simpler method.