Ardy
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Have to be pretty huge then, Danner enhanciles are OP
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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
- Start date
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- Tags
- self insert young justice
Have to be pretty huge then, Danner enhanciles are OP
CrazyNoVa
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Well, like I said, make him his own version of the Hellbat! A Hellbird/Hellwing, if you will. Problem solved!
Someguy Somewhere
The Critical Fumbler
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I'm going to go with my usual answer for 'why doesn't OL get This superpower?"
Robin and OL specialize in their roles on the team, and in the superhero community.
Specialization vs Generalization.
You could try to make yourself the end all be all 'mary sue' of super heros by grabbing every bit of power/magic/tech. But you have to train and maintain all of that, and there is only one of you and only so much time and resources to work with. Alternatively you can specialize in the things that you are good at, get 'Ok' with things you're not, and build up a support network of other hero's to cover the rest.
As OL mentioned when he was reviewing the League, Not everyone has the primary role of DPS. Some have Utility and Investigation etc that gives them purpose and worth to the group well beyond that of just damage output.
Going to the 'Hellbat' and other big ass mech suits that batman has used over the years, those are the times where he is forced out of his comfort zone. He doesn't generally break it out because it's more effective to call in someone like The Flash, Wonder Woman or Superman when he needs the Insanely Superhuman powersets.
For Most work he does it's overkill, and even the big threats he can deal with more conventional solutions...a few rockets off fired off from the batwing, a bigger then normal bat bomb etc.
Bruce has those 'break glass in case of emergency' suits for those times where he's generally Against the league itself, or operating without their support. They're nice to have, but also a sign of his paranoia...a trait that Dick doesn't generally have because he's Better at working in groups then his mentor was.
Now, could I see a version of robin that took after his teacher to the point where he felt the need to have an ace in the hole like that...sure....But in general he's a Guile hero. Look at jason todd after becoming Red Hood. Grabbed some more lethal training, some deadly tools, and a pile of other scheming and ploting.....and in more recent comics he even had Bizzaro pretty much on a leash for situations when even more brute force then even his lethal style could bring. And in general this was all showing how Different he was from the other Robins, and how he was trying to Out Batman Batman. Wasn't exactly healthy for him.
Robin and OL specialize in their roles on the team, and in the superhero community.
Specialization vs Generalization.
You could try to make yourself the end all be all 'mary sue' of super heros by grabbing every bit of power/magic/tech. But you have to train and maintain all of that, and there is only one of you and only so much time and resources to work with. Alternatively you can specialize in the things that you are good at, get 'Ok' with things you're not, and build up a support network of other hero's to cover the rest.
As OL mentioned when he was reviewing the League, Not everyone has the primary role of DPS. Some have Utility and Investigation etc that gives them purpose and worth to the group well beyond that of just damage output.
Going to the 'Hellbat' and other big ass mech suits that batman has used over the years, those are the times where he is forced out of his comfort zone. He doesn't generally break it out because it's more effective to call in someone like The Flash, Wonder Woman or Superman when he needs the Insanely Superhuman powersets.
For Most work he does it's overkill, and even the big threats he can deal with more conventional solutions...a few rockets off fired off from the batwing, a bigger then normal bat bomb etc.
Bruce has those 'break glass in case of emergency' suits for those times where he's generally Against the league itself, or operating without their support. They're nice to have, but also a sign of his paranoia...a trait that Dick doesn't generally have because he's Better at working in groups then his mentor was.
Now, could I see a version of robin that took after his teacher to the point where he felt the need to have an ace in the hole like that...sure....But in general he's a Guile hero. Look at jason todd after becoming Red Hood. Grabbed some more lethal training, some deadly tools, and a pile of other scheming and ploting.....and in more recent comics he even had Bizzaro pretty much on a leash for situations when even more brute force then even his lethal style could bring. And in general this was all showing how Different he was from the other Robins, and how he was trying to Out Batman Batman. Wasn't exactly healthy for him.
Coast to Coast (part 7)
Mr Zoat
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3rd December 2282
11:43 GMT
That was very useful.
'The Brethren' are a fundamentalist millennialist Christian sect that have been spreading out from their home in Portsmouth, and are the main competition for the Anglican church in the region. According to Sarah, if I didn't want to pay a newsagent (an information gatherer and seller, not a retailer of newspapers and magazines) then the next best place to find out what's going on is the local vicar.
When I asked about other Christian denominations I was told that Rome was completely destroying in the Resource Wars. Then there was too much fighting for a new papal conclave and once the EU fell apart each of the countries with a significant Catholic population nominated their own Pope. Even today there are occasional messages to the faithful from four different Popes, each decrying the others. Most Catholic diocese in Britain attached themselves to the Anglican Church until that mess sorts itself out, because while the national government is widely considered to have collapsed, the Church hasn't. And because our Catholic archbishop had more sense than to nominate himself.
And by 'widely considered'… It turns out that Queen Elizabeth III is still alive, a jolly impressive feat given that she was queen before the Resource Wars and is even older than Robert House. With no parliament, she's theoretically assumed supreme executive authority. In practice their writ runs pretty thin outside of London, but for some reason they sent a company of soldiers to install someone as Lord of Brighton.
Brighton, of all places.
And while I.. was sort of thinking of just picking up a priest who didn't mind travelling, I think that having a conversation with Lord Harold Windsor would be a productive use of my time. Because in terms of giving the country a functioning government, creating a parliament that acknowledges the monarch as sovereign but retains most of the power is a lot easier if there's only one possible monarchical candidate and they're someone most people recognise as being the monarch, even if that recognition is mostly theoretical.
Which is why the stealth system is off and I'm flying along the Brighton seafront, giving everyone a good eyeful. A lot more fishing boats than I remember there being, which I suppose makes sense. They've got to be getting food from somewhere, and with the various wars reducing the human population so much the fish stocks would have either recovered or been killed by the radiation-.
I blink as I see a giant carcass being butchered on the quay, near one of the larger fishing boats. It looks like a.. large whale, with glowing nodules along its sides. Stand on guard nearby is a squad of Life Guards armed with.. German gauss rifles. Interesting choice, as they're dependant on European batteries rather than the fusion batteries which the American rip off uses. Still a very dangerous gun, as long as the power holds out.
Yes, they've seen me, and their squad leader is directing them to take aim. Have we got a radio frequency..? Yes, yes we do.
"Krono to Life Guard. Krono to Life Guard. Please respond."
"This is a restricted military frequency. And you're probably used a contraband radio, aren't you, you horrible little man?"
"I have an alien spaceship armed with giant cannons." I slow the saucer, angling it to that I can point the disintegrator cannons at them at a moment's notice, because I'm pretty sure that the gauss guns can pierce the hull and I'm relying on the saucer's inertial shield and my own ability to slam on the accelerator if they actually fire. "And I'd like you to take me to your leader."
"You some sorta goddam alien comedian? 'Take me to your sodding leadah' indeed."
"It seemed appropriate."
"It's a cliché. You could have said anything, and the best you could do was a 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' quote."
"You seem to be taking this rather personally."
"You just spoiled aliens for me. I'm over two hundred years old, and just when it looks like something interesting is about to happen for the first time in bloody ages, it turns out that the alien flying machine is being flown by a moron."
"That's-. That's a little hurtful, but I'll try and be more creative in future."
"No, it's too late, you ruined it. What do ya want?"
"Um. Well, I flew here from Nevada-"
"Of course you did. Area Fifty-One? You don't just quote clichés, you fucking live them!"
…
Canopy.
I jump down, falling through the air and landing in front of the Life Guard squad, inertia shield flaring as it absorbs-
"A superhero landing?!"
-the kinetic energy of my impact.
"Yes." I rise from my crouch, glaring at the sergeant with the portable radio. "It was."
Ah. That's something I hadn't spotted before. Not only is the sergeant a ghoul -which, yes, was the most likely explanation for him being over two hundred years old- but all of the Life Guard are. The dock workers and butchers are regular humans, and appear to be torn between grabbing improvised weapons and watching a piece of novel street theatre.
The sergeant marches forward, passing the closer soldiers who have their guns readied but not yet aimed, and glares at me.
"What's your name, son?"
"Krono."
He stares at me for a moment, then-
"Hah!"
-actually looks and sounds amused.
"You certainly committed to the sodding bit, didn't you? That's exactly the sort of thing he'd say and do in the bleedin' comics. Only question is-" He raises his gauss rifle and levels it at my head. "-what makes you think I won't do exactly what those idiots in the comics should do the moment they see him?"
"My ship's fire controls have a dead man's switch."
"You overestimate how much I want to be alive. It's been a boring and frankly painful two hundred years, and you've actually annoyed me."
"Because his lordship will be annoyed that he didn't get to make the decision himself?"
"But if I'm dead, how is that my problem?"
I reach out psychically for the gauss gun and detach the capacitor from the magnetic coil. And then I check for an alternate charging mechanism, just in case. No, I'm good.
I shrug nonchalantly. "I guess you better shoot me then."
"I guess I-" There's a 'click' as he pulls the trigger. "-had-?"
Slowly, very slowly, the coilgun round drifts down the bore due to the coil having been weakly magnetised, then falls out of the barrel.
The two of us look at it on the ground.
I suck in air through my teeth, nodding sagely. "Yeah, I hear that can be a problem for men your age."
A peal of laughter runs through the people watching, and more than a few of the Life Guard are smirking.
"Hm."
A fraction of a second and his sidearm is pointing at my face as my plasma pistol is at his.
"Just like the comics, huh?"
"Yes." I give him a very small nod. "And what do you think would happen in the comics if someone tried this?"
His eyes narrow. "What do you want, you living, third rate comic villain?"
"To find out what's been happening in my dear home country while I've been in America, to see if I can find any members of my family, and to acquire a priest to perform my marriage ceremony."
"That sounds convoluted enough to be a third rate villain plot. But if you've been to the States, his lordship probably does need to talk to you."
"Right then."
…
…
…
"So which one of us puts our gun down first?"
11:43 GMT
That was very useful.
'The Brethren' are a fundamentalist millennialist Christian sect that have been spreading out from their home in Portsmouth, and are the main competition for the Anglican church in the region. According to Sarah, if I didn't want to pay a newsagent (an information gatherer and seller, not a retailer of newspapers and magazines) then the next best place to find out what's going on is the local vicar.
When I asked about other Christian denominations I was told that Rome was completely destroying in the Resource Wars. Then there was too much fighting for a new papal conclave and once the EU fell apart each of the countries with a significant Catholic population nominated their own Pope. Even today there are occasional messages to the faithful from four different Popes, each decrying the others. Most Catholic diocese in Britain attached themselves to the Anglican Church until that mess sorts itself out, because while the national government is widely considered to have collapsed, the Church hasn't. And because our Catholic archbishop had more sense than to nominate himself.
And by 'widely considered'… It turns out that Queen Elizabeth III is still alive, a jolly impressive feat given that she was queen before the Resource Wars and is even older than Robert House. With no parliament, she's theoretically assumed supreme executive authority. In practice their writ runs pretty thin outside of London, but for some reason they sent a company of soldiers to install someone as Lord of Brighton.
Brighton, of all places.
And while I.. was sort of thinking of just picking up a priest who didn't mind travelling, I think that having a conversation with Lord Harold Windsor would be a productive use of my time. Because in terms of giving the country a functioning government, creating a parliament that acknowledges the monarch as sovereign but retains most of the power is a lot easier if there's only one possible monarchical candidate and they're someone most people recognise as being the monarch, even if that recognition is mostly theoretical.
Which is why the stealth system is off and I'm flying along the Brighton seafront, giving everyone a good eyeful. A lot more fishing boats than I remember there being, which I suppose makes sense. They've got to be getting food from somewhere, and with the various wars reducing the human population so much the fish stocks would have either recovered or been killed by the radiation-.
I blink as I see a giant carcass being butchered on the quay, near one of the larger fishing boats. It looks like a.. large whale, with glowing nodules along its sides. Stand on guard nearby is a squad of Life Guards armed with.. German gauss rifles. Interesting choice, as they're dependant on European batteries rather than the fusion batteries which the American rip off uses. Still a very dangerous gun, as long as the power holds out.
Yes, they've seen me, and their squad leader is directing them to take aim. Have we got a radio frequency..? Yes, yes we do.
"Krono to Life Guard. Krono to Life Guard. Please respond."
"This is a restricted military frequency. And you're probably used a contraband radio, aren't you, you horrible little man?"
"I have an alien spaceship armed with giant cannons." I slow the saucer, angling it to that I can point the disintegrator cannons at them at a moment's notice, because I'm pretty sure that the gauss guns can pierce the hull and I'm relying on the saucer's inertial shield and my own ability to slam on the accelerator if they actually fire. "And I'd like you to take me to your leader."
"You some sorta goddam alien comedian? 'Take me to your sodding leadah' indeed."
"It seemed appropriate."
"It's a cliché. You could have said anything, and the best you could do was a 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' quote."
"You seem to be taking this rather personally."
"You just spoiled aliens for me. I'm over two hundred years old, and just when it looks like something interesting is about to happen for the first time in bloody ages, it turns out that the alien flying machine is being flown by a moron."
"That's-. That's a little hurtful, but I'll try and be more creative in future."
"No, it's too late, you ruined it. What do ya want?"
"Um. Well, I flew here from Nevada-"
"Of course you did. Area Fifty-One? You don't just quote clichés, you fucking live them!"
…
Canopy.
I jump down, falling through the air and landing in front of the Life Guard squad, inertia shield flaring as it absorbs-
"A superhero landing?!"
-the kinetic energy of my impact.
"Yes." I rise from my crouch, glaring at the sergeant with the portable radio. "It was."
Ah. That's something I hadn't spotted before. Not only is the sergeant a ghoul -which, yes, was the most likely explanation for him being over two hundred years old- but all of the Life Guard are. The dock workers and butchers are regular humans, and appear to be torn between grabbing improvised weapons and watching a piece of novel street theatre.
The sergeant marches forward, passing the closer soldiers who have their guns readied but not yet aimed, and glares at me.
"What's your name, son?"
"Krono."
He stares at me for a moment, then-
"Hah!"
-actually looks and sounds amused.
"You certainly committed to the sodding bit, didn't you? That's exactly the sort of thing he'd say and do in the bleedin' comics. Only question is-" He raises his gauss rifle and levels it at my head. "-what makes you think I won't do exactly what those idiots in the comics should do the moment they see him?"
"My ship's fire controls have a dead man's switch."
"You overestimate how much I want to be alive. It's been a boring and frankly painful two hundred years, and you've actually annoyed me."
"Because his lordship will be annoyed that he didn't get to make the decision himself?"
"But if I'm dead, how is that my problem?"
I reach out psychically for the gauss gun and detach the capacitor from the magnetic coil. And then I check for an alternate charging mechanism, just in case. No, I'm good.
I shrug nonchalantly. "I guess you better shoot me then."
"I guess I-" There's a 'click' as he pulls the trigger. "-had-?"
Slowly, very slowly, the coilgun round drifts down the bore due to the coil having been weakly magnetised, then falls out of the barrel.
The two of us look at it on the ground.
I suck in air through my teeth, nodding sagely. "Yeah, I hear that can be a problem for men your age."
A peal of laughter runs through the people watching, and more than a few of the Life Guard are smirking.
"Hm."
A fraction of a second and his sidearm is pointing at my face as my plasma pistol is at his.
"Just like the comics, huh?"
"Yes." I give him a very small nod. "And what do you think would happen in the comics if someone tried this?"
His eyes narrow. "What do you want, you living, third rate comic villain?"
"To find out what's been happening in my dear home country while I've been in America, to see if I can find any members of my family, and to acquire a priest to perform my marriage ceremony."
"That sounds convoluted enough to be a third rate villain plot. But if you've been to the States, his lordship probably does need to talk to you."
"Right then."
…
…
…
"So which one of us puts our gun down first?"
Last edited:
Darko
Connoisseur.
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I can't help but be reminded of this scene.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExA06-D4KBw
Really hope they keep pointing their guns at each other until Krono leaves.
Heck, I even hope they become friends, like with this:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7gGCk3J5Is
Last edited:
RichardWhereat
Aia airëa Fëanáro.
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Some people just hate memes. I'd have started screaming 40K guardsman memes at you.
Lord Ernest
At the End...
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You know, it's pretty funny that in one of the universes least associated with comics, the SI is generally considered a comic book character, even if they don't really think he is a comic book character.
And I find the lack of appreciation for real life clichés in that Ghoul Sargeant disturbing. Even if aliens invade us for real, I would be dying of laughter if they spoke like in Mars Attacks!, is what I'm saying.
And I find the lack of appreciation for real life clichés in that Ghoul Sargeant disturbing. Even if aliens invade us for real, I would be dying of laughter if they spoke like in Mars Attacks!, is what I'm saying.
Chojin Patriarch
Veteran Lurker
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Well, the vicar usually is the heart of the community in some parts of England. Especially out in the regional areas. But I suspect the Church here is a lot more temporally powerful than it used to be.
Honestly, not the first time that's happened. Papal history is sometimes a shitshow of comedic proportions. One well summarised by Blue of OSP.
...I wonder how? Assuming it's something other than Ghouling up.
Well, it is kind of centrally located along the southern coast. And seems to occupy a certain place in the British national psyche.
Since an immortal ruler means any princes or princesses kind of depend on their immortal precursor stepping aside in favour of them at some point if they ever want the throne.
Hence its' importance and choice as the Crown Prince's seat?
But they can be recharged more easily than a fusion cell, I expect. Also, hello mutated sea life.
Well, aren't you just the most cliche British Non-Commisioned Officer about, then?
...Okay, it looks like this is just going to be a whole blizzard of cliches isn't it?
...I like this guy, whoever the hell he is.
And he's something of a pre-war cinephile, it seems.
Hey, it could be worse. He could have been an American. Even if his accent's gone a little local, he's still a Brit at heart.
Bloody hell, it's like Wade Wilson had an immortal British counterpart.
Since going slowly would have just given them a nice big target of they felt the urge to open fire...
Okay, that's it. This guy is now voiced by Ryan 'Deadpool' Reynolds in my head and you are not changing it.
Presumably the urge to watch wins out. It's the Ankh-Morporkh Way!
At least he's not yelling. The royal guards have considerable pipes, and will use them when needed.
Let's hope he doesn't get the Starlord classic response: 'Who?'
Again, I say: I like this fellow.
...That's a very good reason.
Sounds like things in England haven't been all tea and crumpets, wot?
Very sensible, Krono. never trust the bad guys to be dumb enough not to have backups.
Well, no nonsense held to with this fellow. You ask to get shot, you get shot.
...Don't say it, Krono...
Well, at least he got a polite chuckle. I think he crossed the line from 'annoyance' to 'entertaining... for now.'
Sadly, Krono does have a slight advantage in this Mexican standoff.
I'm guessing they usually don't walk away arm in arm as friends.
The latter probably sounds the most understandable to the local lads.
All mates now? get a move on, then, lads.
Gents? Is there a problem?
...ah, the etiquette of standoffs no-one ever thinks about: What happens when you don't start shooting but you're not friends yet?Well, that went well enough for his public debut in England. I wonder if all of the army lads are so entertainment-loving as this sergeant, or if he's just outstanding, Regardless, the details revealed are quite interesting. Ghoul soldiers? An Immortal Queen? How peculiar. Let's hope they aren't too set in their ways to accept the idea of change, though.
jasonh23761
Not too sore, are you?
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I like this man! Definitely fits the Fallout weirdness and the sheer dearth of information on Europe during the run up to the Great-War, canon or otherwise, gives a lot of room to maneuver.
Sockmonkey
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Rock, paper, scissors to see who stands down first, obviously.
CrazyNoVa
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Sounds like a rather flimsy excuse, considering that Batman Beyond had a techsuit like that and still managed to being all about guile and stuff. Terry has a suit that makes him physically superhuman, yet he still manages to be as sneaky and cunning as any member of the Bat-family should be. Thus, saying that Robin shouldn't get a techsuit because "that's not his role" or "he's a guile hero" is an invalid argument.
Besides, even if not everyone on the league has a DPS role, having extra firepower just in case you encounter something outside of your weight class never hurts. Especially since Bat-family members have a tendency to stumble across random things out of their weight class and finding themselves out of their depth a lot, because the universe likes screwing with them.
Mr Zoat
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The difference is that Terry usually goes into the field on his own. In this story Robin doesn't, and as such has even less need to be a generalist.
Mr Zoat
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No defence required. Fallout 2 is a good game.
Ardy
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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If he really wanted to throw them off he could have jumped out of the spaceship dressed like an alien (but, like, a bad alien costume, that only convinces you when you see it from far away) and telepathically blasted out the message "HAVE YOU HEARD OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST?"
CrazyNoVa
Making the rounds.
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Oh yeah, good point. I hadn't considered that. Yeah, if he doesn't go out into the field on his own as much as Terry does, then I guess he has less need for it. I guess that's another reason why Paul doesn't prioritize giving Dick that sort of firepower.
Honestly, compared to the timeline of the DC Comics universe, it's rather coherent. Between all the retcons and crises, nobody is even sure what's happening in DC anymore. I know this, because I've recently considered starting my own SI fic that takes place in post-crisis/pre-n52 DC, and of course, like any good writer, before I actually start writing and posting the story, I needed to do my research on the setting and read every book about it that I could get my hands on so that I can understand the source material. I'm not even halfway done yet, but as it turns out, trying to make sense of that continuity is A FREAKING NIGHTMARE. Especially when you try to read all the books together back-to-back.
And preferably while playing out this:
View: https://youtu.be/CLdvxrdLeio
Lord Ernest
At the End...
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I would say, just do what most people do, pick and choose your canon to weave your own, insert in a relatively isolated or niche section of the comics or select a period in the comics for the insert to appear.
Personally, I like when fanfic authors weave their own canon and worldbuilding (like the great scrivener, rest in peace, or Zoat expanding the Young Justice worldbuilding with different comic elements), for insert in isolated or niche sections people like to appear in Gotham and not worry about the general DC canon, for example, or only interact with Mutants when inserted in Marvel. And the periods to insert into can be generally linked to Events, like One Year Later just after Infinite Crisis in DC or during Civil War in Marvel; that way I don't think you need to know everything that happened before, just follow the comics and events published around that period.
Someguy Somewhere
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Going by the Lore, the Batman Beyond suit was made by an aging Bruce to make up for his fading youth, so it was compensating for a loss in strength and mobility along with the increasingly demanding threats in his city. It was also a time after he'd isolated himself, as he was without a batgirl or robin in the end, and even his 'part timer' status with the league was likely reduced to end of the world situations. He compensated for his lack of manpower and physical ability with tech, which makes sense in his situation. Robin in WTR currently has no such need to compensate for anything, and has a full roster of allies to call upon, and doesn't appear to have the degree of paranoia that some versions of bruce have that leads his personal little WMD's.
Yes the Batman Beyond suit (Batman of the Future for our British friends) was an upgrade over baseline human, and was even more effectively used by an athletic young man then the miserly world worn fellow that built it. Heck the episode where the suit gets stolen by the mental imprint of a dead man showed just how functional it was without a body in it at all. The Suit's benefits are what even let a "Normal" kid like Terry get into the Superhero biz without immediately dying. It gave him enough of a leg up to handle his initial rogues, at least until his training caught up somewhat to handle things with less brawn and more finesse. There was a second, larger Post BTAS suit that showed up, that Bruce built to try and keep up, but the stress of that Power Armored suit put on his heart was too much. He gave up on the City after that and just settled into being Old Man Bruce.
I'd make a vague comparison to Terry and the Beyond suit being similar to say....Amuro Ray and the RX-78 Gundam. Two youths that fall into the hero work and pick up a state of the art weapon that carries them into their battles until they get to a point where they've gotten enough experience that they're good enough to stand on their own. Great for that hero, but not everyone has the resources to get the Super Suit.
Now...would it be nice for everyone to be Dannered, or have a Batsuit that made them superior? If Resources and Time were free to get them?
Yes and No.
That IS a great part of the WTR, and OL's whole Uplift mindset. And you do get to see the fall out of this whole Superhuman Arms Race going on, and the level of Escalation that has resulted from it. When "Power Rings are Awesome" Trumps a lot of the existing threats, the enemy responds in kind. And when your 1-10 Threat Level includes 'The Greatest Weapon in the Universe" rings, it's really hard for 'punches a bit harder' boy to hold up.
------------------------------------------
Now, I Will Say, that while writing this, it DID occur to me that, while the PARAGON Orange Lantern side of things, Robin doesn't much need this level of force projection.....the Renegade Side? THAT Robin? I can see going full on 'Batman Vs Superman' Power Suit on things because of his interactions, or rather, his recurring conflicts with Grayven.
Grayven IS a threat that would require more force then he could bring to hand, and has enough support in the super hero and government community that THIS Dick (sans Danner formula) would hesitate in calling in outside help if and when he's had enough of 'Prince Grayven of Apokalypse'. The Dynamic Duo on that side of the fence would likely be doing contingicy planning for what do do if Grayven went even Further Rogue then he already is, and are well aware of how much intel someone with a power ring and motherbox, and a few wizards and telepaths around, so they'd figure out something in isolation.
You want to theorize what the Angrier Robin might throw together to take on a New God, now That might be something worth pondering.
Coast to Coast (part 8)
Mr Zoat
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3rd December 2282
11:59 GMT
The sergeant and an escort detail marches towards a fortified hotel, which I assume is where Lord Harold is based. The sergeant himself is reviewing my family tree, and doesn't look all happy about it.
"King."
"Yes, my maternal grandfather's family name."
"And his wife was an Underwood."
"Yes, he used to make jokes about how untrustworthy they were."
"Did he have any brothers and sisters?"
Ah… "I… Don't remember. I think… There was a man my mother called 'Uncle Rolly', but I'm not sure exactly who he was related to."
"And what part of the country was this?"
"Gloucestershire."
The sergeant winces. "Holy Mary, Mother of.. God."
He shoves the paper back at me, and I take it with a frown. "What? There's no way you're old enough to have met him."
"My great grandfather was called Roland King, and his part of the family came from Gloucestershire."
I stop walking, staring at him with a growing grin. "Oh?"
He stops too, looking me over more carefully. Then he sighs, and starts walking again. "It's probably a common name."
I take a couple of rushed steps to catch up, still grinning. "Not really, cousin."
"And you expect me to believe that you were alive before the Resource Wars, do you?"
"I was born in nineteen eighty three. I'm almost certainly older than you."
"You're older than my father was. How can you be that old with you still having a baby-face, huh?"
"America invented cryogenic suspension pods before their war with China. There are more than a few people from that period still alive. Did you ever hear of Robert House?" He gives his head a small shake. "Founder of RobCo?"
"The Americans didn't sell robots to other countries. You were seventy when the Wars started? Your face isn't that old."
I shake my head. "Last year I remember before waking up in the now is twenty thirteen."
"Still doesn't mean that we're related."
"Give me a sample of your blood before I leave, and I'll get someone to run a genetic analysis."
His eyebrows ridges rise. "You've got someone with the equipment to do that?"
"America is rebuilding. Slowly. There are a couple of places with good enough laboratories to specialise in advanced medicine."
"Just so long as they don't nuke the whole planet again."
"What?" I frown as we're waved through the checkpoint and into the hotel. "I thought they just nuked China."
"And Russia and Eastern Europe. The Geiger counters still start shouting whenever it rains. I spent decades fighting giant mutant rats because of them."
"Oh? I'd been assuming that most of the damage came from the nuclear strikes on Britain."
"We took a few hits. Couldn't say for sure where they were from. Russia, probably, but it could have been China, France, Germany… Maybe even America. Mutual decapitations all over. Most of the actual damage came from ground invasions after the navy ran out of fuel, and no one was organising things. And that's where it all fell apart. There are still a few places in Britain where English is a second language. And I don't mean because they're speaking Welsh or Gaelic." He smiles cruelly. "But at least they aren't getting orders from Brussels or Berlin anymore."
"So where does your boss come from?"
"The royal family was at Balmoral when the rats attacked what was left of Parliament. They're in charge, as far as I'm concerned."
"Parliament was killed by rats? I assumed that it would have been nuked."
He shrugs. "If they were trying, they missed. Or it got shot down."
I look around at the soldiers and… Other people we walk past. The soldiers are all ghouls. Actually, from the looks of things only the hotel staff are humans.
"I assume that Her Majesty is a ghoul as well?"
He glares at me. "A what?"
"Ah..?" Oh. "Sorry. In America, that's what people like…" I wave my right hand at my face. "You and your colleagues are called. What's the..? Proper phrase here?"
"Simons."
Ah. What? "Why?"
He rolls his eyes. "Because if we tell someone to do something, they have to do it."
"Heh, okay. Do we..? Have any other surviving family?"
"Not that I know about, if we even are family. My grandparents, parents and brothers died doing this and that. I was conscripted right out of school, spent the whole time moving from one fight to another and then turned into this."
"And you haven't had any children since?"
His jaw tightens, and several other members of the Life Guard glare at me. "That is not funny."
"No, seriously. There was a crazy doctor in America who studied it, and your virility is very low, not zero. It takes a lot of tries, but they proved it was possible for 'Simons' to have children."
His gaze gets a little distant for a moment, then he shakes his head and focuses on a group just ahead of us.
"Lieutenant Roper!"
A Life Guard 'Simon' steps away from a table where he was studying a map with two other members of the Life Guard. His uniform has a gold plated cuirass and those golden… Ropes that I don't know the name for.
"Sergeant King. Who's this, then?"
"He's the one with the plane, sir. Says he came over from America."
"I suppose that if anyone can still build planes it would be them." He looks at me. "How are the septics doing, then?"
"Government has been re-established at the state level in some areas. California, Denver, Oklahoma, Texas and Rio Grande are back. Other places are still a mess. No national government."
"I thought they'd have better contingency plans than that, what with all their vaults."
I shake my head. "Oh, it turned out that the vaults were never meant to save anyone. They were experimental prototypes for building off-world colonies. The plan was for a section of the government and some essential workers to evacuate off planet. In the end, they had to settle for an abandoned oil rig. Then they tried to wipe out the rest of the world with viral weapons, but that got stopped and most of them were killed."
"Oh no." Lieutenant Roper snorts. "A disease. Whatever would we do."
I shake my head again. "They made one that could affect atypical people such as yourself as well. We've got these things called 'super mutants' who are even tougher, and it killed them when they tested it."
He nods. "Good job it got stopped, then. Why are you here now?"
"I wanted to find out how my own country is doing, pick up a priest to officiate at my wedding and see if I had any family left. Turns out that the sergeant might be a distant cousin. Oh." I reach into my robes and pull out a letter of introduction from President Hayes. "And I've got this from the President of the New California Republic, authorising me to act as an ambassador. Could I speak to his lordship, please?"
11:59 GMT
The sergeant and an escort detail marches towards a fortified hotel, which I assume is where Lord Harold is based. The sergeant himself is reviewing my family tree, and doesn't look all happy about it.
"King."
"Yes, my maternal grandfather's family name."
"And his wife was an Underwood."
"Yes, he used to make jokes about how untrustworthy they were."
"Did he have any brothers and sisters?"
Ah… "I… Don't remember. I think… There was a man my mother called 'Uncle Rolly', but I'm not sure exactly who he was related to."
"And what part of the country was this?"
"Gloucestershire."
The sergeant winces. "Holy Mary, Mother of.. God."
He shoves the paper back at me, and I take it with a frown. "What? There's no way you're old enough to have met him."
"My great grandfather was called Roland King, and his part of the family came from Gloucestershire."
I stop walking, staring at him with a growing grin. "Oh?"
He stops too, looking me over more carefully. Then he sighs, and starts walking again. "It's probably a common name."
I take a couple of rushed steps to catch up, still grinning. "Not really, cousin."
"And you expect me to believe that you were alive before the Resource Wars, do you?"
"I was born in nineteen eighty three. I'm almost certainly older than you."
"You're older than my father was. How can you be that old with you still having a baby-face, huh?"
"America invented cryogenic suspension pods before their war with China. There are more than a few people from that period still alive. Did you ever hear of Robert House?" He gives his head a small shake. "Founder of RobCo?"
"The Americans didn't sell robots to other countries. You were seventy when the Wars started? Your face isn't that old."
I shake my head. "Last year I remember before waking up in the now is twenty thirteen."
"Still doesn't mean that we're related."
"Give me a sample of your blood before I leave, and I'll get someone to run a genetic analysis."
His eye
"America is rebuilding. Slowly. There are a couple of places with good enough laboratories to specialise in advanced medicine."
"Just so long as they don't nuke the whole planet again."
"What?" I frown as we're waved through the checkpoint and into the hotel. "I thought they just nuked China."
"And Russia and Eastern Europe. The Geiger counters still start shouting whenever it rains. I spent decades fighting giant mutant rats because of them."
"Oh? I'd been assuming that most of the damage came from the nuclear strikes on Britain."
"We took a few hits. Couldn't say for sure where they were from. Russia, probably, but it could have been China, France, Germany… Maybe even America. Mutual decapitations all over. Most of the actual damage came from ground invasions after the navy ran out of fuel, and no one was organising things. And that's where it all fell apart. There are still a few places in Britain where English is a second language. And I don't mean because they're speaking Welsh or Gaelic." He smiles cruelly. "But at least they aren't getting orders from Brussels or Berlin anymore."
"So where does your boss come from?"
"The royal family was at Balmoral when the rats attacked what was left of Parliament. They're in charge, as far as I'm concerned."
"Parliament was killed by rats? I assumed that it would have been nuked."
He shrugs. "If they were trying, they missed. Or it got shot down."
I look around at the soldiers and… Other people we walk past. The soldiers are all ghouls. Actually, from the looks of things only the hotel staff are humans.
"I assume that Her Majesty is a ghoul as well?"
He glares at me. "A what?"
"Ah..?" Oh. "Sorry. In America, that's what people like…" I wave my right hand at my face. "You and your colleagues are called. What's the..? Proper phrase here?"
"Simons."
Ah. What? "Why?"
He rolls his eyes. "Because if we tell someone to do something, they have to do it."
"Heh, okay. Do we..? Have any other surviving family?"
"Not that I know about, if we even are family. My grandparents, parents and brothers died doing this and that. I was conscripted right out of school, spent the whole time moving from one fight to another and then turned into this."
"And you haven't had any children since?"
His jaw tightens, and several other members of the Life Guard glare at me. "That is not funny."
"No, seriously. There was a crazy doctor in America who studied it, and your virility is very low, not zero. It takes a lot of tries, but they proved it was possible for 'Simons' to have children."
His gaze gets a little distant for a moment, then he shakes his head and focuses on a group just ahead of us.
"Lieutenant Roper!"
A Life Guard 'Simon' steps away from a table where he was studying a map with two other members of the Life Guard. His uniform has a gold plated cuirass and those golden… Ropes that I don't know the name for.
"Sergeant King. Who's this, then?"
"He's the one with the plane, sir. Says he came over from America."
"I suppose that if anyone can still build planes it would be them." He looks at me. "How are the septics doing, then?"
"Government has been re-established at the state level in some areas. California, Denver, Oklahoma, Texas and Rio Grande are back. Other places are still a mess. No national government."
"I thought they'd have better contingency plans than that, what with all their vaults."
I shake my head. "Oh, it turned out that the vaults were never meant to save anyone. They were experimental prototypes for building off-world colonies. The plan was for a section of the government and some essential workers to evacuate off planet. In the end, they had to settle for an abandoned oil rig. Then they tried to wipe out the rest of the world with viral weapons, but that got stopped and most of them were killed."
"Oh no." Lieutenant Roper snorts. "A disease. Whatever would we do."
I shake my head again. "They made one that could affect atypical people such as yourself as well. We've got these things called 'super mutants' who are even tougher, and it killed them when they tested it."
He nods. "Good job it got stopped, then. Why are you here now?"
"I wanted to find out how my own country is doing, pick up a priest to officiate at my wedding and see if I had any family left. Turns out that the sergeant might be a distant cousin. Oh." I reach into my robes and pull out a letter of introduction from President Hayes. "And I've got this from the President of the New California Republic, authorising me to act as an ambassador. Could I speak to his lordship, please?"
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CrazyNoVa
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Yeah, I get what you mean. When I started planning out my story, I had to make a few concessions and weave in some of my own headcanons in my story in order to fill in a LOT of plot holes and inconsistencies that were present in Post-Crisis DC, and I understood why Mr. Zoat had to do it for With This Ring too. In my case, it was also really necessary because I'm not planning to use the same Mass Effect renegade/paragon morality system that this story uses, so I had to make some adjustments to my story in order to fit in a different morality system of a different game franchise that I'm planning to use for my story.
And I also had to take a "broad stokes" approach to a lot of big events that screwed up the continuity, such as Armaggedon 2001 and Zero Hour. Basically, I'm not gonna try to explain exactly how they make sense, but I'm just gonna say something like: "It happened, but it's not relevant, so just roll with it", and leave it alone. Especially since I'm planning for my SI to arrive in the DC universe AFTER those events have already happened (In case you're wondering, I'm planning to put the SI in the time period after Final Night and Underworld Unleashed, but before Our Worlds At War, Tower Of Babel and Identity Crisis) so they aren't relevant to the SI anyway.
And before you ask, yes, I'm planning to eventually do both Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis, so I need to do a lot of research and reading on those too. Just like how Zoat probably did when he made his own version of Time Trapper and the multiversal tuning fork. Although, they obviously won't happen exactly like they did in canon, because butterfly effect and all that…not to mention that I do NOT want to make another Countdown. The world is better off without anyone trying to make another steaming pile of crap like that, and I can only hope that if Zoat ever decides to do his own version of Final Crisis in this story, he will up making something way better than that for a lead-in to the big event.
And now I have this mental image of Robin trying to re-enact the famous "DO YOU BLEED" scene, but then Grayven is just confused because he doesn't see Robin as an actual threat.
Grayven: "Hey, Richard! Nice power armor you've got there!"
Robin: "Tell me, Grayven. Do you bleed?"
Grayven: "Um, yes? Last I checked, I do have blood, Richard."
Robin: "YOU WILL-Wait, what? No, that's not what I-Ugh, look, I don't have time for this. I'm just going to beat the crap out of you now."
Grayven: "Oh, you want to fight me? Well, in that case, ring? Hack his stuff and shut it all down."
[Done. His armor, weapons and gadgets have all been completely disabled.]
Robin: "Wait, what? HEY, WHAT DID YOU DO? I CAN'T MOVE! MY ARMOR DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE!"
Grayven: "What did you think was going to happen, Richard? You thought I was just going to stand there and let you have your big moment of glory? You tried to fight a guy who has a ring that can hack almost any technology that's less advanced than itself…with a mechsuit that's made of technology that's way less advanced than even the most primitive functions of my ring. Honestly, you only have yourself to blame for this.
Robin: "YOU CHEATING ASSHOLE! YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY? I CAN'T MOVE OR EVEN OPEN THE EXIT HATCH TO GET OUT! I'M STUCK IN THIS ARMOR!"
Grayven: "Hey, I'm just saying, you should feel lucky that I didn't just decide to use my ring to molecularly transmute your suit into chocolate, because that would have been just plain damn embarrassing! By the way, since you're not going anywhere for a while, can I interest you to talk about the wonders of unpasteurized milk for a few hours?"
Robin: *Repeatedly bangs his own head against the inside of his fried power armor in annoyance and frustration.*
Darko
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"glares"
Ardy
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So Krono is accidentally racist, really lucky when finding random family members, and is in a prime position to inform the UK about the glorious opportunity they have to take back those damn rebellious colonies called the US
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Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
Not sure about the racism, and it's been nine generations or so. Finding distant relatives isn't that unlikely.
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Ardy
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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He called them the G-word. Not cool, man.
Chojin Patriarch
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Ah, the joy of any SI. Trying to go over family details without going so far he doxxes himself. Then again, we already know Mr Zoat's real name in full, what with it having come out during discussions... Of course, writing around actual names just sounds ridiculously clunky.
Old family joke, I take it? there's always that one family branch where the black sheep outnumber the white.
And that's discounting more modern implications. Could have been something as simple as a family friend of their parent's generation.
Soundly in the west of the country, right up there on the Welsh border in spots... And one that's not pronounced quite how it's spelt, because English has bizarre ways to say words...
Oh, no.
Don't tell me...Well, one objective complete, purely by coincidence!
I mean, is there any family resemblance? A few generations couldn't make that much difference to something like a family nose.
Edit: ...Oh, right...
Just don't mention the alien super-tech or the possibility that you're from an alternate universe...
For a given value of living, anyway.
Which implies all manner of things even without alien abductions.
I expect Area 51 has someone capable of running that, and the tech to do so.
Given his tribe is based in one, he does have quite the advantage there.
Eh, an exchange that big... Surely some of their shots didn't go where they were programmed to.
Sadly, nature isn't so nice. England does catch a bit of bad weather from the continent. Especially in the South-East, along the Channel...
Heh. I can see where his dislike of the big names in Europe comes from, in that case.
So most of the country follows the Crown? And just the South-Eastern territory that's under foreign control? Wouldn't be the first time in their history.
Westminster Palace (aka the Houses of Parliament) isn't exactly the biggest target, after all. A particularly large bomb on London in general would disrupt things at the least.
Somehow, I doubt they use the same word. Interesting that so many people changed, though, including the royal family.
Best not to offer any accidental insult by being so... American to the Prince's face.
Kind of a random thing. But England has had stranger name origins.
Ah, subtle British humour.
...How do you feel about taking a trip to the US, mate?
Just bringing that before the royals might well get some frothing at the mouth with excitement.
Heh. I expect he's a little distracted by thoughts of legacy...
ironically, they are simply 'Braids'. The ones you're thinking of are probably the kind known as Aguilettes.
If anyone doesn't know: 'Septic Tank' is rhyming slang for 'Yank' as in Yankee. And a fairly common reference in England, I would assume. English is such a colourful language sometimes...
Little hard to put them into action when the place most of them are stored gets to be ground zero of a nuclear wasteland. As for the Vaults...
Surprised he didn't add a 'You're welcome for that', given he was almost certainly involved in said prevention.
Which says a lot about just how nasty it was, I suppose.
And that probably means the Sergeant will end up being part of whatever delegation gets sent back with you...
And so he finally gets down to international business. I expect whatever else happens, he'll get what he wanted out of this little trip. Just the information about 'Simons' fertility might get some folks excited. Especially to a Monarchy looking to reclaim parts of their country and strengthen their position on the throne.
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Mr Zoat
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Corrected.Me said:
He is a psyker.
...
Dude. You're saying that to a Simon? Not cool, man.
GUESS WHICH COAST FRANCE HAS THEIR IRL NUCLEAR REACTORS ON?
It's not that common.
In America it's what they call themselves. If they use it themselves how can it possibly be a problem?
jasonh23761
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Of course you went with Hayes
Though admittedly, given the situation, it makes sense. I've always been preferential to an Murphy presidency, though one writing project I'm in assumes a near clean sweep for Kimball, save House taking control of everything from Area 51 to the Mojave Outpost at the mouth of the Long 15.
Though admittedly, given the situation, it makes sense. I've always been preferential to an Murphy presidency, though one writing project I'm in assumes a near clean sweep for Kimball, save House taking control of everything from Area 51 to the Mojave Outpost at the mouth of the Long 15.
Lord Ernest
At the End...
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So what you're saying is that Krono has the G-pass? Or maybe British Ghouls are a bit more self-conscious than the US ones.
We all know how words can transform from simple descriptors to perceived as slurs; at least when they're not created as slurs.
RichardWhereat
Aia airëa Fëanáro.
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Ghoul is their name though.
Mr Zoat
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Hayes is objectively the best choice.Of course you went with Hayes
Though admittedly, given the situation, it makes sense. I've always been preferential to an Murphy presidency, though one writing project I'm in assumes a near clean sweep for Kimball, save House taking control of everything from Area 51 to the Mojave Outpost at the mouth of the Long 15.
Kimble deals with corruption by giving people offering bribes government jobs so they don't need to offer bribes any more.
Murphy deals with corruption by politely asking the police to do their jobs properly.
Hayes deals with corruption by inviting the people offfering bribes to a meeting AND THE SHOOTING THEM ALL IN THE FACE! IN THE MIDDLE OF SHADY SANDS! WITH HIS OWN GUN!
Haven't tried the civil war route because it feels unnatural. You literally have click 'let's have a civil war'.
House's tree needs an update. The NCR always declares war to take the Mojave and that doesn't make sense when he's the one who owns it.
British ghouls have never been called ghouls. The term just isn't used in Europe, because there isn't enough travel between America and Europe of terms like that to have been shared.
In America 'ghoul' is the word everyone uses.