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

Duke Long · Sep 19, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
I know your eye sight is good

This isn't actually wrong, I think, but personally I've only seen it spelled 'eyesight'.

It seems a bit mental to still go after remembering Amalak's stance on kryptonians. I expected Paragon to pick another location when he remembered that. The metahuman idea is okay, but if Amalak sees a metahuman which just so happens to have all the powers of a kryptonian, I feel like there might be a problem.

Windona · Sep 19, 2022

Duke Long said:
This isn't actually wrong, I think, but personally I've only seen it spelled 'eyesight'.

It seems a bit mental to still go after remembering Amalak's stance on kryptonians. I expected Paragon to pick another location when he remembered that. The metahuman idea is okay, but if Amalak sees a metahuman which just so happens to have all the powers of a kryptonian, I feel like there might be a problem.

I can see the logic, since 'flying brick' is a pretty common powerset and I don't remember if Kryptonian powers under yellow sun is well known here

Old Knife · Sep 19, 2022

Bud-E said:
Did not expect Clark to try and give this a second shot... 20 bucks say Amalak will find out he's Kryptonian!

I think the lesson will go better if he doesn't find out.
And if Clark decides that he can do better as Clark instead of superman.
Might get lex to like him better.

moralrelativity · Sep 19, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
would be to much of a risk.

to -> too

Windona · Sep 19, 2022

I mean, Clark and Superman are a two pronged attack. Superman fights obvious supervillains, violent crime, and stops disaster. Clark Kent investigative reporter fights corruption and systematic issues that can't be punched. Often one duty in one identity feeds into the other. It's that way for a lot of heroes with secret IDs

Doccer · Sep 19, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
where you have to have to use your judgement.

Repeated words.

Give him a a "I

Orange Lantern!" Shirt.

mastermenthe · Sep 19, 2022

Windona said:
I mean, Clark and Superman are a two pronged attack. Superman fights obvious supervillains, violent crime, and stops disaster. Clark Kent investigative reporter fights corruption and systematic issues that can't be punched. Often one duty in one identity feeds into the other. It's that way for a lot of heroes with secret IDs

Which is where and why almost every comic deconstruction of secret ID heroes go wrong.

szypty · Sep 19, 2022

Windona said:
Hey, not wearing a shirt means that Superman can absorb more sunlight!

More seriously, I don't think anyone expects Amalak to not find out that Superman is Kryptonian. Though there's a good chance that Superman can Do His Thing and make peace with Amalak.

Hey, since Zoat isn't going with YJ Zod... but Zoat, I doubt you saw Syfy's Krypton or are incorporating it so

I was thinking, it would be pretty cool if we end up with Zod getting a trial for his interplanetary crimes. It gives us so many things just from the storytelling and worldbuilding perspective: it gives us a look on how exactly such trials go and gives an opportunity for Amalak to get closure and let go of his hatred of all Kryptonians, and Superman to see his birthworld in a different, more objective light.

Windona · Sep 19, 2022

szypty said:
I was thinking, it would be pretty cool if we end up with Zod getting a trial for his interplanetary crimes. It gives us so many things just from the storytelling and worldbuilding perspective: it gives us a look on how exactly such trials go and gives an opportunity for Amalak to get closure and let go of his hatred of all Kryptonians, and Superman to see his birthworld in a different, more objective light.

Zod can be really fun as a villain. I like his portrayals where he's charismatic and may have a point, but definitely is a dangerous supremacist.

Khornelius · Sep 19, 2022

Vaermina said:
So is this where LePaul finds out why giant Zeta Beam emitters are a bad idea?

Unless they pull off a Star Trek and fuse into a single gestalt entity for a period of time. I'll consider that mistake a positive on the sheer coolness of the idea.

1moleman · Sep 19, 2022

Wait, what if this is a cunning plot of Paul to have a second seduction target for Spider Queen.... :O instead of Paul having to cheat on Jade with his one true love of spider princess, Clark Kent can act as a temporary companion until Jade's pesky mortality runs out and Paul is free to be the Spider-Daddy he wishes.

Silveraith · Sep 19, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
letting him out would be to much of a risk

Too.

Mr Zoat · Sep 19, 2022

Ngamer11 said:
That should say 'an'.

The next work didn't start with a vowel until he reconsidered it.

Krypton should be capitalized.

Thank you, corrected.

RoninSword said:
So is there a reason that Clarke can't just claim that OL also augmented him like he did Lois?

They don't publically know each other.

Windona said:
Hey, since Zoat isn't going with YJ Zod... but Zoat, I doubt you saw Syfy's Krypton or are incorporating it so

Correct. I didn't.

Duke Long said:
This isn't actually wrong, I think, but personally I've only seen it spelled 'eyesight'.

I'll change it.

moralrelativity said:
to -> too

Doccer said:
Repeated words.

Thank you, corrected.

Bud-E · Sep 19, 2022

Mr Zoat random question are Green Lanterns still forbidden to enter Vega now that Larfleeze is taken care of?

Ngamer11 · Sep 19, 2022

Bud-E said:
Mr Zoat random question are Green Lanterns still forbidden to enter Vega now that Larfleeze is taken care of?

Guy mentioned to Paul that the restriction was lifted after the Psions got wiped out.

Darko · Sep 19, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"Does he know that Zod was a criminal who was banished to the Phantom Zone

Probably not.

But did Zod's actions against his species lead to him being imprisoned?

If they imprisonedhim because of the genocide then Amalak may be pleased, but if it wasn't because of that then he won't be.

Mr Zoat said:
"No. Without knowing how much solar power he'd absorbed before being sent to the Phantom Zone, letting him out would be too much of a risk

Unless you released him on a planet with a red sun and surrounded him with all kinds of kryptonite.

Mr Zoat said:
Using the Phantom Zone in the way Krypton used to was simply cowardly."

It also wasn't particularly smart since the prisoners don't age and the potential for them escaping centuries later is high.

Darko · Sep 19, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
Man, Clark's just inadvertently headbutting the 'awkward' button with this conversation, isn't he?

Paul does that all the time.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Admittedly, there's about as much chance of that as Mammon getting into a snowball fight back home. This will be tense

That's possible.

Granted, the snowballs may have sharp rocks in them or grenades.

Stsword · Sep 19, 2022

Khornelius said:
Unless they pull off a Star Trek and fuse into a single gestalt entity for a period of time. I'll consider that mistake a positive on the sheer coolness of the idea.

Zeta beam accidents tend to be less the Fly and more turn people into chimerical body horror fusions.

However a post Death Metal story had Hal's ring fuse Superman and Batman into an amalgamated being with green lantern energy that looked like this

So if it comes up that Paul ever really wants Superman's powers there is precedent for a Dragon Ball Z fusion dance.

mastermenthe · Sep 19, 2022

Stsword said:
a post Death Metal story

A who in a what now?

Lord Ernest · Sep 19, 2022

mastermenthe said:
A who in a what now?

I think that's another of DC's reboots, crisis without the name, whatever you want to call it. The one that came after the Evil Batmans, I believe?

After the end of DC, i.e. Flashpoint, there have been like a dozen or more.

Doccer · Sep 19, 2022

Doccer said:
Repeated words.

Give him a a "I Orange Lantern!" Shirt.

Thought of a better one "I Avaricious Orange Lantern!"

Stsword said:
Zeta beam accidents tend to be less the Fly and more turn people into chimerical body horror fusions.

However a post Death Metal story had Hal's ring fuse Superman and Batman into an amalgamated being with green lantern energy that looked like this

So if it comes up that Paul ever really wants Superman's powers there is precedent for a Dragon Ball Z fusion dance.

Badass.

Vaermina · Sep 20, 2022

Khornelius said:
Unless they pull off a Star Trek and fuse into a single gestalt entity for a period of time. I'll consider that mistake a positive on the sheer coolness of the idea.

Um... I was more talking about how large Zeta arrays are anti planet weapons...

Ardy · Sep 20, 2022

So Zoat we never confirmed what you meant a few posts back about Amalak not getting Vran "back". You said she quit after Paul got exploded by Qwa matter but what happened if she didn't go back to amalak?

Stsword · Sep 20, 2022

mastermenthe said:
A who in a what now?

DC's latest cosmic reboot- Multiverse with no hard limit, with new universes springing forth from Elseworld and dying at Omega.

rdfox · Sep 20, 2022

Paul, don't say "shirtless" or Lois will find a way to kill you in your sleep. And no, offering the threesome won't work, she's a one-man kind of woman.

Stsword · Sep 20, 2022

rdfox said:
Paul, don't say "shirtless" or Lois will find a way to kill you in your sleep. And no, offering the threesome won't work, she's a one-man kind of woman.

Although considering in "Whom Gods Destroy" bringing another woman in might be a discussion.

Cause Supes, Lois as Wonder Woman, and Lana as The Oracle (Greek mythology, not computer hacking) really looked like a throuple in that Elseworld.

Mr Zoat · Sep 20, 2022

18th December 2012
20:35 GMT

I can tell from the way Kal-El's eyes are focusing that he's taking in the damage on the planet below.

"I never asked how you felt about Ms. Lane getting augmented."

He blinks, clearly experiencing a violent change in mental gearing.

"Ah. I like that she's safer and will live longer. The.. Danner Formula has a history of reliability, and I know if there was a problem you'd work at it until it was fixed."

"Yes." I sigh. "There might be a problem."

He stops in the air, giving me his full attention.

"The Accala… They all have the Danner Formula. There's actually a ceremony when an expectant mother gets the injection to augment her foetus. Because… Just like how it's not easy to nurse a super strong baby with normal breasts… They're not sure how safe it is to give birth to a normal child with super strong vaginal muscles. I mean, I don't think humans and kryptonians can breed naturally anyway-."

He relaxes a little. "But Lois would need a C-section."

"That would be a good idea. Unless your child could absorb solar power in-utero, which seems unlikely. And would be very bad."

"But Lois would be okay, wouldn't she? Her womb's tougher, too."

"I think -and this is an impression I have based on what I know about Danner babies, not something I've got actual research on- that she'd be fine with the foetus moving or kicking, I'm… Just not sure what happens with heat vision."

"Would they have heat vision?"

"I have no idea. Humans can breed with things we biologically shouldn't be able to because the Earth's thaumosphere is firmly of the opinion that sex makes babies, but I don't know what that does for the baby's biology."

"I don't have a lot of luck when it comes to magic."

"I suspect that's mostly because you weren't born here. Or it could be that kryptonians aren't evolved to use magic in the way that humans are." I shrug. "The only way to find out in advance would be to try and teach Mitchell magic, and he hasn't shown any interest."

"What would happen if they did have heat vision?"

"Whether it would kill Ms. Lane or not would depend on the angle and energy output. All but the weakest shots would boil the amniotic fluid and cause a miscarriage or.. at best a premature delivery. And the child might be killed due to their brain not being able to handle the power discharge."

"Dear Lord."

"I'd suggest either growing a child in a tank, or spending the whole pregnancy off Earth and away from yellow suns. Second suggestion would be to give Ms. Lane an environmental shield set to filter out the wavelengths which empower kryptonians."

He nods, clearly relieved. "That sounds like the smart option."

"And without wanting to be crude, if you're trying for children then she needs to wear it from the start and at all times."

He breathes appreciably easier. "And… How does it work with you?"

"If you're relying on a magic mechanism, in-vitro fertilisation-."

"No. I mean, if you and Jade try and have children. I know you said that you didn't have a soul when you came here, and it sounds like magic plays a big part in the process."

"If Jennifer-Lynn Hayden and Todd Rice are anything to go by, any child I have has a fifty percent chance of coming out orange and with an innate connection to the orange light. There's no record of Ms. Canton having a difficult labour, and… Miss Hayden's abilities didn't come in until adulthood. If Jade and I had children and they did have a strong connection to the orange light, then I would be able to moderate it and communicate with them by it. More or less."

"Don't other Lanterns have children?"

"Yes, but none of the human Lanterns have, and most of the Lanterns who have children aren't as far into their light as I am. Enlightened Green Lanterns usually aren't interested in anything not associated with the Corps."

"Guy doesn't seem to have that problem."

"Guy is a special case. And he met Ms. Olafsdotter before it happened, which probably helped. Ah!"

I lead the way down towards ground level, where humanoids of various species are working at clearing rubble.

"These people were The Spider Guild's trading partners. Pirates and slavers of the blackest stripe. Now-."

His face stills.

"Now they're slaves."

"Now they're prisoners with jobs, which I'll remind you is entirely legal in the United States of America. And this was an alternative to the death sentence they were going to get from every civilisation in the region. At best, the Green Lantern Corps might have marooned them somewhere to spend the rest of their lives as hunter-gatherers with no doctors."

"What do they do when this job's finished?"

"Depends. None of the Guild's neighbours want them to go free. Once the initial clear up is complete, those with specialist skills can get work using them, and it's not as if the Spiders care about their people-trafficking history."

"And those without?"

"They worked on board spaceships. They've all got at least basic astro-engineering skills, as well as combat experience. Amalak will probably offer them jobs eventually, if they stick with it, and then they're out of the region and gainfully employed."

His eyes rest on a squad of armed overseers in the uniform of Amalak's organisation.

"How are they treated?"

"Pretty well for people-gastronomes?"

Clearly not what he meant. Reminds me of a meaningful quote at the start of an episode of Andromeda. Something about the best way to judge the morality of a society being to look at how it treats its weakest: the elderly, children and prisoners. Which is nonsense. The elderly are your parents, people who've done their time maintaining your civilisation. Children are your civilisation's future. Prisoners -assuming that they're guilty of things it's reasonable to call crimes- are a drain on your society, unwilling or unable to work within it and draining its resources by existing. I prefer to fix that by rehabilitation so that they can start contributing, but plenty of civilisations don't have the resources to invest in the chance of that sort of thing working.

"I have concerns that the system in which they have no rights could be open to abuse."

"Amalak's people are professionals, and a good chunk of them are ex-slaves themselves. There are very clear rules for prisoner-guard interactions and constant remote monitoring. And while the prisoners aren't paid, they are rewarded with better conditions if they perform well, so they're motivated to keep at it."

"And if they don't?"

"Then there's a brief hearing, and then the suspended sentence of death is carried out. Want to talk to some of them?"

Handlewithcare · Sep 20, 2022

It always feels weird to have Supes in such horrible situations.

He actually IS the boyscout he protrays himself to be, so this always feels oddly cruel. Like telling a kid Santa isn't real.

Chojin Patriarch · Sep 20, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
18th December 2012
20:35 GMT

I can tell from the way Kal-El's eyes are focusing that he's taking in the damage on the planet below.

"I never asked how you felt about Ms. Lane getting augmented."

Heh, just skipping over what he's wearing, huh? I'll choose to imagine a t-shirt-style super-suit top, then. I always prefer Superman wearing short sleeves anyway. And that is something we haven't heard about in-story, is it? How he feels knowing his lady love is almost as powerful as he is, physically at least?

He blinks, clearly experiencing a violent change in mental gearing.

"Ah. I like that she's safer and will live longer. The.. Danner Formula has a history of reliability, and I know if there was a problem you'd work at it until it was fixed."

Yeah, always a bit of a mental swerve when OL spouts his usual non-sequitor conversations side-tracks. Probably how people felt when talking to Commander Shepard...

"Yes." I sigh. "There might be a problem."

He stops in the air, giving me his full attention.

What kind of problem? The kind that gets Superman mad at you, or...

"The Accala… They all have the Danner Formula. There's actually a ceremony when an expectant mother gets the injection to augment her foetus. Because… Just like how it's not easy to nurse a super strong baby with normal breasts… They're not sure how safe it is to give birth to a normal child with super strong vaginal muscles. I mean, I don't think humans and kryptonians can breed naturally anyway-."

He relaxes a little. "But Lois would need a c-section."

...Ew.

That went in a direction I was not expecting. Nor particularly want to consider...

"That would be a good idea. Unless your child could absorb solar power in-vitro, which seems unlikely. And would be very bad."

"But Lois would be okay, wouldn't she? Her womb's tougher, too."

There's tough, then there's kryptonian tough. I don't think Lois is anywhere near the latter.

"I think -and this is an impression I have based on what I know about Danner babies, not something I've got actual research on- that she'd be fine with the foetus moving or kicking, I'm… Just not sure what happens with heat vision."

"Would they have heat vision?"

...I mean, you didn't have heat vision as a baby, did you? Then again, born on Krypton. Maybe the Zod VI has some advice on Kryptonian natal development under yellow sunlight conditions?

"I have no idea. Humans can breed with things we biologically shouldn't be able to because the Earth's thaumosphere is firmly of the opinion that sex makes babies, but I don't know what that does for the baby's biology."

"I don't have a lot of luck when it comes to magic."

Well, OL knows the real reason, but as always, it's not something he can casually mention to anyone...

"I suspect that's mostly because you weren't born here. Or it could be that kryptonians aren't evolved to use magic in the way that humans are." I shrug. "The only way to find out in advance would be to try and teach Mitchell magic, and he hasn't shown any interest."

"What would happen if they did have heat vision?"

Hmm... Isn't Earth like the fifth world the Maltusians have housed the Life Entity in (in this universe, anyway) since they discovered it? I wonder if its presence in other worlds left them with a similarly overpowered aspect...

"Whether it would kill Ms. Lane or not would depend on the angle and energy output. All but the weakest shots would boil the amniotic fluid and cause a miscarriage or.. at best a premature delivery. And the child might be killed due to their brain not being able to handle the power discharge."

"Dear Lord."

Don't worry, I'm sure OL is just trying to press home how dangerous it could be without proper preparation...

"I'd suggest either growing a child in a tank, or spending the whole pregnancy off Earth and away from yellow suns. Second suggestion would be to give Ms. Lane an environmental shield set to filter out the wavelengths which empower kryptonians."

He nods, clearly relieved. "That sounds like the smart option."

Well, as long as it's reliable. Honestly, the ex-utero option might be the safest, if the most impersonal.

"And without wanting to be crude, if you're trying for children then she needs to wear it from the start and at all times."

He breathes appreciably easier. "And… How does it work with you?"

...Pretty much the same as any other human, really. Tab A, Slot B, rub vigorously.

The Kents did give you the Talk, didn't they?

"If you're relying on a magic mechanism, in-vitro fertilisation-."

"No. I mean, if you and Jade try and have children. I know you said that you didn't have a soul when you came here, and it sounds like magic plays a big part in the process."

...Oh, right. Yeah, I can't imagine having a big old snake of GIMME for a soul, never mind all the other things it's sucked up via his tattoos, would make for a conventional offspring.

"If Jennifer-Lynn Hayden and Todd Rice is anything to go by, any child I have has a fifty percent chance of coming out orange and with an innate connection to the orange light. There's no record of Ms. Canton having a difficult labour, and… Miss Hayden's abilities didn't come in until adulthood. If Jade and I had children and they did have a strong connection to the orange light, then I would be able to moderate it and communicate with them by it. More or less."

"Don't other Lanterns have children?"

Well, that would be a little scary. Kids able to make Orange Light constructs? Or worse, Identity Theft anything or anyone that upsets them? OL would have to keep a tight rein on that sort of thing. Hopefully they'll work more like the usual sort of 'inherited powers' deal, as OL points out about Jade.

"Yes, but none of the human Lanterns have, and most of the Lanterns who have children aren't as far into their light as I am. Enlightened Green Lanterns usually aren't interested in anything not associated with the Corps."

"Guy doesn't seem to have that problem."

Admittedly, there are few examples of Enlightened Lanterns to draw upon, anyway. Even with the records of Karax.

"Guy is a special case. And he met Ms. Olafsdotter before it happened, which probably helped. Ah!"

I lead the way down towards ground level, where humanoids of various species are working at clearing rubble.

Ah, let me guess. Some of the Spider's suppliers?

"These people were The Spider Guild's trading partners. Pirates and slavers of the blackest stripe. Now-."

His face stills.

"Now they're slaves."

Fair's fair. But I doubt OL would be that petty. Or allow it in his associates.

"Now they're prisoners with jobs, which I'll remind you is entirely legal in the United States of America. And this was an alternative to the death sentence they were going to get from every civilisation in the region. At best, the Green Lantern Corps might have marooned them somewhere to spend the rest of their lives as hunter-gatherers with no doctors."

"What do they do when this job's finished?"

Not that I expect they'll see any of that pay, unless they can be really lucky at the end of all this.

"Depends. None of the Guild's neighbours wants them to go free. Once the initial clear up is complete, those with specialist skills can get work using them, and it's not as if the Spiders care about their people-trafficking history."

"And those without?"

...Invitations to dinner ~~for~~ with the Spiders?

"They worked on board spaceships. They've all got at least basic astro-engineering skills, as well as combat experience. Amalak will probably offer them jobs eventually, if they stick with it, and then they're out of the region and gainfully employed."

His eyes rest on a squad of armed overseers in the uniform of Amalak's organisation.

Admittedly, they'll probably never advance to far within the organisation, at least until memories fade...

"How are they treated?"

"Pretty well for people-gastronomes?"

Such an awkward term, but the obvious 'cannibal' is mostly wrong. Spiders don't generally eat their own kind, after all.

...Anthropotarian? Eh, awkward. and not all advanced sapients are human-shaped...

Clearly not what he meant. Reminds me of a meaningful quote at the start of an episode of Andromeda. Something about the best way to judge the morality of a society being to look at how it treats its weakest: the elderly, children and prisoners. Which is nonsense. The elderly are your parents, people who've done their time maintaining your civilisation. Children are your civilisation's future. Prisoners -assuming that they're guilty of things it's reasonable to call crimes- are a drain on your society, unwilling or unable to work within it and draining its resources by existing. I prefer to fix that by rehabilitation so that they can start contributing, but plenty of civilisations don't have the resources to invest in the chance of that sort of thing working.

And sometimes the people they imprison aren't really capable of rehabilitation... I suppose it'd vary be culture...

"I have concerns that the system in which they have no rights could be open to abuse."

"Amalak's people are professionals, and a good chunk of them are ex-slaves themselves. There are very clear rules for prisoner-guard interactions and constant remote monitoring. And while the prisoners aren't paid, they are rewarded with better conditions if they perform well, so they're motivated to keep at it."

And what better carrot is there besides better living conditions, after all?

"And if they don't?"

"Then there's a brief hearing, and then the suspended sentence of death is carried out. Want to talk to some of them?"

...And there's the stick.

Heh. Easing Clark into the messy, morally muddy side of the good fight, eh? Let's hope none of that mud sticks, though. Perhaps Clark will try all the harder to stick to his code, having seen how dark things could get. At any rate, there's still a meeting with Amalak to look forwards to. We can but hope that he doesn't take one look at the Superman outfit (El shield or no El shield) and go, "That's old Kryptonian fashion. Who are you?"

Pinklestia · Sep 20, 2022

Handlewithcare said:
He actually IS the boyscout he protrays himself to be

No, that's either Superboy or Captain Marvel.

Superman is a nice guy but unlike Batman he doesn't have a no killing rule, he just leaves killing as the last option.

Flash, more so Wally West, tends to be more caring and compassionate that Superman. Superman does a whole lot and has good intentions but he is never quite sure if he is doing the best he could do without going insane.

He is not human and he is aware of that, he knows Luthor is partly right, that if he did everything then humanity would grow too dependent on him.

The Flash is the heart, Billy is kindness, without them, the JLA falling is a lot more likely.

That's why I hate Flashpoint, it was the start of "The Flash tries to abuse time travel to solve his problems."

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

Glomerulus

Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

Not too sore, are you?

Recovering pendant.

Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

Versed in the lewd.

Mint Thistle

Getting some practice in, huh?

Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

Overlord of the Underworld

Know what you're doing yet?

Argent Phantasm

Dedicated ragequitter

Stand up so I can push you down!

Experienced.

Connoisseur.

Connoisseur.

Versed in the lewd.

Mint Thistle

At the End...

Versed in the lewd.

Well worn.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Versed in the lewd.

Know what you're doing yet?

Versed in the lewd.

Dedicated ragequitter

Versed in the lewd.

Veteran Lurker

Well worn.

Users who are viewing this thread