I like the Koryak idea. Then boot him out of the Royal Succession, and name him First Trident of the Oceans. Give him all the power of a crown prince with none of the responsibilities other than defending Atlantis and the royal family.
"Guy-. Ion, Oceanus has moved away from the East Coast. The wall is no longer required. We're going to hit him with a coronal mass ejection." I think. "Please move to where he is and create a barrier cylinder around him."
Mr Zoat, when you do Eleventh Hour Superpower and Serial Escalation, YouDoThem Well.
This is really awesome, and guided by fellow Titan Helios, it's got a good chance of working.
I object to Nabu's method of life extension in the same way I object to somebody who found a way to live forever by harvesting the life force of others, allowing himself to stay strong and vital while leaving a trail of victims behind. The helmet option makes Nabu into a (by all accounts shitty, abusive, and manipulating) high-maintenance boyfriend sitting on his hosts' shoulders, constantly badgering them to fork over their own limited time so he can use it for his own purposes. The only difference between then and now is that Nabu finally dropped all pretense and just decided to take his host's time instead of emotionally blackmailing it out of them.
I do not disagree, but I would like to note that this is pretty much the worst possible situation for Nabu. I don't excuse him, but as far as we know, when Nabu made the Helmet and put himself into it, he had a solid continuation plan and multiple people willing to volunteer to put him on because they believed in the good that his work did. And given what we hear about mythic times and how vulnerable humans would have been without champions, he was probably one of the biggest and least dickish force for good on Earth for several millennia.
He had multiple students who believed in what he did and were willing to devote their live to the cause. And then, eventually (and I'd be interested in hearing if any comic tells the story of how this happened) he didn't and he ended up as far as I know trapped in the tomb until Kent Nelson found him and put him on. And for all that everyone focuses on the decades Nabu spent on the shelf, I'm willing to bet that it was the potential centuries he spent in his own tomb that really started to unhinge him.
Kent Nelson found him in 1940. Even then, he must have put on the Helmet and then Nabu didn't take total control, but made a deal that also allowed Nelson to live his own life as well. And in 1940 there was a rather prominent War going on, and in DC universe WWII had Nazis using and abusing powerful magic as well as killing millions of innocents, so it was the perfect situation for Nabu to start fulfilling his purpose and feeling alive again.
And half a decade later, Kent Nelson puts Nabu back on a shelf and leaves him there. I don't know whether or not doing this broke his deal with Nabu, but he at least chose not to look for a successor who would be willing to wear the Helmet (forwarned what wearing the Helmet would mean by Kent) to fight the good fight. And after his taste of freedom and helping people and making the world a better place, NAbu would be left to stew.
He certainly had to be alone and lonely, or else Kent Nelson's offer to keep him company would not have convinced him to free Wally or Kaldur. Note the importance of convinced, because no one could force him to release them any more than they could force him to release Zatanna. From a modern view of morality, not releasing them and hi-jacking the lives of these kids would be unthinkable and evil. From a more ancient view of morality, the freedom and well-being of one person, especially one already dedicated to fighting evil at risk to their own life, would be a perfectly acceptable sacrifice to bring such a powerful force for good back into play.
It sort of twists your mind to realize, but Nabu taking Kent Nelson's offer might, from Nabu's point of view, been seen as Nabu compromising his own beliefs in the greater good (fighting Klarion and protecting the world, even at an unpleasant cost to wearer and self) for the hope of a better host because he was so damn lonely and he just wanted the closest thing he's had in the past millennium to a friend back.
And then Klarion and Misplaced. Paul and every hero felt horrible and horrified by what happened, but how do you imagine Nabu felt about the death toll? 800,000 children. Nabu views Klarion as his responsibility to counter, and he knows that he could have stopped the ritual before it began and saved those countless lives if he had kept one of the hosts he'd already been persuaded to turn down. Not only does Nabu feel directly and personally responsible for not being on-hand to counter Klarion, but he now has reason to lose faith in the kids who promised to find him a new host.
Kent Nelson left him on the shelf for decades. Kid Flash put him on because Klarion was immediately threatening Wally's life. Aqualad used him as a last resort, as a glorified weapon against the Injustice League. And now Zatanna does the same thing, using Fate as a last resort to stop Klarion instead of the first, immediate counter when they realized that they're facing a world-wide magical attack.
He feels they have no faith in him and wish to use him like a weapon. Guilty that he didn't insist more, guilty for the lives of thousands of children, and having lost his own faith in humans of the modern day to work with him as a genuine partner, Nabu swallows his disgust and forces the issue. He's still not right to do it, and he knows it, but he thinks it is the least evil option available to him even as feels like he's jumping off the slippery slope.
Nabu is still wrong to do it, and it is still an evil option, but I can see how he came to the mistaken belief that it was something he had to do. I disagree with the decision but I can theoretically understand it, assuming I'm listing his potential reasons accurately.
For all his arrogance, he did have several thousand years of being one of the greatest heroes of ancient Earth to back it up. And for all his dramatic tendencies, I don't think we've seen Nabu get anything in exchange for his work as Doctor Fate other than the satisfaction of lives saved and a job well done.
So personally, compared to people like Herakles, Cú Chulainn, Lancelot, or Gilgamesh, I honestly would prefer Doctor Fate. With the Justice League running around it's a much different story, but at the time of his wrong decision how much did Nabu actually know about the Justice League and its operations?
...And wow, this got ridiculously long. Sorry. I have a habit of doing that.
Still, Zoat, great chapter and great turning point. I can't wait for the next installment!
It would not surprise me, at all, if Helios just gave Kon a titanic equivalent of Divine Awakening. Because gods can do it (at least chinese ones), so why not titans? Either as a side-effect / safety feature (so Kon can survive being filled full of Sun's power) or just because he could (and because Infernal Primordial Exalted are awesome; and because that way Kon is even more like Diana).
Or even just a stronger blessing, which could easily be very impressive. Like the composite divine blessings that empower Teth Adom; even one blessing as strong as one of Adom's would be impressive.
Maybe he gets to keep some of the solar fires he's just been given? Call it the "Fire of Helios". Kon always was rather disappointed that he didn't have Superman's heat vision; titanic sunfire would make for an excellent substitute.
Maybe he gets to keep some of the solar fires he's just been given? Call it the "Fire of Helios". Kon always was rather disappointed that he didn't have Superman's heat vision; titanic sunfire would make for an excellent substitute.
What do you think Nabu's final words or sounds are going to be once Paul kills him, some sort of death curse or just some rant about how he was right all along about how chaotic Paul is, or how fast the league responds to the whole situation if they manage to find out at all?
Mr Zoat, when you do Eleventh Hour Superpower and Serial Escalation, YouDoThem Well.
This is really awesome, and guided by fellow Titan Helios, it's got a good chance of working.
I do not disagree, but I would like to note that this is pretty much the worst possible situation for Nabu. I don't excuse him, but as far as we know, when Nabu made the Helmet and put himself into it, he had a solid continuation plan and multiple people willing to volunteer to put him on because they believed in the good that his work did. And given what we hear about mythic times and how vulnerable humans would have been without champions, he was probably one of the biggest and least dickish force for good on Earth for several millennia.
He had multiple students who believed in what he did and were willing to devote their live to the cause. And then, eventually (and I'd be interested in hearing if any comic tells the story of how this happened) he didn't and he ended up as far as I know trapped in the tomb until Kent Nelson found him and put him on. And for all that everyone focuses on the decades Nabu spent on the shelf, I'm willing to bet that it was the potential centuries he spent in his own tomb that really started to unhinge him.
Kent Nelson found him in 1940. Even then, he must have put on the Helmet and then Nabu didn't take total control, but made a deal that also allowed Nelson to live his own life as well. And in 1940 there was a rather prominent War going on, and in DC universe WWII had Nazis using and abusing powerful magic as well as killing millions of innocents, so it was the perfect situation for Nabu to start fulfilling his purpose and feeling alive again.
And half a decade later, Kent Nelson puts Nabu back on a shelf and leaves him there. I don't know whether or not doing this broke his deal with Nabu, but he at least chose not to look for a successor who would be willing to wear the Helmet (forwarned what wearing the Helmet would mean by Kent) to fight the good fight. And after his taste of freedom and helping people and making the world a better place, NAbu would be left to stew.
He certainly had to be alone and lonely, or else Kent Nelson's offer to keep him company would not have convinced him to free Wally or Kaldur. Note the importance of convinced, because no one could force him to release them any more than they could force him to release Zatanna. From a modern view of morality, not releasing them and hi-jacking the lives of these kids would be unthinkable and evil. From a more ancient view of morality, the freedom and well-being of one person, especially one already dedicated to fighting evil at risk to their own life, would be a perfectly acceptable sacrifice to bring such a powerful force for good back into play.
It sort of twists your mind to realize, but Nabu taking Kent Nelson's offer might, from Nabu's point of view, been seen as Nabu compromising his own beliefs in the greater good (fighting Klarion and protecting the world, even at an unpleasant cost to wearer and self) for the hope of a better host because he was so damn lonely and he just wanted the closest thing he's had in the past millennium to a friend back.
And then Klarion and Misplaced. Paul and every hero felt horrible and horrified by what happened, but how do you imagine Nabu felt about the death toll? 800,000 children. Nabu views Klarion as his responsibility to counter, and he knows that he could have stopped the ritual before it began and saved those countless lives if he had kept one of the hosts he'd already been persuaded to turn down. Not only does Nabu feel directly and personally responsible for not being on-hand to counter Klarion, but he now has reason to lose faith in the kids who promised to find him a new host.
Kent Nelson left him on the shelf for decades. Kid Flash put him on because Klarion was immediately threatening Wally's life. Aqualad used him as a last resort, as a glorified weapon against the Injustice League. And now Zatanna does the same thing, using Fate as a last resort to stop Klarion instead of the first, immediate counter when they realized that they're facing a world-wide magical attack.
He feels they have no faith in him and wish to use him like a weapon. Guilty that he didn't insist more, guilty for the lives of thousands of children, and having lost his own faith in humans of the modern day to work with him as a genuine partner, Nabu swallows his disgust and forces the issue. He's still not right to do it, and he knows it, but he thinks it is the least evil option available to him even as feels like he's jumping off the slippery slope.
Nabu is still wrong to do it, and it is still an evil option, but I can see how he came to the mistaken belief that it was something he had to do. I disagree with the decision but I can theoretically understand it, assuming I'm listing his potential reasons accurately.
For all his arrogance, he did have several thousand years of being one of the greatest heroes of ancient Earth to back it up. And for all his dramatic tendencies, I don't think we've seen Nabu get anything in exchange for his work as Doctor Fate other than the satisfaction of lives saved and a job well done.
So personally, compared to people like Herakles, Cú Chulainn, Lancelot, or Gilgamesh, I honestly would prefer Doctor Fate. With the Justice League running around it's a much different story, but at the time of his wrong decision how much did Nabu actually know about the Justice League and its operations?
...And wow, this got ridiculously long. Sorry. I have a habit of doing that.
Still, Zoat, great chapter and great turning point. I can't wait for the next installment!
I think part of what kills my ability to feel sorry for him is the Renegade segment way, way back. When Grayven used the Ophidian's Eyes on Nabu, he found no emotion in him whatsoever besides avarice. That says not-good things about the sort of creature Nabu is, and makes me doubt that he even has the capacity to think of others as having inherent value.
My comparison to a raksha was rather deliberate - I see Nabu as an inhuman entity that obsessively pushes the role it's chosen for itself, using the people around it as ornaments and bit players in its own personal little drama. Nabu is The Elder Sage, Protector of the Weak, and so he filters the entire world through the lens of that persona. OL disapproves of The Elder Sage's actions - clearly, this makes him a villain to be defeated, because The Elder Sage is Wise and Good and Knows What Is Best. Likewise, Nabu takes such a cavalier attitude toward his membership in the JL because they're not 'friends' or 'allies': the Leaguers are just the latest set of secondary cast members in The Tale of the Wise Sage, and thus only matter in how their actions enable (or inhibit) The Wise Sage's exploits. He may protect people, but only because having a panel where the village chieftain thanks The Wise Sage and gives him a chance to prove his character by denying any reward helps with the story.
The world around Nabu is a perfectly orderly, perfectly linear realm which progresses seamlessly from scene to scene of his life's story - and whenever reality fails to meet that expectation, he either goes into denial or gets upset.
A major part of this is his treatment of Nelson. After all, Nelson is the young seeker of knowledge who frees The Wise Sage and allows him to return to the world. That is his role, and if he doesn't play the role then the whole narrative starts to crumble. Kent Nelson can only fulfill his role if he is either:
A) The Wise Sage's Apprentice, in which case he only needs to interact with The Wise Sage.
B) a largely-ignored footnote, the "suit of clothing" Nelson described himself as to the Team - in which case him indulging in independent action is an active detriment to the role.
Nabu is a Lord of Order - given that the Lords of Chaos we've been exposed to have all been inhuman, eldritch creatures clothed in ill-fitting person suits, is it any surprise that their counterparts are similarly inhuman in the way they think?
EDIT: @Mr Zoat reminded me that the Ophidian's Eyes only detect avarice, so that part's wrong. I still think Nabu's more raksha than man, though.
I think part of what kills my ability to feel sorry for him is the Renegade segment way, way back. When Grayven used the Ophidian's Eyes on Nabu, he found no emotion in him whatsoever besides avarice. That says not-good things about the sort of creature Nabu is, and makes me doubt that he even has the capacity to think of others as having inherent value.
But this is wrong, Nabu only felt a brief moment of avarice when specifically prompted about having a body again which Renegade then used to assimilate him.
I don't recall if this has been asked before... Would not Wonder Woman's Truth Sense trigger if Nabu was lying? Or was she not present when it was said?
Sorry, as far as I'm concerned, you made this the equivalent of a bash-fic, at the point you tweaked the backstory to make Nabu less sympathetic.
In canon, Kent had no intention of ever finding Nabu a host, and didn't give a thought to his leaving Nabu imprisoned indefinitely. Then, YJ had two warnings (Wally and Kaldur) that if they put the helmet on, that was accepting their fate as, well, Fate. On the third, after neither the League nor YJ apparently ever tried to find a host, Nabu finally refused to be treated like a sentient weapon which could be taken out when needed and then put on a shelf, and refused to leave without a host.
In your version, Kent was trying his hardest to find Nabu a host. YJ only had one warning, and IIRC, they were honestly trying to find a host for him, when he decided he wasn't going to leave.
You've also chosen to (a) ignore any evidence that Fate is actually a composite being composed of both Nabu and the host, declaring that this is just Nabu play-acting, and (b) deny the post-timeskip evidence that, actually, everything eventually works out even without Paul's "hard man making hard decisions while hard" shtick, declaring that Zatanna becoming Fate's student in the future is evidence that she was brainwashed or has Stockholm Syndrome or something.
As far as this aspect of the story is concerned, I consider it on the level of "Everyone in his life is secretly betraying Harry Potter!" fics.
I don't recall if this has been asked before... Would not Wonder Woman's Truth Sense trigger if Nabu was lying? Or was she not present when it was said?
She was present, but as the SI knows all too well sufficiently skilled magic users can throw off that sort of thing. Also, the SI hasn't asked her about it due to not wanting to tip Nabu off.
You've also chosen to (a) ignore any evidence that Fate is actually a composite being composed of both Nabu and the host, declaring that this is just Nabu play-acting
Did you not watch the episode Denial where we are directly shown that they don't merge? No opinion required, we are straight up shown what happens to Wallace when he puts the helmet on. There is no merge. That is canon.
(b) deny the post-timeskip evidence that, actually, everything eventually works out even without Paul's "hard man making hard decisions while hard" shtick, declaring that Zatanna becoming Fate's student in the future is evidence that she was brainwashed or has Stockholm Syndrome or something.
I don't recall any canonical mention of her being his student. And yes, I could consider her father still being trapped a bad ending. I mean, if you consider five years trapped in a void with only your gaoler for company 'fine' then... Yes, it does.
I want to point out that at the speeds you were traveling, the speed of light rounds to zero. There will be the same photon density to plow through on the way out as there was on the way in.
The exception being that narrow corridor where you plowed your way in. If you thread the needle and travel back out along the same path, it'll be pre-cleared.
The downside is that Earth will have moved away by 30km for every second you spent loitering at the sun, which means a fairly long cruise over the ocean, but you'll get to start that part of the trip within Earth's atmosphere as you hinted at.
Your math checks out.
And if you'd planned ahead and followed a slightly curving path instead of going perfectly straight towards the sun, you could ensure that your corridor of shadow will remain over the island for an even faster straight-down reentry.
If DBZ exists on Earth 16, Luthor, if he's aware of it, probably loathes it with a fiery passion. Since the entire premise of that show eventually becomes "stall until the alien gets there to save us all."
Although the Android arc might hit pretty close to home for him. A scientist that's pretty much found a way to make humans relevant and he's so consumed by a desire for revenge that he almost wipes out human civilization.
