Johnjohn2195
I trust you know where the happy button is?
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2017
- Messages
- 731
- Likes received
- 11,061
Here's hopping he doesn't ever bite his tongue.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
And the new episode begins slow, with more of OL's unofficial human repair clinic. I can't imagine many people who needed critical medical supplies and didn't have a large supply set in made it through the crisis, did they... A grim start.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.
Unless he was a baby, with a brain whose neuro-plasticity hadn't set yet. The human brain isn't really wired to deal with extra parts."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."
A stark reminder of just how different the Paragon and Renegade timelines are at this stage. We know the Renegade really got on with the Un-Men, after all. Remember, Cranius is one of his New Light members.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'.
So... Best not to ask for anything that requires it, then. Also, hello new character?"I'll… Keep my arms." He glances at my assistant. "And what's with her?"
**I wait for you to bleed.**
Interesting reference. The only thing I could find was a Phillipino demon, where this name is mentioned as their progenitor or historical inspiration or something.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.
And just how attractive is 'she'? Enough that he promptly decided 'alien babe'?"She's best at handing physical injuries."
My patient looks a little nervous. "Is she an alien?"
Don't get excited. Just because she's technically an alien doesn't mean she's interested in 'this Human thing called Love'."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."
Some guys can get turned on by anything.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.
Because OL's desire to help this guy will only hold out for so long, after all.
Fixing teeth feels a little demeaning, doesn't it? Especially compared to your last couple of days."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…
Still, anything would be good. Dental care is expensive, after all."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.
To be fair, most any other colour reads as unhealthy to people these days. Other than gold, at which point you look more like a blinged out gangsta-wannabe."Would you like to pick a colour?"
"Ah… I'll stick with white,-"
I expect there's a subtle difference in texture. A healthy tooth feels different to a dirty one, much less a cracked or broken one."Done."
"-thanks..?" He closes his mouth and runs his tongue around his teeth. "Feels..? A little bit different. So..?"
So that would also cause a slight shift in the structure of his lower face too. It's surprising how much just our teeth do for our cheek and lip areas."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."
So no trying to copy, say, Jaws?He nods. "Sure, sure."
"Also -and this should go without saying- but they're still teeth. Don't try and bit through anything you wouldn't normally try and bit through, especially live electronics."
After all, the teeth may be tougher, but the jaws are not."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?"
And that's low-balling his people's powers. He can just take it to extremes, including eating a New God super-machine."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."
Honestly, Tenzil's lucky he didn't get shunted into the Substitutes division."…" He blinks. "That's messed up."
I nod. "Some powers can be pretty situational. Anything else?"
Other sexual diseases are still fair game, so don't go trying to collect them all?"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-."
On the other hand, they get fixed up anytime you restore yourself, so protecting them isn't exactly a priority."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-.
Hopefully most people get that making themselves troublesome to him actually reduces his effectiveness. Although some might still try to get a look in just to say they got doctored by 'The Cake Man'.Karon knocks, then opens the door and sticks her head around it. "Are you ready for another patient?"
"Yes, bring them-"
Seems the next patient isn't about to wait. Hopefully not trouble...
How ironic, he was just thinking about you. And I see he can appreciate the DNAliens' unique flair.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 take in the G-Magtatangal.
I stand back up. "Doctor von Schadel. What brings you here?"
Ah, a second chance to form some connections for advanced bio-modification?"Zo I understand zhet you are modifying people. Is zhis true?"
"In a few minor ways, yes."
Forgiveness is easier than permission and all that. Besides, I suspect OL has opinions about American medicine anyway."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?"
Certainly, some of them might even approve of his somewhat cowboy approach to it. Green Arrow, for instance, with his humanitarian nature."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?"
Nice. Yeah, getting out from under their thumb might well open the Un-Men up to some definite improvements."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."
Certainly, some of them might even approve of his somewhat cowboy approach to it. Green Arrow, for instance, with his humanitarian nature.
Well, a quiet start to the episode. And no hint as to any possible plotline other than Cranius' appearance. Maybe we'll see OL forge better ties with the Un-Men than his first attempt to work with them did
I'm thinking that maybe he had something to do with the barrier over Atlantis.And while it was the Renegade timeline where Ah'riahn had beef with the Un-Men, I can't help feel he might show up... Never know...
I'd be happy if we'll get to see a JL meeting where they talk about the fact that they've basically taken over the planet. As for Swamp Thing, I'd be interested in seeing how he'll react to Euanthe basically usurping control of the Green from the Parliament of Trees.The title makes me think that maybe it'll focus on the various Earth governments and the League trying to work together.
Or maybe it'll ficus on the Green, since I think Zoat mentioned that we'll be seeing what happened to Swamp Thing.
take -> takes
Thank you, corrected.
"electric" maybe better? common usage where I'm from is "electic train", not "electrical train"
watch -> catch
Ah, Krono arrives in England. And it looks like he's started with his old home town, or at least the local area. It'll be interesting to see an alternate universe where it actually existed, but he didn't. That'd be a trip.3rd December 2282
09:02 GMT
Well. At least Pevensey Castle is still there.
Well, old fortifications like castles would have seen more recent use, given the nature of the post-war era. People want safe forts. And if the old ones are still there, just in need of a little stonework, well...If anything, I think that the walls had been built up a little. And the thing is… I'm not sure why. I don't have records on how the Resource Wars played out in Europe, because most of my sources are American and at that point they'd stopped bothering with Europe and the Middle East both and were only really worrying about their internal affairs and the threat from China. Britain and its neighbours had nuclear weapons, but in my original timeline they never built anything like as many as the United States and by the time I was born Britain had scrapped everything apart from Trident.
And of course, those natural borders that protected the country from invasion for so long also keep it from being affected by post-war matters. Anything in Europe wouldn't be likely to cross the Channel except in the greatest desperation or belligerence.So who was fighting? When? Why? The North Sea oil fields would have been worth fighting over, for a while at least. I'm not sure exactly where they are -or perhaps were- but I suppose that would be a source of conflict. But landing troops on the mainland wouldn't get you access to them: they're off shore by definition. Britain's got coal, but so do Germany and France, and their mines would be more accessible for everyone on mainland Europe. Britain's geography means that we've got a little of almost everything… But not a lot of anything very much. Certainly I can't think of anything natural resource wise that would be worth landing troops and supporting an occupation army over.
So there's a good chance there's an actual government still in place. Just not set up in central London.Looking down on Britain from above, I can't see that many nuclear impacts. A few, yes, but quite a lot of infrastructure is still in one piece, even in the major cities. London is nothing like as damaged as Washington, even if the saucer's sensors are picking up elevated levels of radiation in a few places. Small bombs, perhaps? I'm a bit disappointed that despite the lack of an ideological conflict European nations used the same salted nukes as America and China, but maybe that was just the standard design in this timeline?
Presumably back to burning coal rather than fuel oil. And maybe reactors for the cities.Major roadways are still in use, with none of the abandoned cars that characterise American motorways. No nuclear batteries replacing petrol here. There are a few abandoned… Steam lorries? Huge things, presumably designed for the efficient transportation of goods and people. A few of the are still in use, and I can see convoys billowing plumes of smoke in several places. Horse drawn vehicles are more common, which makes sense given the shorter supply lines required in a broken nation. Trains… Aren't running outside of the cities, though the fact that they're running anywhere at all is fairly impressive. Looks like they're all electrical.
Though there'd probably be the matter of whether any government has a presence that far out.Where to start? Somewhere isolated would be best, and… Without anti-air weapons and radar. I could try talking to the government in Westminster, or… I'm tempted to drop in on someone closer to-.
Closer to home, I was going to think.
It's human nature to seek familiar things, even in the most unfamiliar of circumstances.Oh, I'm going to-. Rattle Road didn't get that name as a mere reference to history, the house I grew up in is far older than whatever caused the nuclear war. I direct the saucer to fly lower, mentally kicking myself even as I try to identify any landmarks that I might recognise, knowing that it's a foolish thing to do but needing to anyway.
More than likely replaced by proper buildings. Which might have gotten knocked down during the war, and left abandoned.I went to school there.
Reception class, with Missus Sykes. The rest of the school is… Different. The portacabins that served as the majority of.. the…
To be fair, a big hole tends to find itself filled, especially when water is involved.I can still see where the school pool used to be.
The pool itself has long since decayed to nothing, but the brick changing rooms and the paving stones covering the area closed to what is still the main road…
Don't think about the graveyards. Just take satisfaction in the old, familiar things.The portacabins are gone, but the older brick-built parts of the school are still there. St. Mary's church still stands, two hundred years and a nuclear war nothing to a building that had already stood for nine hundred years.
I, ah…
I…
Though I would hope the saucer has at least some scientific equipment like DNA scanners.No. My parents might have been alive before things started diverging from the history I remember, but it wouldn't take… It wouldn't take much for them to just not meet. And there's basically no chance that any descendants live in this area. Even if they do, I doubt that they'll have the genealogical records for the last three hundred years that would prove how closely related we are.
Best to approach as a lone wanderer, rather than a mysterious spaceman come travelling.But… But it doesn't hurt to knock.
Huh. Looks like they never built that weird roundabout in this timeline. The house… Some of the windows have had their glass replaced by smaller panes held together with lead cames. Easier to manufacture than larger panels, and cheaper as a result.
Leave the ship in stealth, or have it float openly?
I'd hope that the British learned their lesson about poking around in the middle east, given the trouble after World War I.I think… Stealth, for now. Openly displaying it is something I can leave for when I need to establish my affidavits. I fly it over to the strangely round cul-de-sac close to-. Close by the house, and clamber out of the saucer. I suppose… Given that the EU invaded the Middle East in 2052, I shouldn't be surprised if I started recognising more things. Honestly, I should be more surprised that Britain was still in the EU in 2052. Is that where the conflict came from? Other European nations blaming our lack of support for their defeat? It was the Middle East. What did you expect to happen?
I doubt conversion to any other fuel would be easy, even with pre-war science. Manure isn't the best of fuels, not without a lot of processing...I jump down and start walking. Down the slope, noting that the metal railing has been replaced by wood and that the brickwork has been repaired. Down the road, noting that there aren't any people around. I hadn't really given much thought to what the area's original industry was. I imagine that manpower-intense farming has made a comeback, since there's no real way to power tractors. Unless they break out the traction engines, which can be powered by coal. Except, where would they get coal around here?
Oh, that's got to be doing things to his feelings.No traffic, and the driveway is empty.
I walk up to the door, and-. No bell, but-. That's the exact same door knocker. I reach up, tap it against the baseplate twice and then stand back to wait.
Eminently sensible lady.I feel the minds inside. Three children and a woman, probably their mother. She's not worried about someone knocking, but-. Ah. That's a little more of that post-apocalyptic mindset. She's picking up a gun before walking to the door, and sliding a chain into the door before opening.
Especially when 'middle years' become a lot younger as lifespans got shorter. I would hazard thirties rather than fifties.I smile as a blonde woman in her middle years looks at me in the crack between door and frame. "Good morning!" The harder lifestyles and lack of makeup result in people looking older so I find my guesses about how old people are thrown off a bit.
She sighs very quietly, and relaxes her guard a little. "Are you with the Brethren? Because I'm not interested. I wasn't last month and I'm not now."
I'm guessing travel is discouraged by them. Easier to control a population when it doesn't venture far from home."Ah, no? I don't actually know who they are."
"How do you not know who the Brethren are?"
Right... Global geography isn't exactly a common subject in school. Assuming they have any kind of schooling around here."I've been in Nevada for the past few years. This is the first time I've been back…" I shrug. "For a while."
"Where's that?"
Okay, enough schooling to know the larger nations, at least. And understand that's a long way away."Ah, America. On the West Coast."
"America-?" She blinks in surprise. "Oh, are you a sailor?"
Let's not mention that you once lived in this house. Another world, another lifetime, sure, but she might find it a bit beyond the pale."Pilot." Because the word 'pilot' can also refer to someone who navigates complicated waterways, and because I didn't detect a single flying machine when I over flew the country. Nice that she knew the word, when I've had to explain to even educated people in the United States what 'Britain' is. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I've got no idea what's been happening in Britain lately, and… Ah, well, my family came from this part of the country. I don't know if any still… Live in the area, but if they do then I'd like to trace them. I'm not sure.. where I should go for that…"
Even if he doesn't find actual relatives, or their counterparts of this Earth... Perhaps he can find a family of sorts."Church records would have lists of Christenings, marriages and deaths. What's your name?"
"Ah, well…" I reach into my robes and pull out a copy of my family tree I prepared in case I wanted to tell someone my actual name, since business cards haven't made a comeback after the apocalypse. "I'd like to track any of those names, but my dad's family came from Ipswich and my mum's family came from Gloucestershire."
Impressive bit of self-manipulation to get around the now-classic mental block.She looks at the sheet, frowning. Getting my real name on there took me cutting up newspapers for the letter and then hypnotising myself so that I wouldn't realise why I was assembling them in that order, then asking someone else to transcribe it. I'll be nice to have a country that doesn't know me as a living comic character.
Good that she could actually read them. Shows some measure of education is in place. Even if it's old books or bibles or something."No, I don't recognise any of these names." She hands the paper back. "I'm.. sorry about that. What made you come looking for them?"
And it helps to begin laying the foundations for international relations now, even if it might be decades before anyone can build on them."I'm getting married, and I don't… I'm not in contact with any of my relatives, so my side of the church is going to be a bit empty. Obviously, they wouldn't be able to make the trip to Nevada, but I thought I could bring my wife here to visit when my.. schedule allows it." I shrug disarmingly. Oh well. It was a long shot. "Um. Look, I realise this is an inconvenience, but as I said, I've been out of the country for a while, and I've got no idea what's been happening. I can… Pay for information?"
Though I doubt news like who's shagging who or minor arguments over a fence is going to be much use. Best to stick to bigger deals.She frowns. "I'm a dress-maker, not a newsagent."
"Sure, but right now I don't know anything. You know local news?" She nods cautiously. "Then you know more than me."
Be a foolish man to go without some manner of defence in these days, after all."Hm." She looks me over. "Are you armed?"
"Oh yes." I tug at my robe so that my plasma pistol is showing. "Two shots, then I reduce myself to penury getting a new fuel cell. Ah." I remove it from my belt and offer it to her, grip first.
Well, two new bits of information and he hasn't even offered a single cap yet. Already ahead!She carefully takes it and looks it over, clearly not understanding what she's seeing. "I'm going to call a neighbour over, but… Alright. I could do with having someone new to moan to about those Brethren nutters, as well as his bloody nibs the Lord of Brighton."
I smile warmly, and give her a mental nudge which will make her think that she's making the right decision. "Thank you. I'm sorry, I didn't watch your name."
"Sarah Williams. Missus Sarah Williams."
A few of them are still in use...
...the area close to what is still the main road…
It would have been impossible.I doubt conversion to any other fuel would be easy, even with pre-war science. Manure isn't the best of fuels, not without a lot of processing...
No, that's as intended."electric" maybe better? common usage where I'm from is "electic train", not "electrical train"
Thank you, corrected.A few of them are still in use...
...the area close to what is still the main road…
Hole? What hole? Bloody thing was built up off the ground. We had to climb steps to get in.To be fair, a big hole tends to find itself filled, especially when water is involved.
Hole? What hole? Bloody thing was built up off the ground. We had to climb steps to get in.
It would have been impossible.
Worldwide EMP knocked out anything that wasnt shielded for something like 2 years straight after the Great War.
I'm afraid that's not as much of a barrier as you probably think. The Channel has literally been sailed in a bathtub before. (https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/tim-fitzhigham/english-channel-bathtub_b_17908212.html)Anything in Europe wouldn't be likely to cross the Channel except in the greatest desperation or belligerence.
I don't know.
Good news! In Old World Blues, Diana kept a herd and shared them with three other nations, and one of the Native American groups in the north still has them.I remember reading somewhere that horses went extinct in the Fallout universe, but then maybe the creators only meant in America? It's rare that the series touches down anywhere else, so maybe there are still horses in Europe.
Notwithstanding the fact that neither name is particularly unusual, I will now be keeping an eye out for Labyrinth references in this timeline.
'Williams' is my sister's married name.Notwithstanding the fact that neither name is particularly unusual, I will now be keeping an eye out for Labyrinth references in this timeline.
I think so. Not quickly, as he'd have to work out how to mate a dozen or so alien designs together to make it, and he hasn't bothered to do that for a light stealth suit so far.Question: Could Paul create a suit like the Batman Beyond suit for Robin? A "Robin Beyond" suit, if you will?
It would be awesome, and I'm pretty sure that it would let Robin carry even more gadgets and weapons than he already has. Not to mention that it would also protect his face better too, since the tiny mask in his default costume doesn't really do a good job at covering all of his head. Plus, it would give him an additional way of flying in case his flight belt suddenly fails for some reason.
Also, Batman's got a ton of power armors and Iron Man-esque suits, so it's about time Robin gets one too.
Might as well make him his own version of the Hellbat too, while we're at it. A "Hellbird" or "Hellwing", if you will.
I think so. Not quickly, as he'd have to work out how to mate a dozen or so alien designs together to make it, and he hasn't bothered to do that for a light stealth suit so far.
He already made a suit of power armour for Arsenal, so Richard knows that he could ask for one. I imagine that he's a little put off due to how deadly it is.
Fair enough, but surely Dick must understand the necessity for such force in extreme situations, especially after his own mentor had to put on his own mechsuit during the Sheeda war, right?
But Robin is already a Danner Enhancile, no? I get the part about the additional gadgets and equipment, but generally for high level encounters he just needs to turn off the suppression bracelet, if he's still using that.
Sounds like it would just be a modified Darkstar Exo-mantle. The use case is pretty similar as far as 'combat / infiltration' armour, just ask Jade. Problem with using the darkstar suits as a baseline is that the OG ones are powered by Controllers. In the comics later models weren't restricted that way, but anything properly Alien would be beyond the base repair skills of Robin or the rest of the bat family or league crews.
Better to use some Earth Based for them to deal with.
Dick already got Dannered under OL, and can take a fair bit of damage nude....likewise he's got base levels of super strength and a fair resistance to normal levels of harm. Batman is un-augmented and thus Needed the Power Armour during the Sheeda and Anti-life situations, were as a Danner'ed Robin didn't need the physical buffs.
Given Robin's gotten a bit closer to Zatanna after OL had to step back, he might be better off looking for magical upgrades to his standard gear. Or Alchemical ones provided by Kid Flash. A few charms to aid his steath skills, and some new bombs or tools to the utility belt would likely do Dick better in the long run then a tin suit.