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

Thundersmight94 · Apr 26, 2024

Personally, I don't like the idea that DC is fictional, while Power Rangers is real. It would make more sense to me if, as with most situations with magic on other planets in this story. Paul's understanding of magic is built upon a system that doesn't exist in the Power Rangers Universe, therefore his magic isn't working in that universe. In addition, it doesn't make sense that Paul has knowledge of the future if he is a fictional character, from a fictional world, thinking he is from the real Earth Prime. I prefer to think of this arc more in the lines of Paul traveling to another universe or having an avatar being conjured in place and his connection being through both Baboo's alchemy and Rita's magic, it's less confusing.

moralrelativity · Apr 26, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
If you could knew magic then you

Not sure what this should be but it does not seem right. Maybe...
knew -> know
If you knew magic
If you could do magic

B00ki5h · Apr 26, 2024

Azure Mirage said:
Was it a vision of the Multiverse, a dream? Or reality being funkier than usual for Paul?

Yes. Personally I'm waiting for Paul to find the mystic hobo who can cross the borders between detective comics and Marvel.

Ngamer11 · Apr 26, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"-what you are seeing?"

"Huh?"

I'm-? I'm still in the laboratory, because-. Yes? Things… Went a bit strange there for a moment, but…

"You said that your perception was altered." Kaldur looks at me expectantly. And yes, I.. did. "Can you describe it?"

"For a moment, it was like I was more aware of the transition between instants of time, but…" I shake my head, looking over the analytic machine results. "I… Let me get back to you."

He smiles indulgently, then turns to leave. "Very well."

Alright then, let's see…

What's that? I don't remember putting-. On the console surface there's Power Rangers comic, with… An Orange Lantern cross-over?

I don't remember signing off on this.

Now I really hope we'll get to see Paul interact with this artificial version of himself in the future, if only so that the Power Rangers can react to the realization that they are also fictional.

Darko · Apr 26, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
off in Lord Zed's office the moment

'Zedd's"

woweed · Apr 26, 2024

Azure Mirage said:
All of you second guessing how Zordon is going to handle Paul's efforts to maintain peace and create peace forget that he is very, very old. And he likely has seen and dealt with dictators and other beings in his time before he was forced into the tube to maintain a connection with this plane of existence. He was and is a warrior and warriors know how other warriors think somewhat.

And the one thing a front-line fighter knows is that governments can and will make piss poor short-term decisions leading to short-term solutions. Orange Lantern is actively improving the lot of humanity.

Yes, Paul is an out of context problem when he 'Pauls' a bit too much. But likely what is going to happen is the world is going to get improved.

Not sure about the unironic advocay of benevolent dictatorship.

Ngamer11 · Apr 26, 2024

Darko said:
'Zedd's"

That's on purpose. Paul doesn't know that he has two 'd's in his name.

Chojin Patriarch · Apr 26, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
15th April 1995
10:24 GMT -7

I sit on the floor facing Zordon's projection, watching the faint shimmer in the air as I keep drawing on the magic Rita invested in the spell binding him. I've only got a very approximate sense of how much energy I'm getting, but the flow has been constant after ramping up for the first couple of minutes.

Well, then. This will either go spectacularly poorly, or spectacularly well. And I honestly can say which would be the worse outcome. Zordon being free is going to get a lot of attention from the forces of Evil. Possibly more than Earth is ready for...

"Alpha. Status."

Alpha checks a control console.

"The connection remains stable."

Hopefully this doesn't bollocks up Zordon's link to the current era. On the other hand, he has backup plans for losing contact...

"I had to learn the feel of Rita's magic to steal the staff. Assuming that the connection is maintained by a mixture of your magic and this technology, it's no effort to avoid draining it."

"So, ah…" Agent Rodriguez hasn't started looking more relaxed since we started. "How long until we meet face to face?"

A good point. How long can OL manage to maintain this?

"The binding has weakened enough that I believe that I could free myself now. However, that would leave me significantly weakened."

"It's no trouble to take this slower. I half-imagine that an alarm will go off in Lord Zed's office the moment you get back."

And him turning up while Zordon is impaired would be bad. Especially since he won't be made stupid by Rita's love potion.

"Lord Zedd did not detect Rita and I being imprisoned. Or if he did, he chose to take no action. I do not believe that he will immediately react to my return."

"Ah…" Agent Rodriguez looks even more unsettled. "'Lord Zedd'?"

I suppose being functionally immortal lets Zedd take a long view of things. And he's probably got more interesting things to worry bout before he looks Rita's way.

"Rita's immediate superior. Tactically more dangerous, but… Strategically, the only change to the situation is that if I nuke him then the really heavy hitters would turn up."

"On the contrary, Lord Zedd is capable of creating monsters of much greater power than Finster's Monster-Matic."

Only natural, he'd have greater reserves of magical energy to burn.

"That's a tactical issue. Strategically, his attacks still involve sending a wave of putties followed by a monster with a trick which then turns into a giant monster."

"To my recollection, he also possesses a superior command of tactics as well."

Heh. OL's thinking of Zedd as he was on TV, mind-whammied by Rita into a lovestruck idiot...

"I'll tell the Rangers to hit the 'Z'. Any plans for when you get back?"

"I wish to contact old friends. And I will seek to ensure that you become fully real."

Best way to ensure that none of this is undone, after all. Hopefully by the time OL passes on, the changes will have enough inertia to stick.

"I would appreciate that. I'm going to get a lot of people referring to me as a fictional character and I suspect that I'm one lawyer consultation away from being sued by Detective Comics." I exhale through my nose. "And I'd appreciate your guidance on dealing with Earth. I-."

My rings shine brilliantly, threads of orange light looping around my hands and striking the control room's consoles!

...Is that normal, OL? Or is something going wrong?

"Aye aye aye! Orange Lantern, what are you doing?!"

"I'm not!"

Ah, SNAFU. Guess someone made a mistake somewhere.

I focus, bringing my desires for control and utility to the front of my mind… But it's not working. As Agent Rodriguez scrambles back I call my new lantern-shaped orb storage unit out of subspace and try channelling the orange light into that. It sort of works, though there's a good deal more sparking and flaring than I'd like.

"Zordon! Any ideas?"

Well, this is not good for anyone.

"Yes. You have been absorbing Rita's magic continuously from my prison without discharging it."

"I've been funnelling it into my own soul, the same as I did back in the-. Comic. I-. Does it not work like that here?"

...Ah, there's the mistake. OL's assumption about spiritual mechanics biting him in the arse.

"No. I have reviewed the comics which the Blue Ranger brought here, and the depiction of the soul is inaccurate to this reality. I believe that you were able to do it due to the way in which Baboo's potion caused the universe to interact with you differently. However, you have now reached the overflow point at which you are channelling more raw magic than the potion can account for."

"I'll take your word for it. What do I do?"

What's the bet it's incompatible with the Morphin Grid, making it impossible to fly outside and dump it into some kalishpolisions?

"The orb cannot properly absorb Rita's power. If you could knew magic then you could use the power yourself."

"Helpful suggestions only!"

Good old 'dump it into a sky beam' or something not an option?

"Fortunately, there is an object on the table to which you have a connection. Channel the excess-" I look around-. They kept my comic? "-power into that."

"Is that going to bring more people to life?"

Oh, this is going to get meta, isn't it?

"No, but it should be able to absorb power without difficulty."

"If you say so."

Though what that power will do remains to be seen.

I hold out my left hand, wincing as a console gets thrown across the room by an orange light surge. He's right, they're not acting like power rings any more, and I'm lucky that it hasn't gone wrong before now. Abandoning the effort to bring the comic to me I clamp my hands around the lantern and walk towards the table.

"Could you deal with this if you were here right now?"

Rush the jailbreaking and risk both of them suffering potentially lethal feedback?

"If I broke the remains of Rita's spell now I would return too weak to aid you."

"Alright then." I reach the table and place my left hand on the white patch of paper left by my realisation. As Zordon said, the page drinks the orange light without issue. "Brace yourself."

And here's where things get really crazy...

"What do you intend-?"

Left hand on the comic, I reach out my right towards his projection and pull harder.

Acting as a conduit for all that energy? Could be dangerous, could do the job much faster. Either way, I bet it's gonna hurt.

"Please break free as soon as you can."

"That is risky."

So's what's happening now. It's you survive, or the command Center does...

"So is relying on fictional magic tattoos to not explode when they get overloaded with real magic. Just be ready."

"I am."

And isn't this going to be quite the story for the Rangers when they get in.

I look at the comic, and-. It's like one of those old magic eye pictures. It's still, but at the same time it looks like it's moving, the objects displaying their full range of motion. And as I'm staring at it, it's almost like it's stretching around me. I look back at Zordon and he's still there, but if I look down-.
//////////

...And there it goes. Reality is going to have such a headache after this.

1st April 2013
09:19 GMT -5

"-what you are seeing?"

And now we're right back were we started the episode...

"Huh?"

I'm-? I'm still in the laboratory, because-. Yes? Things… Went a bit strange there for a moment, but…

...So, he doesn't remember the Power Rangers bit. Not yet, anyway. Lends credence to that OL being a mere mystical construct.

"You said that your perception was altered." Kaldur looks at me expectantly. And yes, I.. did. "Can you describe it?"

"For a moment, it was like I was more aware of the transition between instants of time, but…" I shake my head, looking over the analytic machine results. "I… Let me get back to you."

I bet he finds that somehow, two week or so passed in the space of a second or two...

He smiles indulgently, then turns to leave. "Very well."

Alright then, let's see…

Don't underestimate OL's paranoia. Remember if someone is out to get you...

What's that? I don't remember putting-. On the console surface there's Power Rangers comic, with… An Orange Lantern cross-over?

I don't remember signing off on this.

And there's the meta weirdness. On the upside, he can wave this at Ambush Bug next time he shows his face...

It'll be interesting to see if OL remembers the alternate events at some point. If only to see how he reacts to discovering he theoretically met the Power Rangers. Could be as simple as him reading the comic, even. Have to wonder if he'd agree with the PR!OL's plans or not, and if he thinks he could have done better with what he knows?

Coltsguy · Apr 26, 2024

We are hitting peak levels of confusion here.

Vaermina · Apr 26, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Rita's immediate superior. Tactically more dangerous, but… Strategically, the only change to the situation is that if I nuke him then the really heavy hitters would turn up."

Lord Zedd was capable of kicking all six of Power Rangers asses at once with his own two hands.

Mr Zoat said:
What's that? I don't remember putting-. On the console surface there's Power Rangers comic, with… An Orange Lantern cross-over?

I don't remember signing off on this.

You did when you directed Ambush Bug to check the White Space.

WereDragon · Apr 26, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
15th April 1995
10:24 GMT -7

On the downside he doesn't keep the memories.
On the upside the arc is finished and we can get back to things that don't try to invalidate the other couple of million words worth of story.

Mr Zoat · Apr 26, 2024

moralrelativity said:
Not sure what this should be but it does not seem right. Maybe...
knew -> know
If you knew magic
If you could do magic

No, that's correct. His problem isn't his lack of capacity, it's his lack of knowledge.

Darko said:
'Zedd's"

The SISI doesn't know that it's spelled with two ds. You'll note that Zordon says it correctly.

Coltsguy said:
We are hitting peak levels of confusion here.

HA!

RichardWhereat · Apr 26, 2024

NOOOOO!!! I loved that version!

Senevri · Apr 26, 2024

Vaermina said:
Lord Zedd was capable of kicking all six of Power Rangers asses at once with his own two hands.

And that's called 'tactically more dangerous. Yes.

That being said, you need some GOOD strategy if you need to plan around losing every engagement where a specific person is present.

You did when you directed Ambush Bug to check the White Space.

He kinda did, didn't he? Well, at least there's proof, now.

BartlettMagic · Apr 26, 2024

Huttj509 said:
This month has been the April Fools arc. We soon return to your regularly scheduled timelines.

thank you. that's kind of what i thought was going on, but i just didn't remember previous years being this long, or so clearly stating that everything else was a fiction/not real. i thought the april fools episodes were much shorter than, what, ~20 chapters now this month?

Mr Zoat · Apr 26, 2024

BartlettMagic said:
thank you. that's kind of what i thought was going on, but i just didn't remember previous years being this long, or so clearly stating that everything else was a fiction/not real. i thought the april fools episodes were much shorter than, what, ~20 chapters now this month?

The first one had 34. The second one was two episodes.

BartlettMagic · Apr 26, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
The first one had 34. The second one was two episodes.

i'll take your word for it

Mr Zoat said:
"You said that your perception was altered." Kaldur looks at me expectantly. And yes, I.. did. "Can you describe it?"

and with aplomb, the egg on my face gets applied. that'll teach me, hopefully i'll start reading the daily installment before responding to reader posts.

Katillno · Apr 26, 2024

So just a quick question the effects of magical beings are permanent in this version of DC right? The temporary affects is limited to the power ranger universe?

Mr Zoat · Apr 26, 2024

Katillno said:
So just a quick question the effects of magical beings are permanent in this version of DC right? The temporary affects is limited to the power ranger universe?

It's not magical beings in general, it was the specific technique Baboo used to actualise the SISI. Yes, for most intents and purposes.

Valint · Apr 26, 2024

Thundersmight94 said:
Personally, I don't like the idea that DC is fictional, while Power Rangers is real.

Yeah... don't get hung up on this. All of the universes appear to be equally real and fictional in this multiverse.

Paul has played Warhammer in the DC universe, and also there's versions of him in the Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy universes.

That's actually kind of how the DC universe rolls, where a major antagonist in DC canon was at one point a version of Clark Kent originally from a reality similar to our own in which the main DC universe was just a comicbook.

thebishop8 · Apr 26, 2024

Still not as confusing as that one time travel episode, especially because I think remember Zoat having to stop and rewrite portions of it.

boo600 · Apr 26, 2024

So, Zordon exploited Paul's trust in him to betray him. Gasp. So much surprise. Very shock.

First Zordon Excellency
This Charm expands the Infernal power base to include the nature and powers of Zordon, That Freaky Guy in a Tube. See The Manual of Exalted Power—Infernals, p. 104-105 for full information on the First (Yozi) Excellency.

Zordon: Zordon is good at bossing around kids and putting children in harm's way. He excels at training child-ninjas and building and designing robots. When someone needs to know something That Freaky Guy in a Tube is a know-it-all and can convince anyone he is an authority. Zordon is sessile and operates from a core of pure confidence despite his constant failure to eradicate his enemies. When stepping out for the evening, he wears a robe that looks a lot like a hospital gown. I'm not even kidding.

Zordon Mythos Exultant
As with the First (Yozi) Excellency entry herein, this Charm is an expansion of the Yozi pantheon to include the fallen titan Zordon. See The Manual of Exalted Power—Infernals, p. 107 for more information on (Yozi) Mythos Exultant.

Zordon: Don't tell anyone I told you this, but Zordon gets off on seeing children in danger. Sh! When an Infernal with this Charm performs a stunt that helps to put a minor in danger, particularly someone in secondary school, he regains a point of Willpower even if the stunted action is unsuccessful.

Not the Tube!
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive (Step 2)
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: I'm A Thousand Years Old You Punk

Zordon, despite his sessile nature, goes remarkably unharmed by any assault even on his inner sanctum. This Charm is a perfect parry against even an unblockable attack, as long as it is not unexpected, that redirects the attack to another valid target. To witnesses, it appears the attacker has inexplicably missed; only the Exalt and his foe know the truth (and anyone who can detect the use of Charms). Valid targets are always objects or structures that look important, but never are. The Infernal is encouraged to take this opportunity to stunt the existence of various control panels, glowing tubes or other environmental but unnecessary scenery, mitigating the cost of the Charm. Sufficient damage against large enough scenery can put those nearby in danger of its collapse, in which case it is no longer unimportant enough to be targeted by attacks redirected by this Charm. The defense provided by this Charm is subject to the Imperfection of That Freaky Guy in a Tube.

Imperfection of That Freaky Guy in a Tube
Without his teenaged minions, Zordon is some kind of time-stasis-thingy-dude in a glass cylinder. So, you know. When an Exalt has no teenager-ninja-allies within (Essence x 10) yards nominally there to protect him and he is confronted by an enemy, he can not activate Charms that carry the Imperfection of That Freaky Guy in a Tube.

Vaermina · Apr 26, 2024

Senevri said:
And that's called 'tactically more dangerous. Yes.

That being said, you need some GOOD strategy if you need to plan around losing every engagement where a specific person is present.

There is no planning around Lord Zedd unless Zoat nerf's him like he did Rita.

He's just that powerful.

Ina_Meishou · Apr 26, 2024

woweed said:
Not sure about the unironic advocay of benevolent dictatorship.

The question of if a benevolent dictatorship is good or bad in the long run isn't really the point.

The point is if a being like Zordon, an ancient wizard of great power who appears to operate via recruiting champions of might to unilaterally act on their own (or his) direction rather than through organizing large scale civic action and polling the population for their wishes would believe so.

In fiction, at least well written fiction, characters act in accordance with what they believe. Not with whatever the prevailing sentiment of whatever group the author is living in believe.

Mr Zoat · Apr 27, 2024

21st January 2018
10:14 GMT -5

I sigh to myself, an odd sensation of… What's that internet meme? Successfully failing? Filling my soul as I regard the written articles of accession. While they're not going to be recognised by any of the people still fighting against Earth's…

Mother Box, what's a less confrontational way of saying 'annexation'?

Ping.

Yes, I suppose that works. They're not going to take a blind bit of notice, but at least the areas that are at least nominally on-side have an official plan to work to. I mean, my plan to reorganise their economies has been going full-tilt anyway, but there are things that I need them to do.

"Suzerain Grayven?" The new Secretary General of the United Nations looks up at me with a degree of concern. "Is there a problem?" Understandable, given that he achieved his current office due to Subjekt-17 clearing house and me making him watch. The number and variety of crimes that UN diplomatic passports were used to cover for…

"No, no. Just wool-gathering." I subspace my copy of the document and straighten up. "I'll leave co-ordinating the governments in your hands. You know how to contact me if you need me."

Mother Box.

BOOM!

I walk through the tube and into the internal bunker area of the Absolute Dominion, immediately spotting the winch system that King Arthur has set up for his experiments with spiritual Mithridatism. It's winding in and I brace myself just in case. But no, Arthur staggers back through the tube a moment later, waving at Batman to shut it down.

Unlike Batman 16, this Batman was willing to accept Awakening almost immediately. As he put it, he didn't have a way to fight me, he'd already publically committed to my cause and I'd either follow through or I'd mess with his mind so much that he wouldn't know about it. Which…

I'm going to take Batman to Equestria once the initial rush is over. I think he needs ponies.

Anyway, he's on a knock-off Möbius Chair thing reviewing all of my plans with his newly expanded awareness. I don't know exactly what his portfolio covers, but I imagine that he's as good a person to check my work as anyone I could find.

"U-uh." Arthur bends over, hands on his thighs, as he tries to get his head back on straight. I'm not sure that what he's attempting can actually work, but it was one of his conditions for peacefully 'allying' with me and I don't really have any reason to stop him.

"Still in one piece, Arthur?"

"Yeah." He makes a point of straightening up, though the occasional twitch makes me think that he's preventing himself from dry-heaving by sheer obstinacy. "I'll go back in a minute."

"Perhaps… You could give it a rest for now? I was about to try reanimating Kal-El, and I think-."

"I never met Superman. You don't need me for that." He paces, staring at the boom tube opening point. "If I'm going to do anything against Darkseid I need to learn to cope with it."

Batman moves a hand over the controls of his throne, and a scanner light strobes over Arthur. Scanner says..?

Batman shakes his head. "Your mental state is drifting too far from normal. Take an hour."

Arthur clearly considers arguing for a moment, then swallows his irritation. "Fine." I walk towards the mausoleum, and he falls in besides me. "How's this supposed to work, anyway? People don't come back from the dead just because they caught some rays."

"No, not usually, but kryptonians are a little different to you and I." Bulkhead doors designed to be kryptonian resistant open to allow us into the brightly-lit room where Martha Kent and Lois Lane wait for us, the pair of them looking around as we enter. "The cells of their body are… Rather than relying on nutrients and oxygen provided by the blood, they can use a far wider array of fuel sources. Brilliant sunlight works best, though there are other things that work."

Arthur frowns. "But he's been in the ground for months. He wasn't getting any sunlight down there."

Martha gasps quietly, and Lois moves to comfort her. I shake my head.

"No way you could have known, Missus Kent. My hope is that his reserves were enough to prevent decay setting in, then it's just a matter of patching up the damage and jump-starting his brain." I frown. "Arthur, you grew up on the surface, right? You-?"

"I know what jumper cables are." He walks over to look more closely at the transparent case Kal-El's presently inert form is contained within. "What's with the suit?"

The white, skin-tight bodysuit that I put him in is a copy of Kon's old solar suit.

"It's a solar suit. It's designed to keep him slightly overcharged while he recovers. Should help, won't hurt."

The inside of the case is shining with the light radiating from the embedded sunstones. Calling up the readout, it looks like things are progressing… But I'd like him back in the field a little sooner, if only so that he has time to adjust to his trauma.

Alright. Mother Box?

Ping.

The sunstones begin to glow with greater intensity, the area inside the case becoming almost blindingly white. Hm. Yes, the energy is definitely being absorbed by his cells… I should probably give it a little longer before trying to-.

"Is now a good time for an interview?"

Expedite things. "Certainly, Miss Lane. I firmly believe that the citizenry have the right to question government officials. I just wish they'd done it a little more before now and then done something about it."

"So, you've actually conquered the world."

I nod, altering the display so that I can track an odd pattern developing in-. No, it's gone back to baselines. "So I actually have. Not as an autocrat, and I'm sure that people will start testing me once they get over the shock, but I'm the highest authority."

"I didn't even know it was possible. Legally."

"Yes, you can't ignore the mechanisms for rulership and control. There isn't much point in conquering somewhere if you plan on killing everyone. Plenty of empty planets around."

"And you had it all planned out?"

"No. I couldn't plan for exactly how everyone would behave." I sigh. "Especially my team mates."

"They helped you conquer Earth. What more did you want from them?"

"I was expecting Physician and A-. Atom to be conflicted at first, and then betray me once they got over the shock of what was happening. I planned on losing to provide the impetus to encourage Earth's superheroes to get their arses in gear."

Arthur stares at me. "You planned on losing?"

"I planned to win using a strategy that I expected to cause me to lose. Only I didn't fully appreciate how filled with scum most of the Earth's governments were, so now I've got to actually do it. Luna finds this all hilarious, of course."

Miss Lane looks shocked. "Of… Course. I'm sorry, I'm just having trouble getting my head around the idea that-."

Kal-El's eyes snap open, heat vision burning through the top of the resurrection chamber! Then with a crash he's gone, punching through the deck plating to fly off to goodness knows where.

I look up at the hole.

"In case you're wondering, I didn't plan for that either."

Bigking321 · Apr 27, 2024

I can just picture him moping about how his planned failed.

"Stupid government. So frigging awful that someone pretending to do a hostile takeover is considered a better choice. Oh... poor batman is rather black-pilled. Better get him some therapy time. Anyway... stupid government grumble grumble."

Ngamer11 · Apr 27, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"So, you've actually conquered the world."

I nod, altering the display so that I can track an odd pattern developing in-. No, it's gone back to baselines. "So I actually have. Not as an autocrat, and I'm sure that people will start testing me once they get over the shock, but I'm the highest authority."

"I didn't even know it was possible. Legally."

"Yes, you can't ignore the mechanisms for rulership and control. There isn't much point in conquering somewhere if you plan on killing everyone. Plenty of empty planets around."

"And you had it all planned out?"

"No. I couldn't plan for exactly how everyone would behave." I sigh. "Especially my team mates."

"They helped you conquer Earth. What more did you want from them?"

"I was expecting Physician and A-. Atom to be conflicted at first, and then betray me once they got over the shock of what was happening. I planned on losing to provide the impetus to encourage Earth's superheroes to get their arses in gear."

Arthur stares at me. "You planned on losing?"

"I planned to win using a strategy that I expected to cause me to lose. Only I didn't fully appreciate how filled with scum most of the Earth's governments were, so now I've got to actually do it. Luna finds this all hilarious, of course."

Miss Lane looks shocked. "Of… Course. I'm sorry, I'm just having trouble getting my head around the idea that-."

Kal-El's eyes snap open, heat vision burning through the top of the resurrection chamber! Then with a crash he's gone, punching through the deck plating to fly off to goodness knows where.

I look up at the hole.

"In case you're wondering, I didn't plan for that either."

Did the Renegade already tell Batman this? Because I imagine he'd have a bigger reaction to this admittance if he didn't.

Ostentatiousnessness · Apr 27, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
I look up at the hole.

"In case you're wondering, I didn't plan for that either."

I can only picture this in my head as some sort of Dragon Ball bit that has Roshi staring dumbfounded at the hole.

Ngamer11 · Apr 27, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
21st January 2018
10:14 GMT -5

This should be part 22. It's also incorrect on the TOC.

Chojin Patriarch · Apr 27, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
21st January 2018
10:14 GMT -5

I sigh to myself, an odd sensation of… What's that internet meme? Successfully failing? Filling my soul as I regard the written articles of accession. While they're not going to be recognised by any of the people still fighting against Earth's…

Ah, Renegade. Somehow, only you could stumble into accidentally conquering a whole alternate Earth. Which raises the question of what you're going to do with it now that you have it? Especially after He turns up and starts His little war.

Mother Box, what's a less confrontational way of saying 'annexation'?

Ping.

"'Merger', perhaps? It conjures a sense of corporate gamesmanship, I think." To be fair, there aren't really a lot of alternatives.

Yes, I suppose that works. They're not going to take a blind bit of notice, but at least the areas that are at least nominally on-side have an official plan to work to. I mean, my plan to reorganise their economies has been going full-tilt anyway, but there are things that I need them to do.

"Suzerain Grayven?" The new Secretary General of the United Nations looks up at me with a degree of concern. "Is there a problem?" Understandable, given that he achieved his current office due to Subjekt-17 clearing house and me making him watch. The number and variety of crimes that UN diplomatic passports were used to cover for…

Well, that's one way to keep the new guys honest. And it seems 'merger' really is a better term, given he may well end up buying out whole nations, by the sound if it.

"No, no. Just wool-gathering." I subspace my copy of the document and straighten up. "I'll leave co-ordinating the governments in your hands. You know how to contact me if you need me."

Mother Box.

I expect things will be a little unsettled for a while, after his little display in Dallas.

BOOM!

I walk through the tube and into the internal bunker area of the Absolute Dominion, immediately spotting the winch system that King Arthur has set up for his experiments with spiritual Mithridatism. It's winding in and I brace myself just in case. But no, Arthur staggers back through the tube a moment later, waving at Batman to shut it down.

Somehow, that's exactly how I'd expect an Aquaman as portrayed by Jason Momoa to operate. Inure yourself to Anti-Life by exposing yourself to it and fighting back...

Unlike Batman 16, this Batman was willing to accept Awakening almost immediately. As he put it, he didn't have a way to fight me, he'd already publically committed to my cause and I'd either follow through or I'd mess with his mind so much that he wouldn't know about it. Which…

I'm going to take Batman to Equestria once the initial rush is over. I think he needs ponies.

A lot of people need Ponies after they've met you, I suspect. And Bats got manhandled by capes a couple of times now. I can see him wanting the advantage before he breaks.

Anyway, he's on a knock-off Möbius Chair thing reviewing all of my plans with his newly expanded awareness. I don't know exactly what his portfolio covers, but I imagine that he's as good a person to check my work as anyone I could find.

"U-uh." Arthur bends over, hands on his thighs, as he tries to get his head back on straight. I'm not sure that what he's attempting can actually work, but it was one of his conditions for peacefully 'allying' with me and I don't really have any reason to stop him.

Bet it's something like 'strategic planning'. Or, to put it more memeishly, 'Prep-time'.

"Still in one piece, Arthur?"

"Yeah." He makes a point of straightening up, though the occasional twitch makes me think that he's preventing himself from dry-heaving by sheer obstinacy. "I'll go back in a minute."

Glutton for punishment, isn't he?

"Perhaps… You could give it a rest for now? I was about to try reanimating Kal-El, and I think-."

"I never met Superman. You don't need me for that." He paces, staring at the boom tube opening point. "If I'm going to do anything against Darkseid I need to learn to cope with it."

Having a near-Superman-level fighter might help, given what happened in canon.

Batman moves a hand over the controls of his throne, and a scanner light strobes over Arthur. Scanner says..?

Batman shakes his head. "Your mental state is drifting too far from normal. Take an hour."

There's only so much of that bleakness one can take, after all, even for people from this world.

Arthur clearly considers arguing for a moment, then swallows his irritation. "Fine." I walk towards the mausoleum, and he falls in besides me. "How's this supposed to work, anyway? People don't come back from the dead just because they caught some rays."

"No, not usually, but kryptonians are a little different to you and I." Bulkhead doors designed to be kryptonian resistant open to allow us into the brightly-lit room where Martha Kent and Lois Lane wait for us, the pair of them looking around as we enter. "The cells of their body are… Rather than relying on nutrients and oxygen provided by the blood, they can use a far wider array of fuel sources. Brilliant sunlight works best, though there are other things that work."

Once again: Kryptonian bio-engineering is bullshit good. They made themselves paragons of physicality even before you add in super-powers.

Arthur frowns. "But he's been in the ground for months. He wasn't getting any sunlight down there."

Martha gasps quietly, and Lois moves to comfort her. I shake my head.

A mistake they unknowingly made in the comics as well, but there, the timescale is... Odd.

"No way you could have known, Missus Kent. My hope is that his reserves were enough to prevent decay setting in, then it's just a matter of patching up the damage and jump-starting his brain." I frown. "Arthur, you grew up on the surface, right? You-?"

"I know what jumper cables are." He walks over to look more closely at the transparent case Kal-El's presently inert form is contained within. "What's with the suit?"

Hopefully he's prepared for a Kryptonian in a panic-state. If adrenaline can make humans crazy-strong for a moment, imagine what the Kryptonian equivalent can do.

The white, skin-tight bodysuit that I put him in is a copy of Kon's old solar suit.

"It's a solar suit. It's designed to keep him slightly overcharged while he recovers. Should help, won't hurt."

~~...I would have included some sort of brief-cycle gold-Kryptonite pulse, if just to prevent accidents while he's coming to.~~ Edit: And apparently that would be a bad idea in someone currently depending on a kryptonite-free solar energy reserve to survive... Still, some manner of stunning device...

The inside of the case is shining with the light radiating from the embedded sunstones. Calling up the readout, it looks like things are progressing… But I'd like him back in the field a little sooner, if only so that he has time to adjust to his trauma.

Alright. Mother Box?

Ping.

"Cross your fingers for me. Process initiating." Let's just hope he doesn't Pet Semetary this time.

The sunstones begin to glow with greater intensity, the area inside the case becoming almost blindingly white. Hm. Yes, the energy is definitely being absorbed by his cells… I should probably give it a little longer before trying to-.

"Is now a good time for an interview?"

...You have an inordinately awkward sense of timing, Lane...

Expedite things. "Certainly, Miss Lane. I firmly believe that the citizenry have the right to question government officials. I just wish they'd done it a little more before now and then done something about it."

"So, you've actually conquered the world."

Most of it, anyway, from the sound of it. Sounded like there were a few holdouts dragging their heels.

I nod, altering the display so that I can track an odd pattern developing in-. No, it's gone back to baselines. "So I actually have. Not as an autocrat, and I'm sure that people will start testing me once they get over the shock, but I'm the highest authority."

"I didn't even know it was possible. Legally."

...Uh-oh. 'Yeah, he ain't all right." Let's hope that doesn't cause any trouble.

"Yes, you can't ignore the mechanisms for rulership and control. There isn't much point in conquering somewhere if you plan on killing everyone. Plenty of empty planets around."

"And you had it all planned out?"

Oh, here we go. Will he lie and claim he had many plans, or will he stow the shit and...

"No. I couldn't plan for exactly how everyone would behave." I sigh. "Especially my team mates."

"They helped you conquer Earth. What more did you want from them?"

...Well, well. Going with the mostly truthful route.

"I was expecting Physician and A-. Atom to be conflicted at first, and then betray me once they got over the shock of what was happening. I planned on losing to provide the impetus to encourage Earth's superheroes to get their arses in gear."

Arthur stares at me. "You planned on losing?"

"They needed something to avenge."

"I planned to win using a strategy that I expected to cause me to lose. Only I didn't fully appreciate how filled with scum most of the Earth's governments were, so now I've got to actually do it. Luna finds this all hilarious, of course."

Miss Lane looks shocked. "Of… Course. I'm sorry, I'm just having trouble getting my head around the idea that-."

I love that. He really didn't expect the Snyderverse DCEU to be this... Dark.

Kal-El's eyes snap open, heat vision burning through the top of the resurrection chamber! Then with a crash he's gone, punching through the deck plating to fly off to goodness knows where.

I look up at the hole.

"In case you're wondering, I didn't plan for that either."

Though you really should have expected it. His last memories before dying were of fighting. Of course he's going to be... Worked up.

The Renegade being surprisingly candid with Lane. Does he suspect she won't print that part of it, if only to keep the world on an even keel by not undermining their conqueror? Or does he perhaps consider it to late for them to walk their decision back... Still, at least Kal didn't make too much of a mess with his hasty exit. Probably avoided anyone squishy on instinct.

Arthus frowns. "But he's been in the ground for months.

Arthur frowns. "But he's been in the ground for months.

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

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