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

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Nabu's ideological servitude and martyrdom to Order was unnecessary, unasked for, and pointless. Rather than evaluate the morality of an action based on its expected consequences, he choose instead to label everything and everyone as being aligned with either "Order" or "Chaos" and then dedicated millennia of his life towards upholding the former and opposing the latter.

He reminds me of a heroin addict. Addicts steal money to buy drugs; Nabu stole a body in order to continue his pointless crusade. Addict's lives are consumed by their addiction until they can think of nothing but their addiction; Nabu was unable to comprehend of a world outside his manichean order/chaos perspective. Just as an addict abandons their relationships with friends and family in exchange for drugs, so to does Nabu alienate everything and everyone without any care or concern. And like some addicts, if deprived of the source of his addiction he dies.

His story is a sad one, but I think he was always destined for a bad end.

If you want to see someone with a healthy relationship to their power source, look at Mordu.

Mr Zoat said:
"... The truth is that I have no ideological allegiance to Chaos, but drawing upon its power as I do, I became concerned that it would imbalance me. Change my mind, my outlook, to become more like that of the otherworldly creatures who arise directly from the Plane of Chaos itself." He turns his right hand palm-upwards, a… Golden ankh appearing over his fingers. "As such, I have made a point of studying and drawing upon those magics opposed to it."
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Mr Zoat said:
"You're an arcane construct. You think thoughts of pure magic energy, and the power you use gets constantly replenished from the Plane of Order. But you're not the Plane of Order. You can't take more than a certain amount. And you can't drop below a certain amount. Or you start losing things."
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... oh. yeah this is probably It. Mental degradation was brought up as a possible issue, this sounds like Nabu has a setup where having his reserves either fully drained or super charged could damage his mind. Normally lords don't have to deal with that, but then again if the situation is normal lords don't get involved. nabu might have been hit with something that did exactly that shortly before they locked him in a tomb rather than move him to the next apprentice. Hell the way he was taken out while under mind control might have done some damage depending on how those binding chains work.

He might be unstable because over the years he's taken hits to his mind, and had to fill in the holes with order. Hell it even fits how he falls back on dogma and fanaticism in odd situations, the part of him that could adapt is just a hole filled with undiluted inflexible order. Like someone who's replaced lost mental functions with a shitty Chabot out of necessity, when they have to lean on those functions they don't act right.
 
Came back to catch up to the Nabu fight. Hoping there's more to it than this, but glad it's finally happening. If Paul were less filky and more hardcore I'd recommend Sleigh Bells' I Just Can't Stand You Anymore as the theme for this fight.

I've got excuses for days
I'm borderline so you noticed
With every move that you make
I'm well aware of your methods
You are distant and cold
The excessive rapture that shutters me
Attraction, distractin'
Permanent in rays of oblivion

Bombs don't compare to the trouble you bring me
I just can't stand you anymore
You're killing me, but I'm killing you too
I just can't stand you anymore
I just can't stand you...

 
So.
It amuses me, darkly...
Paul spent so much time preparing that golem, and to get Klarion out of the way... equipping his allies with generally-useful tools...
He never did... invent any extra anti-Nabu weapons for himself.
He really was, despite the hate, putting so much hope in the golem or his oaths, hmm?
Edit: Typo-fix.
 
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aetherialDawn said:
So.
It amuses me, darkly...
Paul spent so much time preparing that golem, and to get Klarion out of the way... equipping his allies with generally-useful tools...
He never did... invent any extra anti-Nabu weapons for himself.
He really was, despite the hate, butting so much hope in the golem or his oaths, hmm?
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I think so.

He didnt actually really want to kill Nabu. If he did no tears for him. If he could get Nabu into a golem or gather more than people so people can switch off, great! Nabu may be a lich who takes over people's bodies but hey now its only a part time gig and Zatanna's got her father back! Win win for everyone.

Though I do wonder how this will go down.

"Nabu refused to come quietly or choose any of the compromises. When I placed him under arrest he..."

"He what?"

"Resisted."

Though I can imagine OL having a last resort of basically broadcasting everything about Nabu and concluding with "The League let an eldritch power steal a sovereign citizen of the world."

Or would that be more Renegade?
 
It occurs to me that the reason the next update takes place on the tenth is because a massive, uncontrolled release of order magic causes everything in the general area to freeze in stasis. Basically, the battlefield becomes a region of perfect order; unmoving and unchanging, with everything staying exactly the way it was when the battery was breached.

On another note, I haven't really noticed any points in the story where Paul has held the idiot ball. He's made some unwise decisions and done some dumb things, but I never felt them to be out of character for him. It was just him being fallible like anyone else.
 
I'm impressed and a BIT disappointed that Nabu's speech hasn't turned yellow yet with worry.

I know he's an embodiment of Order, but there's only so much that even a litch should be able to take emotionally!
 
NemiTheNen said:
So why could Mordu use order magic but John can't?
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Mordru was able to devote more than three days to the task.
aetherialDawn said:
So.
It amuses me, darkly...
Paul spent so much time preparing that golem, and to get Klarion out of the way... equipping his allies with generally-useful tools...
He never did... invent any extra anti-Nabu weapons for himself.
He really was, despite the hate, putting so much hope in the golem or his oaths, hmm?
Edit: Typo-fix.
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The Ace of Chaos could have been wielded by him, but he decided to have Jade use it, as he would be the one talking and his mageslayers are pretty good anyways.
aetherialDawn said:
Has... Nabu ever shown emotion in his speech?
I'm not sure he's able to express emotion in that fashion, even if he feels it.
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Yes, he screamed in yellow last update.
 
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Falling Action (part 5)
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    • Beep.

    Ugh?

    Beep.

    Feeling..? Soft..? Warm..? Sheet, sheet, duvet.

    Urh-h-h-h-h-h…

    My eyes flicker open and brightbrightblur close again.

    I'm… Alive..? Ah, confusion… No, Erebos isn't that bright. What was..? Fight with… Nabu. Right. I was… What was I..?

    Ring. Ring! Wholeness Rightly… No. Rings 're, rings are gone. That's not good. I rub my ring fingers with my thumbs just to make sure there isn't some sort of interference or blocking mechanism. No, they're gone. Agh.

    Okay, my head's too full of cotton wool to try calling them, and I'm probably in some kind of building. Don't want to.. call them through a wall and hurt someone.

    I try moving my arms. Yes… They move, but it feels… Sluggish. And not just because of the duvet. I'm.. injured..? Nothing hurts, but I might be drugged. Don't.. feel any drips. Or handcuffs, which were a possibility depending on what happened.

    …

    What did happen?

    Oh, this better not be one of those stupid illusion things, and the fight's still going on in the real-. No, I don't see Nabu going in for that.

    Alright, so I'm probably in St Mary's. Good… What do I-? Oh! Oh. Mister Siskin, Nabu killed him. Burned him.. out. I'll… Have to get John-. Someone anyway, to check whether he's dead-dead or just discorporated. I don't think… Nabu would have made a mistake… He did kill the Terror Thing, and the magics involved are probably the same.

    I didn't… I didn't think he'd do that. Just another way he fails to live up to the heroic ideal. Another demonstration of why he doesn't deserve to be on the Justice League.

    Or… Failed, I suppose. He could well be dead, or rendered such a simpleton that John could have dealt with him.

    Mister Siskin is dead because I persuaded him to join us. He wasn't… Strictly necessary. The… Draining thing would have worked perfectly well without him. I just thought-. I wanted to bring Nabu down without that, if we could. He clearly has fears…

    If I'd been a bit quicker with the chain…

    I'll have to tell his.. parents, his family. And I don't know if anyone else died, or…

    I open my eyes again, wincing as the light once again burns my eyes. Couldn't they have..? Curtains, or something..?

    "'oight." I close my eyes again for a moment. Come on mouth, work. "'ight. Bright."

    There's a.. rustling, and the sound of steps on a hard floor. The light dims a little. "'ank you."

    "Are you awake? Should I get the nurse?"

    M'gann? That's a… Pleasant surprise.

    "No, just…" Openopenopenopen. "Uhhhhhhhrrrrr."

    The light dims further as I finally manage to focus and find M'gann standing over me. She's in full Martian mode-. No, in full Miss Martian mode, skin chalk white and hair sheer black. "Hiiiiii there."

    "How do you feel?"

    "Woozy.. and, slightly numb. A-heh, which is… Wrong, because you don't feel numb, because… Numb isn't feeling." No, that's not right either. "Numb is not being able to feel. That's it."

    "Well, you're… Fairly coherent." I feel something -her hand- on my forehead. "Your thoughts were all so mixed up I didn't know if you were-." Footsteps and a door opening, M'gann's head jerking up to face… "Superboy, he's awake."

    I hear a sort of cough-sniff as Wolf trots in just ahead of her father. "Hey." He gives me a worried smile. "Had us kinda worried there."

    "What-." Agh, my mouth feels like… I'm not quite in control. "What… Day..?"

    Nabu strides through the still-open door behind him as the levels of light in the room drop still further, M'gann, Kon and Wolf all ceasing all movement. His cape billows slightly as he comes to the foot of my-. Doesn't matter, focus, rings! Rings, get here-!

    He looks down at me for a moment. Can't.. can't focus…

    Then he reaches up and pulls the helmet off his head.

    …

    "John?"

    John slowly nods his head. "Just about."

    He looks like he's been through the wringer. Actually… So does the helmet. He's got it slightly tucked under his right arm, but I can see what I think are Adom's finger marks where he squeezed it. Nabu's gold cloak… It was his coat. With the helmet off it's back to its usual fawn colour, but it was glowing. Kon and M'gann are just.. stopped, not moving, breathing... M'gann's hair is suspended in the air where she was turning her head. Some sort of suspended animation?

    "What..? I-i-it work?"

    "Pretty much. What'd you see up to?"

    "He… He s-stabbed the… Battery."

    John nods. "Not too clever, that. Just sped it all up. Had to grab the skull a bit quick, but apart from that…"

    I relax, my head tilting back slightly. "Anyone..? Else.. die..?"

    "Giovanni's banged up like you were. Maybe worse. Adom walked it off. Jade needed one of those potions. Disappeared yesterday. Rob headed off back to Cornwall before your-" He glances at Kon, then returns his attention to me. "-mates showed up. Zatanna's with her dad."

    I manage a weak nod. "Siskin?"

    "Gone mate. Sorry."

    "Parents. I need to tell his-."

    John shakes his head. "Adom did it."

    I suppose he's got experience. "Nabu?"

    "Same. If it helps."

    A weak shake. "No. Not really." Why.. couldn't he just… I've hated him for eight months solid. Might be nice to be able to enjoy the idea… "You?"

    John raises his left hand, an ankh of crackling red lightning appearing over his palm. "Strange. The chaos thing I could… Felt a bit like everything was exploding at a hundred miles an hour, but… I could get it. This is… I dunno what this is."

    "Balance. You should be able to… To harmonise-."

    He looks me straight in the eyes, glaring slightly. His eyes are bloodshot and red and gold lights dance in his irises. "Yeah, well it's a bit harder than that when you actually do it, alright. Feels like getting torn into a million pieces whenever…" He closes his eyes for a moment, his whole body sort of shimmering. "Dunno if I'll be able t' do it."

    "Anything I can do?"

    "Not unless you know where you can find a Lord of Chaos and a Lord of Order working together."

    "Shazam and Oggar. It… It didn't last, but…"

    He nods. "Something to look at." He takes a deep breath, then exhales. "Look… I agreed with this. I was right with you every step. I'm feeling rough as anything... Not your fault." He steps back. "But don't come looking for me for a bit, yeah?"

    I nod as he puts the helmet back on, turns and walks away.
     
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    • Reading this...doesn't really change my previous disappointment. The fight was poorly planned and orchestrated, so many tools that could have been used weren't. Weren't even considered or addressed. I'm ambivalent about Siskin being dead, because we barely knew him, and there's perhaps a chance he could be brought back for all we know.
     
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    So, Paul's memory is patchy it seems. Besides Shazam and Oggar, there's also T'charr and Terataya, the patrons of Hawk and Dove, who've been working together very well for a very long time. I will say that the idea of John Constantine, Agent of Balance, is a lot less terrifying than John Constantine, Lord of Chaos.
     
    Constantine amasses a lot of power in a messy situation, and it turns out not-so-well in the end for him. I'm... fairly unsurprised. As far as outcomes go, this severity is a lot lower than what could've happened after the last bit's cliffhanger.

    They won, though. That's good.Now we get to see what's up with the League.
     
    Not often we see a protagonist be the guy who gets KO'd partway through the fight. On the one hand, I'm not sold on the execution here, but on the other I'm glad to see things moving along. The Nabu matter has been in the air for a long time. Can't wait to watch the fallout.
     
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