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

[Mr Zoat]

As skilled as Paul thinks a veteran Lantern in his position should be, or as skilled as, say, Kilowog thinks a veteran Lantern in his position should be?

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Kilowog has slightly better intelligence of Sinestro's service history.

 

[AmericanNumbers]

I think what people forget is that Paul in universe has more hours of combat experience versus high level and or enlightened ring wielders than basically anyone. Granted Siniestro can be assumed to be in his ballpark but so is Hal for Siniestro and I'd put Paul as a heavy favorite versus Hal.

 

[Darko]

I think what people forget is that Paul in universe has more hours of combat experience versus high level and or enlightened ring wielders than basically anyone. Granted Siniestro can be assumed to be in his ballpark but so is Hal for Siniestro and I'd put Paul as a heavy favorite versus Hal.

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Though it's important to remember that Paul hasn't really fought any of the Earth Lanterns in a serious manner.

They may have sparred, but when you spar with someone you're not really trying to hurt or kill them.

Sinestro will try to hurt and kill Paul.

 

[Mr Zoat]

11th April 2013
20:20 GMT +5:30

There's a brief flare of light as Princess Celestia appears, making tired eye contact with me for a moment before taking her place in one of the extra-large seats I replaced part of the auditorium seating with. There are a lot fewer ponies here than there were last time I raised this topic. And far fewer than there were earlier today for Sunset's demonstration, and not just because the humans are getting a guided tour from volunteers from the Foreign Office.

But it's still not a small audience. And not just because I put an advertisement in the entertainment section of the local newspaper for a 'live action horror show'. Hopefully these ponies will have stronger stomachs, and if not then the ketamine drones are still on standby.

Twilight glances at her mentor for a moment, then looks away, head down and ears flat.

"Thank you everyone for coming." Starlight beams as she comes to the edge of the stage. "For those of you unfamiliar with my work -and don't worry, we don't lock the doors until after the-"

One green-grey stallion at the back chuckles twice, and then stops when no one else joins in.

"-introduction- my name is Starlight Glimmer. My work is on the subject of special talents, cutie marks, and the link between them." A few of the horror fans look a little disgruntled. "And what happens if either one is removed."

They perk up, while the actual researchers and journalists twitch instead.

Starlight's horn glows as she rotates a blackboard, revealing the complex thaumaturgical notation.

"Using Professor Sunset-" Sunset grins smugly. "-Shimmer's work on Equestrian thaumaturgy, I was able to isolate the parts of a pony's natural magics which correspond to their cutie mark. As yet I have not been able to isolate those parts of a pony's magic which correspond to their special talent prior to their cutie mark's emergence as that would require performing field experiments on foals while hoping that the equipment doesn't interrupt their manifestation."

And trust me, the difficulty in experimenting was the reason why, not the foal thing. I'm starting to think that Starlight could have gone down a very unfortunate path if she hadn't run into me.

"So today we're going to remove a volunteer's cutie mark and see what happens!"

The horror fans are enthralled, and one of the better educated ones has a notepad out as he tries to follow her equations.

The doors at the rear of the auditorium open and a large brown earth pony with a messy brown mane and a white nose carefully walks in. He hesitates for a moment at the gaze of the audience, then draws himself up a little and walks down the-

Something on the stage beeps, and Starlight picks up a purple healing ray in her thaumokinetic grip.

-stairs, only for the edge of his hoof catches on something and he trips, doing a full forwards roll onto his head before rolling down to the bottom of the steps. He actually ends up on his feet, swaying slightly, everyone staring at him. And it's then that I see his cutie mark: an upside down horseshoe.

Starlight shoots him with the healing ray.

"This is Mister Trouble Shoes. His special talent -as far as we can tell- is being unlucky. Almost everything he touches is destroyed moments later, and he himself is subjected to accidents like the one which you just witnessed almost every day. I've had physicians perform test to assess his physical and mental acuity, and he has the same hoof-eye coordination capacity as you and me. My thaumic detection array has picked up a minute surge in his cutie mark-related magic just before every event."

"He is being sabotaged by his own cutie mark. Mister Trouble Shoes, please come up on stage."

I just float him up, just to be on the safe side, as Starlight stows her purple healing ray.

"As a result of his cutie mark sabotaging him, Mister Trouble Shoes has an extensive -if relatively trivial- criminal record. Five counts of common assault. A hundred and twenty six of criminal damage. Two of destroying a water course. I'd like to thank the Crown for issuing him a pardon for things over which he clearly had no control." She indicates a point on the stage. "Please stand there, side-on from the audience."

He complies with the care of a serial Jonah while Starlight starts wiring him up to the thaumic detection array.

"Originally, I intended to do a before and after demonstration, but I think Mister Trouble Shoes' tumble covers the 'before' part."

She flicks a switch, and various thaumic readouts come alive.

"As you can see, it's currently inactive. But I think Mister Trouble Shoes has suffered for long enough."

A tug of turquoise magic, and the sheet is lifted from a lump of crystal sitting on a table.

"The current version of the spell uses a crystal storage medium to both hold the cutie mark and special talent. This both anchors them away from the host, and.. allows them to be returned if something goes wrong. The spell itself is relatively complex, and I don't think that the current version can be made simple enough for wide scale use."

A couple of relieved sighs from the front benches, while Starlight gives Trouble Shoes a reassuring look.

"Are you ready?"

"Ma'am, ah've been ready since ah gaht this curse."

"Al-right then." Starlight sits back, horn flickering with turquoise light and her eyes totally focused. "Three… Two… Casting."

There's a pulse of turquoise light, and then both of Trouble Shoe's cutie marks flicker as the thaumaturgical readouts go… Uuh, it looks wild but I'm not an expert. And then they cut out completely as the cutie marks peel away from his haunches and float over to… And in to the crystal. It blinks once more and then stops, floating in the middle.

There's a sort of gasp from the back of the room, and someone in the middle grabs the complimentary sick bag before… Making enthusiastic use of it.

Starlight relaxes, her horn dimming as she looks at Trouble Shoes' haunches. They're blank, no sign that a mark was ever there.

"And there we go. No more evil cutie mark controlling your destiny." She smiles at him. "How do you feel?"

"A little light-headed, ma'am. Ah've wanted that thing gone so long, ah don't rightly know what t'do next."

"Anything you want. That's the whole point." She glances at the readouts, still showing nothing. "Now, we need to check that your 'talent' is inactive." Her horn glows, and a full length mirror floats over to him. He examines it nervously for a moment.

Nothing happens.

"Would you please try holding it?"

"'re you sure, ma'am? That looks expensive?"

"Oh, I'm sure."

He sits, taking hold of the mirror in his forehooves. Nothing from the monitors.

"Ain't had a good look at mah own face fer years now."

"You won't have to worry about that any longer. Now." She turns back to the audience. "I've had several volunteers from Canterlot Penitentiary who received crime-adjacent cutie marks which have driven them to a life of criminality. I'll have them do simple before and after demonstrations, and feed back to you all on their observed behavioural changes at weekly intervals."

I lean a little closer to Luna. "Still think she's crazy?"

She breathes out slowly, eyes locked onto Trouble Shoes' haunches.

"Think? No."

 

[Darko]

stallion at the back chuckles twice, and then stops when no one else joins in

"

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Missing a . at the end.

I lean a little closer to Luna. "Still think she's crazy?"

She breathe out slowly, eyes locked onto Trouble Shoes' haunches.

"Think? No

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But maybe she now knows that she's crazy.

 

[Odysseus2099]

I'm starting to think that Starlight could have gone down a very[i/] unfortunate path if she hadn't run into me.

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Borked formatting. Entire update is italics after this.

 

[Bigking321]

down a very[i/] unfortunate path if she hadn't run into me.

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I think that [i/] is turning the rest of the post into italics.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Missing a . at the end.

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Thank you, corrected.

Borked formatting. Entire update is italics after this.

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If I fix it before you post then it doesn't count.

 

[Darth.Bill]

So, is this the Equestrian equivalent to a lobotomy?

 

[AshKing]

So, is this the Equestrian equivalent to a lobotomy?

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Probably not because it's reversible

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

11th April 2013
20:20 GMT +5:30

There's a brief flare of light as Princess Celestia appears, making tired eye contact with me for a moment before taking he seat in one of the extra-large seats I replaced part of the auditorium seating with. There are a lot fewer ponies here than there were last time I raised this topic. And far fewer than there were earlier today for Sunset's demonstration, and not just because the humans are getting a guided tour from volunteers from the Foreign Office.

Click to shrink...

I'm guessing this is something that she feels she needs to be present for. And reading ahead a little, yes, yes it is. On the upside, as a result of all this research, Cutie Marks and Harmony are going to be a lot better understood under Twilight's reign than any earlier age.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

But it's still not a small audience. And not just because I put an advertisement in the entertainment section of the local newspaper for a 'live action horror show'. Hopefully these ponies will have stronger stomachs, and if not then the ketamine drones are still on standby.

Twilight glances at her mentor for a moment, then looks away, head down and ears flat.

Click to shrink...

Wonder if she's still nervous about replacing her someday or not? ...Nah, it's Twilight. Of course she's nervous.

"Thank you everyone for coming." Starlight beams as she comes to the edge of the stage. "For those of you unfamiliar with my work -and don't worry, we don't lock the doors until after the-"

One green-grey stallion at the back chuckles twice, and then stops when no one else joins in.

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It tends to minimise the damage caused by any stampedes the introduction instigates, by preventing chokepoints at closed doors.

"-introduction- my name is Starlight Glimmer. My work is on the subject of special talents, cutie marks, and the link between them." A few of the horror fans look a little disgruntled. "And what happens if either one is removed."

They perk up, while the actual researchers and journalists twitch instead.

Starlight's horn glows as she rotates a blackboard, revealing the complex thaumaturgical notation.

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That most people who aren't already proficient in the thaumatugic fields involved will just dismiss as 'fancy science writin', I bet... The horror geeks probably appreciate the atmosphere.

"Using Professor Sunset-" Sunset grins smugly. "-Shimmer's work on Equestrian thaumaturgy, I was able to isolate the parts of a pony's natural magics which correspond to their cutie mark. As yet I have not been able to isolate those parts of a pony's magic which correspond to their special talent prior to their cutie mark's emergence as that would require performing field experiments on foals while hoping that the equipment doesn't interrupt their manifestation."

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...Yeah, I expect the randomness of the mark's emergence makes it difficult to predict and observe. Oh, and the concept of experimenting on foals.

And trust me, the difficulty in experimenting was the reason why, not the foal thing. I'm starting to think that Starlight could have gone down a very unfortunate path if she hadn't run into me.

"So today we're going to remove a volunteer's cutie mark and see what happens!"

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Yes, we saw just that in canon. Up until she ran face-first into the Bearer Herd, anyway. Then her 'science' of Equality went in the bin in favour of revenge.

The horror fans are enthralled, and one of the better educated ones has a notepad out as he tries to follow her equations.

The doors at the rear of the auditorium open and a large brown earth pony with a messy brown mane and a white nose carefully walks in. He hesitates for a moment at the gaze of the audience, then draws himself up a little and walks down the-.

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Ah, their demonstration-slash-test subject? So, let me guess how bad he has it...

Something on the stage beeps, and Starlight picks up a purple healing ray in her thaumokinetic grip.

-stairs, only for the edge of his hoof catches on something and he trips, doing a full forwards roll onto his head before rolling down to the bottom of the steps. He actually ends up on his feet, swaying slightly, everyone staring at him. And it's then that I see his cutie mark: an upside down horseshoe.

Click to shrink...

...Bad, then. And sadly, I doubt his Cutie Mark is for comedically excessive slapstick self-injury. Edit after Mr Zoat's comment: Well, rodeo clowning is slapstick, but not solely...

Starlight shoots him with the healing ray.

"This is Mister Trouble Shoes. His special talent -as far as we can tell- is being unlucky. Almost everything he touches is destroyed moments later, and he himself is subjected to accidents like the one which you just witnessed almost every day. I've had physicians perform test to assess his physical and mental acuity, and he has the same hoof-eye coordination capacity as you and me. My thaumic detection array has picked up a minute surge in his cutie mark related magic just before every event."

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Okay, Harmony? I know you can't just give everyone super-hax marks, but for fucks sake, why allow such terrible possibilities? Mr Shoes' is clowning taken a bit too far, it seems, and too uncontrolled for daily life. Because even a clown wipes the makeup off and lives a normal life...

"He is being sabotaged by his own cutie mark. Mister Trouble Shoes, please come up on stage."

I just float him up, just to be on the safe side, as Starlight stows her purple healing ray.

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Probably a good idea. He might well damage part of the apparatus with a pratfall or something.

"As a result of his cutie mark sabotaging him, Mister Trouble Shoes has an extensive -if relatively trivial- criminal record. Five counts of common assault. A hundred and twenty six of criminal damage. Two of destroying a water course. I'd like to thank the Crown for issuing him a pardon for things over which he clearly had no control." She indicates a point on the stage. "Please stand there, side-on from the audience."

Click to shrink...

Thus putting his mark on full display, for visibility reasons of course.

He complies with the care of a serial Jonah which Starlight starts wiring him up to the thaumic detection array.

"Originally, I intended to do a before and after demonstration, but I think Mister Trouble Shoes' tumble covers the 'before' part."

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Doing a painfully severe facefault like that probably earned a lot of sympathy, yes.

She flicks a switch, and various thaumic readouts come alive.

"As you can see, it's currently inactive. But I think Mister Trouble Shoes has suffered for long enough."

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And the sooner you get it off him, the sooner you can prevent another flare-up.

A tug of turquoise magic, and the sheet is lifted from a lump of crystal sitting on a table.

"The current version of the spell uses a crystal storage medium to both hold the cutie mark and special talent. This both anchors them away from the host, and.. allows them to be returned if something goes wrong. The spell itself is relatively complex, and I don't think that the current version can be made simple enough for wide scale use."

Click to shrink...

Having the option to undo the process is always beneficial. Being able to modify them while stored to reduce or remove the harmful side-effects is even better.

A couple of relieved sighs from the front benches, while Starlight gives Trouble Shoes a reassuring look.

"Are you ready?"

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Surprisingly compassionate, but given his life until now... She knows she's in the right on this.

"Ma'am, ah've been ready since ah gaht this curse."

"Al-right then." Starlight sits back, horn flickering with turquoise light and her eyes totally focused. "Three… Two… Casting."

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Ironic that her Cutie Mark is theoretically for this spell...

There's a pulse of turquoise light, and then both of Trouble Shoe's cutie marks flicker as the thaumaturgical readouts go… Uuh, it looks wild but I'm not an expert. And then they cut out completely as the cutie marks peel away from his haunches and float over to… And in to the crystal. It blinks once more and then stops, floating in the middle.

Click to shrink...

A successful operation, then, if the canon depiction of it is anything to go by...

There's a sort of gasp from the back of the room, and someone in the middle grabs the complimentary sick bag before… Making enthusiastic use of it.

Starlight relaxes, her horn dimming as she looks as Trouble Shoes' haunches. They're blank, no sign that a mark was ever there.

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There's always one person who overestimates their strength of will. Or in this case, of stomach.

"And there we go. No more evil cutie mark controlling your destiny." She smiles at him. "How do you feel?"

"A little light-headed, ma'am. Ah've wanted that thing gone so long, ah don't rightly know what t'do next."

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I wonder if she could transplant on a different Cutie Mark donated by a willing person? Something from a critically ill patient, or the like? Because that's an honest possibility that this raises.

"Anything you want. That's the whole point." She glances at the readouts, still showing nothing. "Now, we need to check that your 'talent' is inactive." Her horn glows, and a full length mirror floats over to him. He examines it nervously for a moment.

Nothing happens.

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Because you know his mark would have had it spontaneously shatter... Somehow.

"Would you please try holding it?"

"'re you sure, ma'am? That looks expensive?"

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And honestly, I don't think he wants seven more years of bad luck.

"Oh, I'm sure."

He sits, taking hold of the mirror in his forehooves. Nothing from the monitors.

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On the upside, if something breaks now, it's only down to his own actions, not Harmony's doing. Why is that an upside? Well, you try doing anything when whatever you touch tries to spontaneously dismantle itself...

"Ain't had a good look at mah own face fer years now."

"You won't have to worry about that any longer. Now." She turns back to the audience. "I've had several volunteers from Canterlot Penitentiary who received crime-adjacent cutie marks which have driven them to a life of criminality. I'll have them do simple before and after demonstrations, and feed back to you all on their observed behavioural changes at weekly intervals."

Click to shrink...

Which will then raise the question of what is more responsible in their crimes? Their mark, or their own choices?

I lean a little closer to Luna. "Still think she's crazy?"

She breathe out slowly, eyes locked onto Trouble Shoes' haunches.

"Think? No."

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To paraphrase: Better to remain silent and be thought mad, than to speak and remove all doubt.

Well, once again the Renegade and his scientific thaumaturgic clique raises interesting yet unnerving questions about the nature of Harmony and it's bizarre troll logic in the name of narrative and comedy. The joy of applying realistic logic and reason to something originally devised as a thirty-minute commercial for pretty plastic horse toys for little girls.

---

...before taking he seat in one of the extra-large seats...

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That'd be 'her', I expect. Though the repetition of 'seat' and 'seats' feels a little off. Maybe the latter could be 'chairs' or 'recliners'?

 

[FreeGod]

So, is this the Equestrian equivalent to a lobotomy?

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No more so that any major change is.

 

[Mr Zoat]

So, is this the Equestrian equivalent to a lobotomy?

Click to shrink...

The series was somewhat inconsistent on that front.

Ponies are usually perfectly capable of learning skills outside of their special talent. For example, Rarity can sing fairly well, Rainbow Dash can memorise large amounts of data while flying and Pinkie Pie is a professional baker. Starlight's canon spell stripped a pony of their special talent and replaced their cutie mark with an equals sign. It also made it so that they couldn't really learn anything. No matter how long they practised baking, for example, they could never improve at it. And it was the same for other skills.

Here, because she's gotten a better thaumological education and is a bit less crazy, she's managed to avoid that pitfall.

Trouble Shoes is an unusual case, because it's the only example I can think of in canon where a special talent activated itself without any imput from the pony it was attached to.

That'd be 'her', I expect. Though the repetition of 'seat' and 'seats' feels a little off. Maybe the latter could be 'chairs' or 'recliners'?

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Thank you, corrected.

Yes, we saw just that in canon. Up until she ran face-first into the Bearer Herd, anyway. Then her 'science' of Equality went in the bin in favour of revenge.

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Her arrogance was her undoing. If she'd just shrugged, reminded the residents that they were free to leave if they really wanted and let the bearers go then she'd still be in business. Instead she got so focused on forcing their conversion that she wrecked herself.

...Bad, then. And sadly, I doubt his Cutie Mark is for comedically excessive slapstick.

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No, it basically is. 'Rodeo clowning', whatever that is.

Ironic that her Cutie Mark is theoretically for this spell...

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I don't think so. Between the time travel spell, the mind control spell, auto-levitation and the emotion control spell I suspect that she's a magic generalist of some sort.

 

[NightmareWarden]

So the next test would be for a Pegasus, to determine if it affects their flight or weather manipulation.

 

[Chaoswind]

@Mr Zoat did the speedster family that worked in India die off? I think no other reason why they wouldn't attempt to follow up with Paul after the nuke went off.

If I remember correctly Diana even wanted their daughter on the youth team.

I do not remember their names but they where Sikh.

 

[Ngamer11]

@Mr Zoat did the speedster family that worked in India die off? I think no other reason why they wouldn't attempt to follow up with Paul after the nuke went off.

If I remember correctly Diana even wanted their daughter on the youth team.

I do not remember their names but they where Sikh.

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They are all named Rush Hour. I believe the youngest one is the third to bear that name.

 

[Lord Ernest]

@Mr Zoat did the speedster family that worked in India die off? I think no other reason why they wouldn't attempt to follow up with Paul after the nuke went off.

If I remember correctly Diana even wanted their daughter on the youth team.

I do not remember their names but they where Sikh.

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They weren't in India, they were from India but they lived and worked in the UK.

 

[WereDragon]

11th April 2013
20:20 GMT +5:30

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Things we learn here:
Starlight is unwilling to perform the 'experiment' on herself.
Starlight is either stupid enough to do her first test in front of an audience or is dishonest enough to have staged the whole thing.
Starlight thinks that proving cutie marks can be removed self-evidently means that cutie marks should be removed.
Grayven is actually smart enough to realise that Starlight is a psychopath, held in check only by his patronage.

Her arrogance was her undoing. If she'd just shrugged, reminded the residents that they were free to leave if they really wanted and let the beareres go then she'd still be in business. Instead she got so focused on forcing their conversion that she wrecked herself.

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… "let the beareres go"
So after she was already guilty of assault, theft, false-imprisonment, whatever Equestrian laws cover unethical medical surgery and Equestrian laws about malicious magic.

 

[Mr Zoat]

They weren't in India, they were from India but they lived and worked in the UK.

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The grandfather of the family was from India, but lived most of his life in Britain. The rest were British.

They made it through as well as anyone did.

Grayven is actually smart enough to realise that Starlight is a psychopath, held in check only by his patronage.

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Starlight is not, technically, a psychopath.

… "let the beareres go"

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Thank you, corrected.

So after she was already guilty of assault, theft, false-imprisonment, whatever Equestrian laws cover unethical medical surgery and Equestrian laws about malicious magic.

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Let the bearers leave, I mean. Until she did that she might not have committed any crimes at all.

 

[Enochi]

The series was somewhat inconsistent on that front.

Ponies are usually perfectly capable of learning skills outside of their special talent. For example, Rarity can sing fairly well, Rainbow Dash can memories large amounts of data while flying and Pinkie Pie is a professional baker. Starlight's canon spell stripped a pony of their special talent and replaced their cutie mark with an equals sign. It also made it so that they couldn't really learn anything. No matter how long they practised baking, for example, they could never improve at it. And it was the same for other skills.

Click to shrink...

One thing to point out is Rarity's Talent is FINDING gems and she is still one of the best seamstress/Fashion Designer in the nation able to out preform others who do have their cutie mark in the field.

Trouble Shoes is an unusual case, because it's the only example I can think of in canon where a special talent activated itself without any imput from the pony it was attached to.

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This might go into a fan theory. In certain circumstances when a pony is unable to use their talent properly they end up having breakdowns and go a bit crazy. The most notable of this is when During the season 1 finale Fluttershy is unable to connect with the animals in Canterlot and has a VERY uncharacteristic rage moment. Or when Pinkie's friends refuse party invitations in Party of One.

 

[BartlettMagic]

ha, great update. now that they're removable, how long until "preferred" cutie marks are a thing? or outlawed? Luna is right to be wary, this is a very slippery slope towards a bizarre kind of Pony Eugenics.

 

[BartlettMagic]

Starlight is unwilling to perform the 'experiment' on herself.

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i'm not going to fault her on that one, if she's the only one that knows how to perform the experiment and reverse it. i don't know what her talent is or anything, but a race car driver shouldn't volunteer to cut off their drivin' foot to see if the extra throttle room is an improvement... they should probably use somebody thats already missing a foot, or someone with a cancerous foot that needs it removed anyway.

 

[CrazyNoVa]

What would Darkseid's cutie mark be? The Anti-Life equation?

 

[Silverias]

What would Darkseid's cutie mark be? The Anti-Life equation?

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A zero, or an omega.

He WANTS the equation, but he doesn't have it.

 

[Mr Zoat]

One thing to point out is Rarity's Talent is FINDING gems and she is still one of the best seamstress/Fashion Designer in the nation able to out preform others who do have their cutie mark in the field.

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Rarity's special talent isn't finding gems. She has a spell for that, yes, but her actual talent is revealing hidden beauty, whether that be breaking open a boring rock to reveal jewels or dressing someone to show them at their best advantage.

This might go into a fan theory. In certain circumstances when a pony is unable to use their talent properly they end up having breakdowns and go a bit crazy. The most notable of this is when During the season 1 finale Fluttershy is unable to connect with the animals in Canterlot and has a VERY uncharacteristic rage moment. Or when Pinkie's friends refuse party invitations in Party of One.

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Sure, but it's not the same thing. Fluttershy was trying. Trouble Shoes wasn't.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Codominion

12th April 2013
08:33 GMT -5:00

"…wings like the lady outside?"

I shake my head as I remodel my latest patient's immune system. He had H.I.V., and without access to antiretroviral therapy drugs it was only a matter of time until things start getting really serious.

"I'm sorry, but she was born with those." Though-. "I can't do that type of wings without access to a type of rare magical metal, and the only person on Earth I know who can do it with lab-grown wings… The only woman he gave wings to needed to give up an arm so that he'd have somewhere to plug the nerves into her brain."

Ms. Parish wasn't one of the ones whose implants were 'reclaimed' by the Un-Titan, though she'd clearly not forgotten my part in that debacle last time we spoke. Cranius is a lot more sanguine about Uncorps' recent losses; most third generation Un-Men are such psychological basket cases anyway that the Anti-Life barely slowed them down. And the first and second generation have suffered so much already that it was basically just 'business as usual'.

"I'll… Keep my arms." He glances at my assistant. "And what's with her?"

**I wait for you to bleed.**

I close my eyes for a moment as the as yet unnamed G-Magtatangal next to me tilts 'her' head to the side, almost offended that there's nothing for her to do. G-Magtatangal are Dubbilex's latest attempt to be helpful; a genomorph type that can perform chirurgery. Unfortunately their specialised nature means that they're… Not good conversationalists, and since the genomorphs are producing as many of them as they can there aren't enough G-Pooka to go around.

"She's best at handing physical injuries."

My patient looks a little nervous. "Is she an alien?"

"She was grown on Earth. Her DNA originally came from krypton, then got modified a lot."

My patient's eyes widen. "She's kryptonian?"

"One of her ancestors was the kryptonian version of a rhinoceros."

He looks at her, his mouth slightly open. G-Magtatangals have downwards curving horns for a better telekinetic sense and can secrete biological anaesthetic, antiseptic and glue for sealing injuries from their disturbingly claw-like claws. Those can be used as chirurgical scalpels, syringes or just for grasping and pulling. Despite the fact that he referred to her in the feminine there's nothing obviously female about her physique, though her mental voice has a definite feminine sound to it.

"Huh."

"So, if there's nothing else..?"

"Can you do, like..? Super teeth?" He shrugs. "I get medicine's more important, but dentists aren't easy to get hold of either."

He's got a point, but…

"Teeth are a living part of your body. I could add some sort of super-tough coating, but anything else would involve fiddling with your body in ways I haven't studied."

"Sounds good." He opens his mouth slightly, as if I need direct access.

"Would you like to pick a colour?"

"Ah… I'll stick with white,-"

"Done."

"-thanks..?" He closes his mouth and runs his tongue around his teeth. "Feels..? A little bit different. So..?"

"I evened up their placement and structure, fixed the pre-existing damage, shrank them a little and added a layer of white everything-resistant armour over the top of the enamel layer. You'll still need to either brush or avoid sugar completely to maintain good gum health because if your gums recede then the lower unimproved parts of your teeth will get exposed."

He nods. "Sure, sure."

"Also -and this should go without saying- but they're still teeth. Don't try and bite through anything you wouldn't normally try and bite through, especially live electronics."

"I-. Okay, I wasn't gunna. But..? What would happen?"

"The top part of the tooth won't crack anymore, but the lower part can and will and then you'll be in a lot of pain and need to get the tooth removed. Same issue with electricity, only then rather than your teeth exploding your skull will melt. I mean, it's a serious injury either way, I just don't want you to think that you're Matter-Eater Lad or anything?"

"Ye-." He frowns. "Who?"

"Superhero from the future whose power is that he can eat anything without injuring himself. He can bite through a kryptonian's skin like it's made of marshmallow, and swallow molten iron without incident."

"…" He blinks. "That's messed up."

I nod. "Some powers can be pretty situational. Anything else?"

"No, I'm good." He offers me his right hand. "Thanks."

I shake it with a smile. "You're welcome. Ah, and while you can't contract H.I.V. again-."

"I'm not immune to anything else. I haven't forgotten." He nods and heads out of the door.

An interesting idea, that. My teeth are peak human, rather than anything particularly exotic. I've bitten the interior of my mouth far too often to want x-ionised teeth or anything like that. Lamprey had runes etched into his teeth, but I don't think-.

Karon knocks, then opens the door and sticks her head around it. "Are you ready for another patient?"

"Yes, bring them-"

She pushes the door open and-

"Hmpf!"

"-in."

Cranius walks in, or rather Otto does with Cranius perched on his shoulders. Cranius glowers at me, though his face softens for a moment when he takes in the G-Magtatangal.

I stand back up. "Doctor von Schadel. What brings you here?"

"Zo I understand zhet you are modifying people. Is zhis true?"

"In a few minor ways, yes."

"I do not belief zhet is legal."

"Yeah, but the government is barely functional so they're not in any position to stop me. It's… The only good thing about being a failed state." I shrug. "And what are they going to do, demand that people gouge their eyes out?"

"Unt your..? Colleagues?"

"They've got better things to do than stop someone consensually healing people. The world would have to be a very different place for the Justice League to spend time enforcing FDA regulations… At least, where there wasn't some substantial harm being inflicted. How did you even get here?"

"I am heffing difficulty contacting our government overseers in zhe Department of Energy, and thought zhat a personal appearance may work. But now… I em wondering whezher or not I want to."

"Well… Tell me what you've got planned."

 

[Ngamer11]

"I am heffing difficulty contacting our government overseers in zhe Department of Energy, and thought zhat a personal appearance may work. But now… I em wondering whezher or not I want to."

"Well… Tell me what you've got planned."

Click to shrink...

Paul will never have the close relationship with Cranius that the Renegade has with his version, but I hope this can lead to a mutually beneficial relationship moving forward.

 

[Darko]

most third generation Un-Men are such psychological basket cases anyway that the Anti-Life barely slowed them down. And the first and second generation have suffered so much already that it was basically just 'business as usual'.

Click to shrink...

Can't break what's already broken.

"Can you do, like..? Super teeth?" He shrugs. "I get medicine's more important, but dentists aren't easy to get hold of either."

Click to shrink...

Never underestimate dental care.

"Yeah, but the government is barely functional so they're not in any position to stop me

Click to shrink...

To quote Stan Pines, when there's no cops around, anything is legal.

 

[crazygrox]

"I evened up their placement and structure, fixed the pre-existing damage, shrank them a little and added a layer of white everything-resistant armour over the top of the enamel layer. You'll still need to either brush or avoid sugar completely to maintain good gum health because if your gums recede then the lower unimproved parts of your teeth will get exposed."

Click to shrink...

Once I'd gotten enhanced teeth caps I'd probably ask about enhanced under-gum teeth portions, and enahanced coatings on my bones. It's nice as is, but not as useful as it could be.

 

[BlackCoat13]

Don't try and bit through anything you wouldn't normally try and bit through, especially live electronics."

Click to shrink...

bite
bite