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

In terms of the railguns, its less the railguns themselves and more the type of ammunition that he uses. Easier to create a railgun that shoots a crumbler round then just using the ring to try and project a crumbler round or its effect at its target.
 
"Disavow your actions" doesn't seem like an attitude Darkseid would take.
As noted elsewhere - this is being done on the cheap, apparently as a distraction for going against the Reach.

Darkseid, being Tyrrany, has to be SEEN performing tyrannical actions in his name, or suffer a metaphysical nerf. He isn't here and Mannheim himself has been the only person invoved invoking Darkseid's name - even Finality Man is invoking Mannheim's. So Mannheim gets to take the credit - or the nerfbat.

This is obviously a "side job" by Apokalypsian standards; if it works, that's great, if it doesn't, Mannheim is going to be left swinging in the breeze.

Boom tubes can open to almost anywhere the user wants them to go.
Yes, but right now aside from delivering Finality Man and the batch of expendable Insectoids, this seems to be being limited to Earth.
 
Damn, no wonder GLC-Apokolyps war turned into a total slaughter. Finality Man is not exactly standard issue, but it is also not the most powerful thing Darkseid can put on the field, and it handles two of like top-10 Lanterns in the galaxy without much problems.
Infinity Man is top dog for New Gods, unless YJ changed it as I haven't watched it. While he's no Yuga Khan, Darkseid or Izaya, I'd imagine he's a match for Orion and he's got very good mojo in-universe.
 
Jet Fighter (part 10)
31st December 2012
22:34 GMT +1


Yesterday, that would have been a sound move. But right now Guy's down to that stupid Halla pistol and a personal force field while I've actually got some reasonable fire power. No way to stop a boom tube, but if it-

The robot raises its hands, red glow slowly coalescing in its palms.

-actually attacks-.

"Plot flight path, engage."

My armour accelerates, crumbler gauntlets going live as I fly arms-first into its right palm! It-. Ah! That's what happened! It loses containment immediately, the effect feeding back into wherever it's getting this energy from. My armour gets… Ah, not used to reading these alerts, a little abraded, which suggest that the red stuff needs to be fully 'shaped' in order to have the maximum effect.

And now I'm past the robot, its now limp hand knocked aside and noticeably not building up the red stuff. The robot turns slowly around to face me, shielding its still-glowing right hand with the mass of its body as it does so. Unfortunately for it, I still had the design for the smart missile system I designed for Artemis a few years ago in my database and stuck a slightly repurposed version on this armour when I gave it firepower. And since whatever shield it had a minute ago doesn't seem to be working now…

"Fire volley one."

The ejection system vomits twelve missiles directly upwards in rapid succession, sending them arcing up over the robot. At the apex of their curve the cases pop open, submunitions deploying, simple guidance systems networking with my armour's computers and aiming themselves down before activating their boosters. The robot raises its right hand just a little too slowly, the blast of red energy hitting the oncoming swarm only after they spread out from their initial cluster. The rest strike home, destabilising the red energy around the right hand-

There's a small burst of energy as something inside it overloads and the hand goes slack.

-and hitting the face on the off chance that it was planning on using omega beams. No, looks like it wasn't, but the face is more than a little abraded.

My armour's scanners show no Justifiers in the area, and if something's happened to its boom tube system then it can't call more-

Space around its chest twists, the robot appearing to bend into a spiral for a moment before vanishing.

-in.

My rings light back up-.

"Find Guy."

I get a response and fly, coming to a halt just above him as he awkwardly plays a purple healing ray over his wounds, an empty vial of healing potion on the ground next to him.

"Robot retreated. Need a hand?"

"Nah, I'm-. Nearly good."

"Healing ray's not great on complex internal injuries." I deploy a healing tube flask of my own and offer it to him. "Here."

"Thanks."

He takes it with his left hand, screws the cap and downs it.

"You got all the bullet fragments out, right? Because-."

He nods his head towards a small pile of brass next to him.

"How long 'till it comes back?"

"Don't know. Given the way it was healing, it could be back in seconds if it can find some Justifiers to drain to death."

He makes an expression of distaste. "Yeah. Spotted that. Y'got any idea how?"

"It's higher up the hierarchy than they are. Their lives are lived to serve it. We're basically surrounded by a high-end spell right now, so there's a worldwide conductive medium."

He stands, poking his former wounds with his right hand to make sure they're gone.

"We can use that, right?"

"Bloody hope so. What was that you did to its hand?"

"Old technique. Supposed to stop th' universe changin' if you've got the will for it. Think I nearly did." He thinks for a moment. "You sure we can't use th' embodiments?"

"'Sure'? No. 'Willing to risk it'..?"

"Yeah, I getcha." He generates a phone construct and holds it to his right ear. "Hey babe. Yeah, it's gone. Ah…Think so. I'll check, but-."

He makes eye contact with me.

"You got those pilots, right?"

"Lined up on a bench on the shore."

"Right. You get that? No, just one. They shot themselves when they were disabled. Yeah, we'll-. 'kay. I love you. No no, that ain't-. I jus' wanna say it, y'know? 'cause I do. Okay. Bye."

"Are you affected by the Anti-Life broadcast?"

He nods. "Yeah. Kinda? I mean, I hear it, an' it makes me think abowd stuff I don't wanna, but it ain't stoppin' me. You?"

"I heard the robot, but apart from that?" I shake my head. "If it wasn't for everyone else reacting I wouldn't even know it was happening. I thought it was the enlightenment, but if you're still affected that can't be it."

"Yeah. Weird." He brings his right hand up to his chest, laying his left hand over it. "This is gunna feel a little weird."

"What else is new?"

He glows for a moment, not particularly bright but certainly intense. Then a wave of green shoots out in all directions and I feel confident, certain, ready to take on a legion of those robots and smash them to pieces.

"Yeah." His eyes are glowing green. "I ain't no Ion, but I'll do fer now." He rises into the air. "I need ta hit th' airbase. You okay tawkin' with th' prisoners?"

Tracking… The Justifier I freed is now on his feet and sort of wandering around. The pilots on the bench are staying where they were with their heads in their hands. "Can do."

He takes off at speed, heading inland. Right, now to-.

"L-lantern! Lantern!"

I fly over to the liberated Justifier as he waves-.

"Mister Wasem?"

Recruiter for the Gotham branch of the Congregation. I've spoken to him a couple of times…

"Oh God, Oh God. I…" His right hand clasps the side of his face. "What happened to me?"

"Anti-Life. The Alliance was a cover for an alien take-over. Talk to me. What happened? Tell me everything."
 
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31st December 2012
22:34 GMT +1


Yesterday, that would have been a sound move. But right now Guy's down to that stupid Halla pistol and a personal force field while I've actually got some reasonable fire power. No way to stop a boom tube, but if it-

The robot raises its hands, red glow slowly coalescing in its palms.
Great, it has ranged and melee options for its power? Talk about over-engineered. Although, given the fight they've been giving it, that's understandable. Let's hope this isn't an underpowered prototype, though...

-actually attacks-.

"Plot flight path, engage."
Ah, right. Just because his Rings are drained, doesn't mean he's unarmed or helpless. Good thing he tweaked his armour recently...

My armour accelerates, crumbler gauntlets going live as I fly arms-first into its right palm! It-. Ah! That's what happened! I loses containment immediately, the effect feeding back into wherever it's getting this energy from. My armour gets… Ah, not used to reading these alerts, a little abraded, which suggest that the red stuff needs to be fully 'shaped' in order to have the maximum effect.
...Be glad it only went that far. Losing your hands would be a bit of a setback, especially without Rings handy..

And now I'm past the robot, its now limp hand knocked aside and noticeably not building up the red stuff. The robot turns slowly around to face me, shielding its still-glowing right hand with the mass of its body as it does so. Unfortunately for it, I still had the design for the smart missile system I designed for Artemis a few years ago in my database and stuck a slightly repurposed version on this armour when I gave it firepower. And since whatever shield it had a minute ago doesn't seem to be working now…
Cheeky bugger, stealing ideas from the T'Au? A damn good idea, those are nasty.

"Fire volley one."

The ejection system vomits twelve missiles directly upwards in rapid succession, sending them arcing up over the robot. At the apex of their curve the cases pop open, submunitions deploying, simple guidance systems networking with my armour's computers and aiming themselves down before activating their boosters. The robot raises its right hand just a little too slowly, the blast of red energy hitting the oncoming swarm only after they spread out from their initial cluster. The rest strike home, destabilising the red energy around the right hand-
Ooh, nice. Target blocks so many attacks a round? Throw more attacks at it than it can handle.

There's a small burst of energy as something inside it overloads and the hand goes slack.

-and hitting the face on the off chance that it was planning on using omega beams. No, looks like it wasn't, but the face is more than a little abraded.
Probably the most damage it's taken in the whole affair, all up. Bet it's evaluating it's cost/benefit ratio now.

My armour's scanners show no Justifiers in the area, and if something's happened to its boom tube system then it can't call more-

Space around its chest twists, the robot appearing to bend into a spiral for a moment before vanishing.
...What even. Still, looks like it decided retreat was preferable to destruction. Play that victory music!

-in.

My rings light back up-.

"Find Guy."
Right, good idea. If he wasn't here fighting then he's somewhere hurting.

I get a response and fly, coming to a halt just above him as he awkwardly plays a purple healing ray over his wounds, an empty vial of healing potion on the ground next to him.

"Robot retreated. Need a hand?"
Because the robot sure will, know what I mean? Didn't quite disarm it, but not for lack of trying. :p

"Nah, I'm-. Nearly good."

"Healing ray's not great on complex internal injuries." I deploy a healing tube flask of my own and offer it to him. "Here."
Yeah, no point healing something if it heals crooked... Especially for something like a rib.

"Thanks."

He takes it with his left hand, screws the cap and downs it.
Ah, Potions. good for what ails you.

"You got all the bullet fragments out, right? Because-."

He nods his head towards a small pile of brass next to him.
I can't imagine that was easy, focusing that intently while injured. Green Rings not having the kind of autopilot-level of AI functionality that Orange does.

"How long 'till it comes back?"

"Don't know. Given the way it was healing, it could be back in seconds if it can find some Justifiers to drain to death."
Let's hope it decides to fuck about somewhere else, then.

He makes an expression of distaste. "Yeah. Spotted that. Y'got any idea how?"

"It's higher up the hierarchy than they are. Their lives are lived to serve it. We're basically surrounded by a high-end spell right now, so there's a worldwide conductive medium."
Be very glad neither of you were viable targets for that trick.

He stands, poking his former wounds with his right hand to make sure they're gone.

"We can use that, right?"
Given how nasty it is, would you want to?

"Bloody hope so. What was that you did to its hand?"

"Old technique. Supposed to stop th' universe changin' if you've got the will for it. Think I nearly did." He thinks for a moment. "You sure we can't use th' embodiments?"
Well done, Guy. We'll make a Green Light Shaman of you yet!

"'Sure'? No. 'Willing to risk it'..?"

"Yeah, I getcha." He generates a phone construct and holds it to his right ear. "Hey babe. Yeah, it's gone. Ah…Think so. I'll check, but-."
Yeah, let's not tell the girlfriend how close you came to dying, huh?

He makes eye contact with me.

"You got those pilots, right?"
Nice of him to ask.

"Lined up on a bench on the shore."

"Right. You get that? No, just one. They shot themselves when they were disabled. Yeah, we'll-. 'kay. I love you. No no, that ain't-. I jus' wanna say it, y'know? 'cause I do. Okay. Bye."
Yeah, let's not trip too many death flags, Guy. At least you're not anywhere close to retiring.

"Are you affected by the Anti-Life broadcast?"

He nods. "Yeah. Kinda? I mean, I hear it, an' it makes me think abowd stuff I don't wanna, but it ain't stoppin' me. You?"
Pushing through the pain by sheer force of will, huh?

"I heard the robot, but apart from that?" I shake my head. "If it wasn't for everyone else reacting I wouldn't even know it was happening. I thought it was the enlightenment, but if you're still affected that can't be it."

"Yeah. Weird." He brings his right hand up to his chest, laying his left hand over it. "This is gunna feel a little weird."
Probably something to do with the shape of your soul. To adapt an analogy I used a few days back: Your soul doesn't have the standard ports and driver protocols everyone else does, so the Anti-Life is struggling to find adapters for them. :p

"What else is new?"

He glows for a moment, not particularly bright but certainly intense. Then a wave of green shoots out in all directions and I feel confident, certain, ready to take on a legion of those robots and smash them to pieces.
Let's not get too carried away, here.

"Yeah." His eyes are glowing green. "I ain't no Ion, but I'll do fer now." He rises into the air. "I need ta hit th' airbase. You okay tawkin' with th' prisoners?"

Tracking… The Justifier I freed is now on his feet and sort of wandering around. The pilots on the bench are staying where they were with their heads in their hands. "Can do."
So, in much the same shape as anyone without a helmet.

He takes off at speed, heading inland. Right, now to-.

"L-lantern! Lantern!"
I fly over to the liberated Justifier as he waves-.
At least he seems to be feeling helpful?

"Mister Wasem?"

Recruiter for the Gotham branch of the Congregation. I've spoken to him a couple of times…
Well, it's a small world. Looks like 'Reverend' Bruno's had his fingers in a few different pies...

"Oh God, Oh God. I…" His right clasps the side of his face. "What happened to me?"

"Anti-Life. The Alliance was a cover for an alien take-over. Talk to me. What happened? Tell me everything."
...Probably not on-screen, that's hardly exciting reading. :p

So, Norway saved, for now. Finality Man given a surprising amount of damage. And a useful source of information acquired. Not a bad use of a few minutes. Now to see what they can learn from this fellow, and how trustworthy it is given his somewhat zonked state. With any luck, they might get a lead on big bad Bruno's location...

"L-lantern! Lantern!"
I fly over to the liberated Justifier as he waves-.
Extraneous Line Break. Or missing one, possibly.
 
Brim Stoned (part 3)
30th October 1998
17:57 GMT -7


I shake my head. "I don't agree with that at all."

The young woman opposite me glares. "But it is the original sin. How can you know of it and yet not believe that it is a sin?"

"Alright." I lean back slightly. "Was Adam and Eve's nudity in the Garden of Eden sinful?"

"No, because they had no concept of shame or lust."

"Did they have a concept of property?"

She thinks for a moment. "No."

"Vice in general?"

"No, that came when they ate the apple."

"So when they ate the apple, as they put the apple in their mouths, they had no concept of theft, deceit or guilt. They had no concept that the serpent could have anything other than honest intentions. They were, in effect, children. Mentally speaking. It wasn't until after they ate the apple that they gained that capacity: to lie, to feel lust or shame or anything else. Before they were innocent, afterwards they weren't. But if you're innocent, you can't sin. It would be like a… A parrot, flying through a nuclear silo and pecking the launch button. It's got no idea what could happen as a result, it just thinks 'shiny, peck'. Would you assign moral blame to the parrot?"

"Adam and Eve were not birds. They were people."

"They were pre-apple people. Mental children with no concept of… Anything they weren't built with. It's not until after they ate the apple that they became capable of moral understanding, became… Adults, in anything other than the biological sense. The apple gave them knowledge of good and evil. How can they have done evil before they gained the capacity to understand good or evil?"

She blinks, though she doesn't immediately refuse my supposition.

"That said, I regard eating the apple as the correct thing to do. Who wants to remain a child forever?"

"A child. And they are not wrong to want to be children."

"Children are children rather than gnomes because they go on to become adults, with all that that entails. Adults, we children of the apple, have a more full understanding of the world-. And that's something else. If God created all animals, that included the serpent. If God is all-knowing, then God knew what would happen, and if God is all-powerful, then God could have prevented it. God chose not to, and despite the fact that he was dealing with simpletons acted like the blame lay with them."

That… Appears to meet with favour. For some reason.

"Of course, that doesn't negate human agency, we simply have to recognise that we're acting with finite knowledge and sometimes the consequences of our actions aren't quite what we intended."

"I suppose that you have a point. Then what justifies sending someone to Hell, if God sets up everyone to fail?"

"Nothing." She blinks. "There is no reason to send anyone to Hell ever. Eternal punishment is pure sadism. And if some depictions of God are accurate, pure narcissism."

"There are people who deserve it."

"No. There are people who deserve a great deal of punishment, but if death isn't the end and the soul is eternal… What's the benefit to it? Once they're dead, they can't harm anyone else, so there's no argument for protecting anyone else. After a hundred years of suffering…" I shake my head. "Anyone's going to agree to anything. They're not going to learn anything from that. Heck, they probably wouldn't even know why they're in Hell. And even if they learn why they're there and reform, they can't get out."

"Reform?"

"Sure, because this whole thing is premised on there being an all-knowing God. That rather than being limited to trying to know one another's mind by observing behaviour like humans do, there's a being who can just know. It-."

Across the student bar, I see Detective Stone walk in. He looks agitated.

"And on an unrelated note, did you know that Hell is far less radioactive than Earth?"

Gwendolyn DuBare, my drinking companion, frowns. "What?"

"Less radioactive. So someone who escaped from there would have less radiological material in them than someone who grew up in this-" I feel the wave of heat pass over me as the air around her hands shimmers. "-nuclear age. Now, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help. He, on-"

I stand, interposing myself between her and Stone as he strides in our direction.

"-the other hand, isn't here to help."

Stone recognises me, his expression… Stony. He's not drawing his gun, so it looks like he'd learned from our last encounter.

"Step aside and let me do my job."

"Detective, I know good and evil and the difference between them. I will not voluntarily send anyone to eternal punishment, as that would be an evil deed. Her or you."

I still don't know why the Detective went to Hell. I mean, I could guess any number of things that the NYPD wouldn't put in their databases, but none of that really chimes with his excellent record.

Gwendolyn's on her feet, and she's moving to get a clear shot-.

I raise my right hand to motion her to get back. "Please, let me handle this."

"He's here to send me back?"

"If I don't, they'll just send someone else."

He's right. The sort of person who would create Hell isn't going to care about its residents. One or another, no one wants to be there and I doubt it takes long for every single one to get to the point where they'll agree to anything to get out. And I can only protect one person, and I picked up dozens of others in the Los Angeles area alone.

"And someone's checking up on you?" He nods. "Detective, you're a descendant of people who ate the apple of Eden. You are a moral agent in your own right, not just a.. weapon for whatever demon sent you here."

"They're not exactly sending me after good people."

"Every one of those bastard rapists deserved it!"

It only lasts a moment, but Stone cringes as she says 'rapist'. Okay, he's emoting, but what can I-?

"Ah. I have it. Detective, during your career with the New York Police Department, did you ever have a case where FBI agents started arguing with you over who had jurisdiction?"

He cautiously nods.

"But outside of immediate concerns, sorting that sort of thing out wasn't your job, right? That's for your Captain or the Police Commissioner or the Mayor. Right?"

Another nod.

"There's been an escape, Detective Stone. And the reason why you're here on a release scheme on your own rather than something else is that the demon who sent you wants to keep things quiet. They fucked up, didn't they?"

Another nod. "Probably."

"But knowing that doesn't help if you can't notify someone in internal affairs. Because despite their misdeeds, you can't get any leverage."

I reach into my pocket and take out today's apple. I was planning on giving it to Gwendolyn, but magic aside psilocybin mushrooms work nearly as well.

"Good. And evil. And the difference between them. Take it and offer it to the demon when they turn up to complain. And if they're still annoyed, give them my number, and I'll put them through to my sponsor."
 
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I kind of feel like "what's the point" here?

Like, maybe if this was something like Dresden Files it could be interesting.

But this side-story is literally just "Zoat invents uber entity and has his SI give holier then thou speeches".
 
He's not talking in orange quotes, so it's not best snek. Presumably this universe has some other Avarice-aligned entity that can approximately fill the role.
The orange quotes indicate that Paragon OL is avarice enlightened. Which while yes was caused by OL and the Ophidian meeting, it only really happened because Paragon OL was merged with her. If the Ophidian exists in this universe it doesn't mean the same exact events are going to play out when this version of him meets her.

Assuming that it is her, which it very well could not be. We don't really have enough information right now to know.
 
I kind of feel like "what's the point" here?

Like, maybe if this was something like Dresden Files it could be interesting.

But this side-story is literally just "Zoat invents uber entity and has his SI give holier then thou speeches".
I really don't read any of these side stories because it's always the same thing, Paul is in world, Paul discovers the shtick of the world, Paul gets in then out of trouble through the power of well worded and probably rehersed speeches on morality or something, rinse and repeat.
 
30th October 1998
17:57 GMT -7


I shake my head. "I don't agree with that at all."

The young woman opposite me glares. "But it is the original sin. How can you know of it and yet not believe that it is a sin?"
Ah, a return to the universe of, as the episode title suggests, Brimstone. A reminder: 'Satan' sends a disgraced NYPD Detective out of Hell to hunt down escapees, for... Reasons. And no doubt this Paul has been investigating those reasons.

"Alright." I lean back slightly. "Was Adam and Eve's nudity in the Garden of Eden sinful?"

"No, because the had no concept of shame or lust."
Yes, yes, all that came with the Apple, of course. :rolleyes:

"Did they have a concept of property?"

She thinks for a moment. "No."
To be fair, what was there to own? Did they build shelter? Use tools?

"Vice in general?"

"No, that came when they ate the apple."
So, is Paul-adin here talking to an escapee? For what reason?

"So when they ate the apple, as they put the apple in their mouths, they had no concept of theft, deceit or guilt. They had no concept that the serpent could have anything other than honest intentions. They were, in effect, children. Mentally speaking. It wasn't until after they ate the apple that they gained that capacity; to lie, to feel lust or shame or anything else. Before they were innocent, afterwards they weren't. But if you're innocent, you can't sin. It would be like a… A parrot, flying through a nuclear silo and pecking the launch button. It's got no idea what could happen as a result, it just thinks 'shiny, peck'. Would you assign moral blame to the parrot?"
...In effect, the Apple made them people, with their own reasoning and morality, instead of smart animals.

"Adam and Eve were not birds. They were people."

"They were pre-apple people. Mental children with no concept of… Anything they weren't built with. It's not until after they ate the apple that they became capable of moral understanding, became… Adults, in anything other than the biological sense. The apple gave them knowledge of good and evil. How can they have done evil before they gained the capacity to understand good or evil?"
...An interesting take on it. The Garden as the innocence of childhood, eating the Apple as puberty, and being cast out as adulthood?

She blinks, though she doesn't immediately refuse my supposition.

"That said, I regard eating the apple as the correct thing to do. Who wants to remain a child forever?"
After all, don't children want to grow up, and gain all the privileges of adulthood? Even if they aren't aware or interested in the responsibilities...

"A child. And they are not wrong to want to be children."

"Children are children rather than gnomes because they go on to become adults, with all that that entails. Adults, we children of the apple, have a more full understanding of the world-. And that's something else. If God created all animals, that included the serpent. If God is all-knowing, then God knew what would happen, and if God is all-powerful, then God could have prevented it. God chose not to, and despite the fact that he was dealing with simpletons acted like the blame lay with them."
Ah, the old 'If God is all-powerful, then why does Evil exist?' saw. Usually answered by 'He clearly has a plan' rebuke. And then the arguments follow... An sometimes punches.

That… Appears to meet with favour. For some reason.

"Of course, that doesn't negate human agency, we simply have to recognise that we're acting with finite knowledge and sometimes the consequences of our actions aren't quite what we intended."
And therein lies the great Game of Heaven and Hell. We're given a loose reading of the Rules, and told to play by them or be Punished. But we aren't told all the rules, so the Players gain amusement in our fumbling...

"I suppose that you have a point. Then what justifies sending someone to Hell, if God sets up everyone to fail?"

"Nothing." She blinks. "There is no reason to send anyone to Hell ever. Eternal punishment is pure sadism. And if some depictions of God are accurate, pure narcissism."
He does like to surround himself by the pious and the faithful...

"There are people who deserve it."

"No. There are people who deserve a great deal of punishment, but if death isn't the end and the soul is eternal… What's the benefit to it? Once they're dead, they can't harm anyone else, so there's no argument for protecting anyone else. After a hundred years of suffering…" I shake my head. "Anyone's going to agree to anything. They're not going to learn anything from that. Heck, they probably wouldn't even know why they're in Hell. And even if they learn why they're there and reform, they can't get out."
"What use is Hell, if those imprisoned cannot dream of freedom?" Indeed.

"Reform?"

"Sure, because this whole thing is premised on there being an all-knowing God. That rather than being limited to trying to know one another's mind by observing behaviour like humans do, there's a being who can just know. It-."
Oooh, his companion seems upset at the idea of redemption. There's a story there.

Across the student bar, I see Detective Stone walk in. He looks agitated.

"And on an unrelated note, did you know that Hell is far less radioactive than Earth?"
...Interesting fact. Then again, the modern world is more radioactive than before the Atomic Age... All those test detonations, you know.

Gwendolyn DuBare, my drinking companion, frowns. "What?"

"Less radioactive. So someone who escaped from there would have less radiological material in them than someone who grew up in this-" I feel the wave of heat pass over me as the air around her hands shimmers. "-nuclear age. Now, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help. He, on-"
Ah. She's one of the escapees. As if I remember right, one of the nicer ones, who didn't really deserve to be sent back.<Sees Mr Zoat's reply> :confused: Or maybe not...

I stand, interposing myself between her and Stone as he strides in our direction.

"-the other hand, isn't here to help."
Ah, good cop and bad cop. Or perhaps Paladin and Blackguard?

Stone recognises me, his expression… Stony. He's not drawing his gun, so it looks like he'd learned from our last encounter.

"Step aside and let me do my job."
Heh, not looking to waste his day's allotment of ammunition, eh? I suppose killing an escapee without a bullet is a bit messier...

"Detective, I know good and evil and the difference between them. I will not voluntarily send anyone to eternal punishment, as that would be an evil deed. Her or you."

I still don't know why the Detective went to Hell. I mean, I could guess any number of things that the NYPD wouldn't put in their databases, but none of that really chimes with his excellent record.
Sadly, unless he wants to tell you, it wouldn't be easy to find out. Especially in an age that still puts most records on paper.

Gwendolyn's on her feet, and she's moving to get a clear shot-.

I raise my right hand to motion her to get back. "Please, let me handle this."
After all, she isn't bulletproof.

"He's here to send me back?"

"If I don't, they'll just send someone else."
Which rather makes you disposable. Has that sunk in, Detective?

He's right. The sort of person who would create Hell isn't going to care about its residents. One or another, no one wants to be there and I doubt it takes long for every single one to get to the point where they'll agree to anything to get out. And I can only protect one person, and I picked up dozens of others in the Los Angeles area alone.

"And someone's checking up on you?" He nods. "Detective, you're a descendant of people who ate the apple of Eden. You are a moral agent in your own right, not just a.. weapon for whatever demon sent you here."
And despite their 'name', I doubt the top man would be in charge of him.

"They're not exactly sending me after good people."

"Every one of those bastard rapists deserved it!"
...And in a single line, we can understand her backstory in full. Sadly, that's canon to the show, I think...

It only lasts a moment, but Stone cringes as she says 'rapist'. Okay, he's emoting, but what can I-?

"Ah. I have it. Detective, during your career with the New York Police Department, did you ever have a case where FBI agents started arguing with you over who had jurisdiction?"
Ah, he's feeling sympathy over his own sin, and the cause for it.

He cautiously nods.

"But outside of immediate concerns, sorting that sort of thing out wasn't your job, right? That's for your Captain or the Police Commissioner or the Mayor. Right?"
Ah, angling to get at the fellow in charge of Zeke, eh?

Another nod.

"There's been an escape, Detective Stone. And the reason why you're here on a release scheme on your own rather than something else is that the demon who sent you wants to keep things quiet. They fucked up, didn't they?"
Ooh, there's an interesting interpretation of the series' setup. Now I wonder if anyone higher up in Hell is even aware of this going on?

Another nod. "Probably."

"But knowing that doesn't help if you can't notify someone in internal affairs. Because despite their misdeeds, you can't get any leverage."
Zeke doesn't really have a way to call up his handler, does he? Or is it a case of 'He shows up when he wants to.'

I reach into my pocket and take out today's apple. I was planning on giving it to Gwendolyn, but magic aside psilocybin mushrooms work nearly as well.

"Good. And evil. And the difference between them. Take it and offer it to the demon when they turn up to complain. And if they're still annoyed, give them my number, and I'll put them through to my sponsor."
Ah, my guess of Paladin is more accurate than I thought. Wonder who he's working for from Upstairs?

Well, that was an interesting little discussion. I have the feeling the series' canon storyline is about to get radically derailed thanks to one big, orange butterfly. And likely to lead into something of an amusing buddy-cop show rivalry with the two of them chasing up escapees and offering them the choice between a bullet and an apple...


"No, because the had no concept of shame or lust."
"No, because they had no concept of shame or lust."
 
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I really don't read any of these side stories because it's always the same thing, Paul is in world, Paul discovers the shtick of the world, Paul gets in then out of trouble through the power of well worded and probably rehersed speeches on morality or something, rinse and repeat.
I mean... I would argue about the well worded part... :D

But otherwise spot on... :)
 

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