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

So Superman (2025; live action) has been in the news this year. Got some confirmation on the characters in it, including one Lantern. I'll warn you that this might be another Spider-Man 3. It could be worse, it could have Mr Mixylptpizzl; I don't trust Hollywood to handle that obnoxious character right.
 
So Superman (2025; live action) has been in the news this year. Got some confirmation on the characters in it, including one Lantern. I'll warn you that this might be another Spider-Man 3. It could be worse, it could have Mr Mixylptpizzl; I don't trust Hollywood to handle that obnoxious character right.
Eh, a DC live action will probably bomb, or be a bomb. I will not bother to have hope without several trailers, the cast list, a synopsis, and reviews I trust.
 
Miscellaneous late night brain thoughts:
I wonder if the Reach are doing anything nefarious across parallel worlds - I think qwardians have the technology for the transfers, even if they don't - which I suppose makes me wonder if there's something clever you can do with anti-matter transition or parallel universe travel to get around conventional ftl. I suppose martian telekines might be able to get around that sort of thing too via something like adam blake's system, but suppose having a bunch of telekinetics and a big augmentation system isn't necessarily easier than just getting a lantern to try to figure it out.
I had the bemusing thought of Blaze making a captain planet by empowering someone with the abilities of 7 different 'super lanterns'. Expect at least that dox would think of the idea of someone being granted illustres' wisdom via that method ^^. Certainly I don't think an enlightened being and 'font of primordial power' is a terrible source for such a thing. Wonder what the minimum number of different empowerments or such there is, or if Hephestaean is interested in arranging something like that. Also wondering if the angel kings are still considering the petition for empowering captain marvel - they could throw on another one, sure ^^
I wonder how close Teth Adom is to some form of ascension or enlightenment - certainly his willpower seems to be fairly... irregular.
I wonder what was up w/ the russian speedster program - iirc some of the red trinity escaped and then... nothing.
 
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Codominion (part 8)
15th April 2013
10:37 GMT -5


"Mister Mann?" Kara darts down and picks him up with her left hand while waving her right in front of his face. "Mister Mann? How many fingers am I holding up?"

No, he's not there any longer. "Donna, did you feel anything?"

"I felt him leave but I don't know where he went." She looks at me, clearly concerned. "What just happened?"

"Champions of the Green are magic-based intelligences. There's nothing stopping someone summoning or binding them, it's just that it's usually not worth the difficulty."

"Someone put a summoning spell on the chair?"

"That would be my guess." I hold a rune stone up to it. It's glowing, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything special. Of course it would glow in the presence of an innately magical-.

Kara drops Gumbo Man's husk and sits in the chair-.

"No!" / "Kara, don't do that!"

"I need to go after him!"

"Kara, you're not a plant elemental. That won't work. And even if it did, you'd be exactly as trapped as he is."

Or dead, because kryptonians can't live as disembodied souls any more than humans can.

"Huh?"

Donna flies over to her and pulls her out of the seat-. Then gets in-.

"Donna, what did we just-?"

"I'm not going to turn it on." She lays her hands on the interface unit. "I'm just going to see if I can feel… Anything."

Okay, John's barely functional but I think he'd probably feel enough of an obligation to Swamp Thing to make the… Effort. Was that patch of flowers there before?

No. Flowers appeared when 'Good Gumbo Man' left his body.

I float towards it.

Scan for other environmental changes.

Compliance.

I'm not scanning the whole of the world all of the time, but monitoring things within a couple of miles is the bare minimum for a competent Lantern. I see… A line of increased plant growth that wasn't there a moment ago, heading that way.

And I remember the comics, where when Swamp Thing returned to the material world and went to check in on Abby, he couldn't just appear wherever there were plants. Rather, he moved from patch of greenery to patch of greenery, causing a boost in plant growth as he went.

"I've got-" Donna floats up off the chair. "-no idea. I can't get anything, I'm sorry."

"Not to worry. I think we're going that way." I point in the direction of the newly grown plants. "And I wouldn't expect you to do the job of a specialist magician."

"That way?" She floats closer. "Why?"

I fly to the plant and hold out my rune stone. Glow, move it away, less glow. Good.

"That wasn't like that before."

Kara gasps in what I vainly hope is a sarcastic manner. "It wasn't. And that one-!"

And she's gone.

Donna stares after her. "Does she come with a clicker or something?"

"No." Breathe in, breath out. "No, she does not. Bleez, I suggest that you fly over the canopy and follow the orange glow."

She nods and flaps, shooting upwards… At a speed that is impressive for winged flight, but is basically nothing for Donna, much less Kara. I begin heading in the direction of the plant growths, because while Kara might already be there, wherever 'there' is, she might just as well have flown past it by the length of a continent because she just kept going after the trail ended.

There, a tower of grasses, there a bush in flower months early, there a tree entirely enveloped in vines. I slow to check each one with the rune stone and I get the same intensity of glow each time. At the same time I scan ahead, trying to see if there's any obvious ritual site or… Coven gathering? Not seeing anything, though my ring is picking out probable unnatural plant growths in areas where it wasn't maintaining constant awareness before. Looks good…

I transition a mile ahead, waving my rune stone at a pile of surprisingly fruity brambles-. Yes. Transition back to Donna and Bleez.

"I think we need to go faster. Mind if I tether you?"

Donna shakes her head and Bleez wing-shrugs. Okay then, tether and transition, check bush, move, check, move, check, move-.

And that's Kara, unconscious, and a large plant I don't recognise-. Ring?

Not on file.

I armour Donna and Bleez immediately, then tether Kara and pull her away from it. Back up everyone. Environmental shield and check vitals. She's… Breathing, slowly but easily. That and her heart rate suggests that she's asleep. Eyes… I can't open her eyes.

Darn super strong eyelids.

Brain activity can't read because kryptonian body tissues laugh at conduction, emotional networks can't read because someone's been practicing their Torquasm, magic...

I wave the rune stone at her and… Not a lot. Which suggests that this is basically normal if deep sleep. I know that in the comics Batman had kryptonite smelling salts but I also know that this Kara isn't bothered by local kryptonite and I haven't exactly made an effort to create a kind that can hurt her. I could block off the sun and wait for her to depower, but solar power makes kryptonians resistant to a lot of things that would otherwise flat out kill them, so that's out of the question until I know what this is.

Has she swallowed something? I can't open her mouth.

Darn super strong jaw muscles.

I can get into her nostrils though, and their interior…

Pollen. Not Earth-native. Doesn't look synthetic, but that's… That doesn't mean much. Most places just modify an existing-.

Close match found.

Kryptonian? A kryptonian spore? Records indicate that it had a soporific effect on animals, not that it knocked people out in a few seconds. Then again, it's a close match. Ring, analyse novel genetic sequences?

Minor changes modifying chemical processes relating to soil mineral extraction. No other significant changes detected.

But there are other changes?

Confirmed.

And I see them in my mind's eye, and… Yes, the residue of millions of years of 'good enough' evolution. That suggests that this is substantially natural change… Maybe from a colony or something?

Weird plant thing knocking people out?

I raise my left hand.

"Out you come, Gary."
 
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15th April 2013
10:37 GMT -5


"Mister Mann?" Kara darts down and picks him up with her left hand while waving her right in front of his face. "Mister Mann? How many fingers am I holding up?"

No, he's not there any longer. "Donna, did you feel anything?"
Kara isn't really used to people who can abandon their body at will, is she? So, then. How to find or follow him, if that's even possible. because I don't think he's going to be coming back here right now. Not after that little mind-expanding moment he seemed to have...

"I felt him leave but I don't know where he went." She looks at me, clearly concerned. "What just happened?"

"Champions of the Green are magic-based intelligences. There's nothing stopping someone summoning or binding them, it's just that it's usually not worth the difficulty."
And that number can include the Parliament of Trees, if I remember correctly. Though they don't usually do so unless the Avatar has really effed up.

"Someone put a summoning spell on the chair?"

"That would be my guess." I hold a rune stone up to it. It's glowing, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything special. Of course it would glow in the presence of an innately magical-.
And something like this thing would by definition have to be magical, after all.

Kara drops Gumbo Man's husk and sits in the chair-.

"No!" / "Kara, don't do that!"
Okay, someone really has to have a word with Kara about impulse control. It's even worse because she can think at super-speed, and she still doesn't seem to think before she moves...

"I need to go after him!"

"Kara, you're not a plant elemental. That won't work. And even if it did, you'd be exactly as trapped as he is."
Though one worry would be whether the connection vines could bore into her skull, what with the magic vulnerability.

Or dead, because kryptonians can't live as disembodied souls any more as humans can.

"Huh?"
Honestly, I'd worry about Kryptonian ghosts. I would imagine the destruction of their planet left a lot of souls with unfinished business.

Donna flies over to her and pulls her out of the seat-. Then gets in-.

"Donna, what did we just-?"
I doubt Gaea's blessings would let her bridge the gap between Red and Green...

"I'm not going to turn it on." She lays her hands on the interface unit. "I'm just going to see if I can feel… Anything."

Okay, John's barely functional but I think he'd probably feel enough of an obligation to Swamp Thing to make the… Effort. Was that patch of flowers there before?
...Oh-ho. A wild clue appears.

No. Flowers appeared when 'Good Gumbo Man' left his body.

I float towards it.
Thank goodness the Ring can track things he wasn't looking for.

Scan for other environmental changes.

Compliance.
It's not a faerie ring, is it? No, too patchy, as he said. And what would fairies need of a Plant Elemental anyway...

I'm not scanning the whole of the world all of the time, but monitoring things within a couple of miles is the bare minimum for a competent Lantern. I see… A line of increased plant growth that wasn't there a moment ago, heading that way.

And I remember the comics, where when Swamp Thing returned to the material world and went to check in on Abby, he couldn't just appear wherever there were plants. Rather, he moved from patch of greenery to patch of greenery, causing a boost in plant growth as he went.
Heh. I have no doubt she keeps a lot of plants in the house for just such an occasion.

"I've got-" Donna floats up off the chair. "-no idea. I can't get anything, I'm sorry."

"Not to worry. I think we're going that way." I point in the direction of the newly grown plants. "And I wouldn't expect you to do the job of a specialist magician."
A pity your specialists aren't available.

"That way?" She floats closer. "Why?"

I fly to the plant and hold out my rune stone. Glow, move it away, less glow. Good.
Okay, definitely something magical there. Lingering energy from an Avatar's presence?

"That wasn't like that before."

Kara gasps in what I vainly hope is a sarcastic manner. "It wasn't. And that one-!"

And she's gone.
Girl needs to remember, regular people can't see, hear and smell things miles away all the time.

Donna stares after her. "Does she come with a clicker or something?"

"No." Breathe in, breath out. "No, she does not. Bleez, I suggest that you fly over the canopy and follow the orange glow."
She'd probably be confused about it, or if you started carrying a squirt bottle...

She nods and flaps, shooting upwards… At a speed that is impressive for winged flight, but is basically nothing for Donna, much less Kara. I begin heading in the direction of the plant growths, because while Kara might already be there, wherever 'there' is, she might just as well have flown past it by the length of a continent because she just kept going after the trail ended.
Gotta remember, she's not exactly super-powered by the standards of her people.

There, a tower of grasses, there a bush in flower months early, there a tree entirely enveloped in vines. I slow to check each one with the rune stone and I get the same intensity of glow each time. At the same time I scan ahead, trying to see if there's any obvious ritual site or… Coven gathering? Not seeing anything, though my ring is picking out probable unnatural plant growths in areas where it wasn't maintaining constant awareness before. Looks good…
I wonder if there's any reliable consistency in their sizes of the affected areas? Like a mini-blast radius of an Avatar's popping in and out of the mystical planes...

I transition a mile ahead, waving my rune stone at a pile of surprisingly fruity brambles-. Yes. Transition back to Donna and Bleez.

"I think we need to go faster. Mind if I tether you?"
Given that an Avatar basically jumps at the speed of thought, that might be a good plan.

Donna shakes her head and Bleez wing-shrugs. Okay then, tether and transition, check bush, move, check, move, check, move-.

And that's Kara, unconscious, and a large plant I don't recognise-. Ring?
Oh, that's bad. The question is, who knocked her out?

Not on file.

I armour Donna and Bleez immediately, then tether Kara and pull her away from it. Back up everyone. Environmental shield and check vitals. She's… Breathing, slowly but easily. That and her heart rate suggests that she's asleep. Eyes… I can't open her eyes.
Ah, right. the tricky part of a medical exam on a kryptonian...

Darn super strong eyelids.

Brain activity can't read because kryptonian body tissues laugh at conduction, emotional networks can't read because someone's been practicing their Torquasm, magic...
...Biology that doesn't give a whit for human diagnostic processes.

I wave the rune stone at her and… Not a lot. Which suggest that this is basically normal if deep sleep. I know that in the comics Batman had kryptonite smelling salts but I also know that this Kara isn't bothered by local kryptonite and I haven't exactly made an effort to create a kind that can hurt her. I could block off the sun and wait for her to depower, but solar power makes kryptonians resistant to a lot of things that would otherwise flat out kill them, so that's out of the question until I know what this is.
Would be awkward if the only thing keeping her from slipping into a come or worse is her enhanced vitality and you took that away...

Has she swallowed something? I can't open her mouth.

Darn super strong jaw muscles.
Oh, there are so many comments you could make on that front, if you were a little naughtier. On the other hand, good luck doing anything to a kryptonian who isn't interested.

I can get into her nostrils though, and their interior…

Pollen. Not Earth-native. Doesn't look synthetic, but that's… That doesn't mean much. Most places just modify an existing-.
And an Avatar could do a hell of a lot more.

Close match found.

Kryptonian? A kryptonian spore? Records indicate that it had a soporific effect on animals, not that it knocked people out in a few seconds. Then again, it's a close match. Ring, analyse novel genetic sequences?
And if she was zooming about at super-speed, her metabolism would have been running in overdrive.

Minor changes modifying chemical processes relating to soil mineral extraction. No other significant changes detected.

But there are other changes?
So someone forced it to grow. Presumably...

Confirmed.

And I see them in my mind's eye, and… Yes, the residue of millions of years of 'good enough' evolution. That suggests that this is substantially natural change… Maybe from a colony or something?
Huh. Either someone forced a few million year's worth of evolution in a short time and speed-grew it to zap Kara, or this has been lurking for a while.

Weird plant thing knocking people out?

I raise my left hand.

"Out you come, Gary."
That's going to be producing a complicated response from the Green.

Either something made a kryptonian plant in a short period (or at least something similar enough to affect Kara,) or some sort of kryptonian seeds got lost on Earth. I'm not sure which case would be scarier. Even worse are implications for the Green. You'd think they'd notice something alien in their sphere of influence... Or maybe that's the problem. If it's millions of years old... How long has the Green been aware of it?
 
Seriously, the hell is wrong with that Supergirl's brain? I think she's been worse than how Kid Flash used to behave.

Oh hey, Gary! Always a delight when OL flexes his minion master abilities.

Always been my opinion that a good Orange Lantern should always behave similar to a Necromancer. Always use your minions and try to acquire better ones.

I can't even remember what Construct Lanterns the Illustres has.
 
As of right now, he has a Saremite (evil Atlantean), a bunch of Reach thralls, Demon Nabu, Gary of the Rot, a Karrakanian (alien descended from Rhea), and a bunch of Hydra heads.

Hydra heads, cool.

Do you thing they do the whole 'Cut one, two more come out' thing the original did? Cause that would be dope.
 
Donna stares after her. "Does she come with a clicker or something?"
Kara, you delightful flying brick, it's "scry" and then "die". You need to at least be able to see where you are going before trying to charge ahead.

You may be the closest thing to invulnerable this side of the Source Wall, but that does not mean you actually are invulnerable.
 
Honestly, I'd worry about Kryptonian ghosts. I would imagine the destruction of their planet left a lot of souls with unfinished business.
Good news! According to Superman issue 666, the kryptonian afterlife was destroyed as well!
Seriously, the hell is wrong with that Supergirl's brain? I think she's been worse than how Kid Flash used to behave.
Nothing is wrong with Supergirl's brain.
Always been my opinion that a good Orange Lantern should always behave similar to a Necromancer. Always use your minions and try to acquire better ones.
This issue there is that while a necromancer uses a body after the owner has left, an orange lantern has to horribly mutilate their soul while they're still there.
I can't even remember what Construct Lanterns the Illustres has.
While I... Totally can.
 
This issue there is that while a necromancer uses a body after the owner has left, an orange lantern has to horribly mutilate their soul while they're still there.
I mean, some types of Necromancers also use souls, spirits, ghosts, etc. And depending on the victims, some may see it as horrible mutilation while others might prefer to serve rather than get sent to their respective Hells and get their souls even more horribly mutilated and used for parts. Are the Construct Lanterns that self-aware to know what's been done to them?

If not, personally, if I was such a disgusting individual that Hell is my destination, I would ask for getting Assimilated rather than left at the non-existent merciful hands of demons, rendered and then used as brick or mortar in some new variation of torture dungeon.
 
Was the inhabitants/inmates destroyed too, or was it a "Hell is empty, and all the devils ran off" (to misquote old Bill) situation?

The first.

The last Kryptonian Demon possessed Superman.

Their gods faired better. The Maker, Nightwing and his girlfriend the Phoenix Fo...er, Flamebird all showed up

One Superman storyline had it stated that Rao left Krypton ages ago and was the ancestor of some if not all the Earthly gods, but that was stated by an evil god trying to recruit Superman in a scheme to gain worshippers pretending to be from the Godly UN which actually consists of Zeus, Odin, Ale (Nigerian Earth goddess of the dead and morality), and Thoth. Yes, there's literally a god group in canon DC whose initials are ZOAT.

When Superman asked about it, Zeus was like "Shut up, we don't talk about Rao."
 
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Try using TV Tropes. They have a carefully updated character list - and the Recaps are also great for getting a quick overview of the chapters, so you can remember the story and go read Fun Bits That Are Sticking In Your Head again!
Yeah, but every time I look at the TV Tropes page I immediately spot all the things I know are wrong.
 
Codominion (part 9)
15th April 2013
10:41 GMT -5

Gary 'falls' out of my ring, staggering a few steps as he reaches the ground. He looks up at me. I point at the plant thing. He looks at the plant thing.

"It doesn't look dead."

I focus, and his hunger grows.

He advances on it, his mouth distending. "But I'll soon fix that."

As he gets closer, a faint haze is visible-.

I pull everyone back a kilometre except Gary, who doesn't have any organic components and is literally incapable of sleeping.

Donna frowns. "Okay, what's happening?"

"Looks like knockout spores from the plant. Not sure what mechanism they're using; kryptonians are usually pretty hard to poison. Not sure how long they last or how dangerous they are. Could be that they're deadly with continual exposure-. Well, obviously they're deadly with continual exposure."

Donna nods but Bleez looks puzzled. "Are you sure? I thought you didn't recognise it."

"I don't, but humans need water at least once every three days or they die. Sleeping people don't drink." Hm. "There are plants in the universe that use things like that to enrich their soil."

Donna frowns in the direction of the plant thing as Gary gets to work. "Did Swamp Thing make that? Or whoever took him?"

"I'd lean towards the latter. It doesn't-." Hm. "Actually, it has a few points of commonality with his computer chair, but it's also quite different in other respects. It might actually have a common…"

Oh dear.

Alright, Dr. Woodrue might be able to create something like that based on data available on Earth. Maybe. And other Champions of the Green and probably a few druids. Dr. Isley could, though I don't think she would. Euanthe, again, might be capable but that isn't the sort of thing she does.

Those possibilities aside, this looks like it was made by someone familiar with Dominator computer systems. Which means either J, Alstair, or the Dominion itself. Dominators aren't known for using magic, but that might just be because it's hard to use in most places or that people just aren't recognising it to report it. Certainly they know about the Shadowlands…

Oh dear. Setting up a laboratory on a planet like Earth is exactly the sort of thing they'd do. And-.

Maybe I'm finally contracting apophenia from living in a superhero world for too long, but if they're interested in Shadow Champions… Collecting tissue samples from metahumans sounds like something they'd do as well-.

Donna has her right hand on my left shoulder and is shaking me.

"Yes?"

"You stopped talking and your armour covers your face."

"Oh. Sorry. I'm just having an attack of the paranoids and I'm wondering if we're being attacked by a Dominion research cell."

She thinks for a moment. "The thin yellow aliens with the teeth and the circles on their foreheads?"

"That's the ones."

She nods. "How dangerous?"

"I don't know. The Dominion isn't close to Earth or The Reach. I haven't investigated them in detail." I shrug. "Last time I blitzed one of their facilities it was easy enough, but it wasn't intended to be heavily fortified or disguised. I… Don't want to have to fight the entire Dominion."

"What are they likely to have?"

I shake my head. "Assuming that it is dominators, it could be anything from a small fleet to one scientist and a couple of bodyguards. And the fact that I've been scanning this system for dominators and Dominion technology and I haven't found anything suggests that… If it is them, they're doing something intelligent and hiding really well."

"Finished!"

Gary has partially merged with the plant. It's now covered in glowing orange veins while only his head, right arm and a small part of his torso are sticking out.

"Good work. Anything interesting?"

"There's a human in here. It's connected to them like I'm connected to it. Feeding on them as I feed on it." He frowns. "I don't usually feed on meat. Do you want me to try?"

"No." / "No!"

Did Donna really think I'd-? No, no, I'm sure she was just worried about him.

"Can you tell what it's doing with the human?"

"Nourishing the human. Growing in their brain."

Oh… Dear. I'd need an expert on parasitic growths to handle removing something like that, assuming that it can be removed. The sort of person who'd hook someone up to a killer plant probably wasn't all that worried about what it would do to them. Experts… Any of the Sivanas. Asking Thaddeus Senior would most likely result in the person in there getting dissected because 'ninety percent dead is basically dead, isn't it?', so it would have to be one of his children. Beautia… Should be free at the moment. Cranius might be able to help, though it's more likely he'd try to turn this person into a human/plant hybrid permanently rather than get it out of their brain.

I need to meet new people.

I don't know anyone with fungus magic other than Gary, and he has a bit of a problem comprehending human life. That-.

Alstair. I saw their fungoids the first time I visited. So either Hyathis can control fungus as well as normal plants, or she can command people who can. That's workable. I can get there in seconds, and back with help in… Minutes.

"Are they in danger of dying?"

"They don't feel like food."

She frowns and glances at me. "He's not good at mammal biology. And he doesn't have an education in thaumaturgy. Otherwise I'd have just told him to separate them."

Zatanna… That's an idea I'm not wincing about. She might be busy right now, but under the circumstances I'm sure that the others will understand. Ring, contact Zatanna.

Compliance.

"I'm calling Zatanna to see if-."

"Hey Paul."

"Good morning. Sorry for interrupting-."

I hear her sigh. "I'm on the Atlantis team, getting nowhere fast. What is it?"

"I've got a person with some sort of plant fungus.. thing plugged into them, and I'd like to remove it safely. Would you mind taking a look?"

"Sure! I could use a break. Can you pick me up?"
 
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"Last time I blitzed one of their facilities I was easy enough,
Change the second 'I' to 'it'.

Dominators aren't know for using magic, but that might just be because it's hard to use in most places or that people just aren't recognising it to report it.
'Know' to 'known'. Also I'm not sure this is true. I actually read the Dominator prison break recently and it said this:

Dominators are reputed to use magic, but according to John's database it's thought to be limited to a handful of high caste types.
 
15th April 2013
10:41 GMT -5


Gary 'falls' out of my ring, staggering a few steps as he reaches the ground. He looks up at me. I point at the plant thing. He looks at the plant thing.

"It doesn't look dead."
Yes, well, that's where you come in, fun guy. OL really does let most of his constructs be a little more independent, doesn't he? Not even giving it a basic command straight out of the Ring... Hopefully he'll at least be able to do the job.

I focus, and his hungers grows.

He advances on it, his mouth distending. "But I'll soon fix that."
Even if he technically doesn't benefit from it. Still, the instincts are there, and the ability to consume...

As he gets closer, a faint haze is visible-.

I pull everyone back a kilometre except Gary, who doesn't have any organic components and is literally incapable of sleeping.
Not taking any chances, I see. Good plan, given this thing put a kryptonian out like Sleeping Beauty.

Donna frowns. "Okay, what's happening?"

"Looks like knockout spores from the plant. Not sure what mechanism they're using; kryptonians are usually pretty hard to poison. Not sure how long they last or how dangerous they are. Could be that they're deadly with continual exposure-. Well, obviously they're deadly with continual exposure."
And the spores could have a much stronger effect on humans than they do on kryptonians.

Donna nods but Bleez looks puzzled. "Are you sure? I thought you didn't recognise it."

"I don't, but humans need water at least once every three days or they die. Sleeping people don't drink." Hm. "There are plants in the universe that use things like that to enrich their soil."
Most usually aren't too proactive about the consumption. Barring a few magical ones. Vine tentacles, that sort of thing.

Donna frowns in the direction of the plant thing as Gary gets to work. "Did Swamp Thing make that? Or whoever took him?"

"I'd lean towards the latter. It doesn't-." Hm. "Actually, it has a few points of commonality with his computer chair, but it's also quite different in other respects. It might actually have a common…"
Swampy would probably not have left a hazard like that unattended. He's a bit more conscientious then most Avatars were.

Oh dear.

Alright, Dr. Woodrue might be able to create something like that based on data available on Earth. Maybe. And other Champions of the Green and probably a few druids. Dr. Isley could, though I don't think she would. Euanthe, again, might be capable but that isn't the sort of thing she does.
Plus, they're busy over in South America. Not like they'd take a day trip to Louisiana to set up a snooze bloom.

Those possibilities aside, this looks like it was made by someone familiar with Dominator computer systems. Which means either J, Alstair, or the Dominion itself. Dominators aren't know for using magic, but that might just be because it's hard to use in most places or that people just aren't recognising it to report it. Certainly they know about the Shadowlands…
Let's not overcomplicate things, OL? Check first, then sweat about it.

Oh dear. Setting up a laboratory on a planet like Earth is exactly the sort of thing they'd do. And-.

Maybe I'm finally contracting apophenia from living in a superhero world for too long, but if they're interested in Shadow Champions… Collecting tissue samples from metahumans sounds like something they'd do as well-.
To be fair, that's not uncommon. After all, in narrative-driven universes like this, random things can be loosely connected...

Donna has her right hand on my left shoulder and is shaking me.

"Yes?"

"You stopped talking and your armour covers your face."
Ah, right. Really should sort that out, OL. Variable visor tint or something...

"Oh. Sorry. I'm just having an attack of the paranoids and I'm wondering if we're being attacked by a Dominion research cell."

She thinks for a moment. "The thin yellow aliens with the teeth and the circles on their foreheads?"
Ah, good, someone's been reading his briefings these days.

"That's the ones."

She nods. "How dangerous?"
Alien Mengele with even less moral character. So pretty damn dangerous.

"I don't know. The Dominion isn't close to Earth or The Reach. I haven't investigated them in detail." I shrug. "Last time I blitzed one of their facilities I was easy enough, but it wasn't intended to be heavily fortified or disguised. I… Don't want to have to fight the entire Dominion."
Could be they connected a few dots and backtracked you to Earth, OL.

"What are they likely to have?"

I shake my head. "Assuming that it is dominators, it could be anything from a small fleet to one scientist and a couple of bodyguards. And the fact that I've been scanning this system for dominators and Dominion technology and I haven't found anything suggests that… If it is them, they're doing something intelligent and hiding really well."
Which is doubly bad. Their attention on Earth always leads to trouble.

"Finished!"

Gary has partially merged with the plant. It's now covered in glowing orange veins while only his head, right arm and a small part of his torso are sticking out.
Right, then. All OL needs to do now is sweep up the spores, and...

"Good work. Anything interesting?"

"There's a human in here. It's connected to them like I'm connected to it. Feeding on them as I feed on it."
He frowns. "I don't usually feed on meat. Do you want me to try?"
...Well, that's a problem. Wonder if it was anyone important?

"No." / "No!"

Did Donna really think I'd-? No, no, I'm sure she was just worried about him.
I mean, the person under there could be an innocent bystander. Or someone linked to Swamp Thing's enemies. Won't know for sure until you can ID him.

"Can you tell what it's doing with the human?"

"Nourishing the human. Growing in their brain."
...Yeah, that's usually a bad thing. 😨

Oh… Dear. I'd need an expert on parasitic growths to handle removing something like that, assuming that it can be removed. The sort of person who'd hook someone up to a killer plant probably wasn't all that worried about what it would do to them. Experts… Any of the Sivanas. Asking Thaddeus Senior would most likely result in the person in there getting dissected because 'ninety percent dead is basically dead, isn't it?', so it would have to be one of his children. Beautia… Should be free at the moment. Cranius might be able to help, though it's more likely he'd try to turn this person into a human/plant hybrid permanently rather than get it out of their brain.
...He would. But a Sivana on this, probably not a great idea, outside of Beautia. Who's not really an expert in this field, is she?

I need to meet new people.

I don't know anyone with fungus magic other than Gary, and he has a bit of a problem comprehending human life. That-.
The problem of focusing on such a small ingroup at first, OL.

Alstair. I saw their fungoids the first time I visited. So either Hyathis can control fungus as well as normal plants, or she can command people who can. That's workable. I can get there in seconds, and back with help in… Minutes.

"Are they in danger of dying?"
I assume he's talking about some ultra-high-speed FTL travel. The Honden isn't exactly friendly to passengers without major prepwork.

"They don't feel like food."

She frowns and glances at me. "He's not good at mammal biology. And he doesn't have an education in thaumaturgy. Otherwise I'd have just told him to separate them."
Sadly, from the sound of it, that would take most of the guy's brain with the plant.

Zatanna… That's an idea I'm not wincing about. She might be busy right now, but under the circumstances I'm sure that the others will understand. Ring, contact Zatanna.

Compliance.
If nothing else, her magic should make it possible to bypass mundane limitations of human biology, split plant and animal tissues and heal the guy with a properly-worded backwards command...

"I'm calling Zatanna to see if-."

"Hey Paul."
Long time no see, Zee.

"Good morning. Sorry for interrupting-."

I hear her sigh. "I'm on the Atlantis team, getting nowhere fast. What is it?"
Well, good to hear there's been no progress on that front, I suppose. :confused:

"I've got a person with some sort of plant fungus.. thing plugged into them, and I'd like to remove it safely. Would you mind taking a look?"

"Sure! I could use a break. Can you pick me up?"
What does it say about their lives that that would be a break from trying to get through a magical barrier around an entire underwater civilisation?

Well, some progress made, though every step forwards seems to result in one sideways with each new complication. You just know OL is hoping at one of these days, one of his bigger cases would be simple. No cults detonating nukes, no plants growing out of a man's brain, no possible alien scientific expeditions... Just some basic 'show up and intimidate people into surrendering' encounters would be nice. :p
 
...He would. But a Sivana on this, probably not a great idea, outside of Beautia. Who's not really an expert in this field, is she
She is a medical expert and the guy in there has some big medical issues, so she may be able to help.

Magnificus may also be able to help since he has been studying alchemy and can be talked into not going mad scientist.
 
Change the second 'I' to 'it'.
'Know' to 'known'.
Thank you, corrected.
Also I'm not sure this is true. I actually read the Dominator prison break recently and it said this:
No, something that you do occasionally probably isn't something that you're known for. Megatron wrote a book once, but it's not what he's known for.
Thank you, corrected.
 

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