You're missing his point, he stopped watching Power Rangers (presumably) several seasons before Time Force, so he knows absolutely nothing about those characters, the organization, what they do, etc.
With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Twelve)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
- Start date
- Status
The Bushranger
In the Danger Zone
- Location
- TSAB Asura
That's what Linkara's History of Power Rangers is for.
Writing a story featuring characters/etc you only know of from reading about on a wiki or similar site seems like a recipe for a half-assed and rather unsatisfying story.
Though, it occurs to me, this entire conversation is kinda premature, seeing as it'll be at least a year before Zoat gets to that point in the story, and may have changed his mind by then.
Pursuant (part 4)
- Location
- Hampden Park
17th October
09:02 -6 GMT
I wince as John's piston construct slams into Alan's chest, shoving him into the desert rock. Alan himself on the other hand just smiles, fortifying his construct armour and sending a train construct at John without moving from the ground. Pretty clever, actually. The fact that he's pinned doesn't matter if his opponent's offence can't breach his defences. As such, moving out from under the object pushing him down is of secondary importance to striking back.
Okay, Alan's managing. John isn't using any of the specifically anti-Lantern techniques we've come up with, but he isn't holding back when it comes to conventional Lantern combat and Alan's keeping up. I assumed that would take him longer, but it looks like I underestimated how hopeful he was.
I smile at my sparring partner. "Welcome back to Earth, Lantern Savenlovich. Will you be staying long?"
Lantern Savenlovich is a somewhat severe looking woman with a brown bob of hair and a pair of lantern-shaped ear rings. She's actually the second oldest human Lantern, having left the Russian Air Force a Lieutenant Colonel before joining Roscosmos. Her costume is clearly based on Jordan's, though she's armoured it and added the regulation-approved sidearm. She remains focused on the fight before us as she answers me. "My training is not yet complete. Lantern Larvox is on leave, and felt that I would benefit from participating."
"How are you finding it?"
"Finding what, exactly?"
"The Green Lantern Corps? Using a power ring? Life in general?"
"The Corps is a good deal easier on their recruits than the Russian Air Force. Not that I had a great desire to return to basic training."
"You might be new to the Corps, but you're hardly new to military discipline or taking orders. I doubt that they saw any need to treat you as a complete neophyte."
"And I am grateful not to have to shave my head again. Since becoming a civilian I have allowed myself to become a little more relaxed in my personal habits."
"Two sugars, now?"
She neither smiles nor looks around. "I did not wear ear rings while I was a pilot. I also cut down on my exercise regime. I have now intensified it." She sighs. "A minor benefit in return for losing my job."
"You got.. fired?"
"I could hardly continue in a management role in the Russian space agency while on the other side of the galaxy, learning to be a Green Lantern. And the suddenness of the appointment meant that I did not have time to properly train my successor."
"Didn't you point that out to the Guardians? They're big fans of proper order, I'm sure they'd have held the position for a month or so."
"I believe you have met the Director."
"Of Roscosmos? No, I-." Ah. "You mean the.. Director of Future Weapons Development?"
"Yes. Naturally. My commission was reactivated and I was told that I was to leave immediately. The Russian government believes that they gain more from having me as a Lantern than having me fix Roscosmos' procurement problems."
"And you don't?"
"Supplying a state industry with shoddy parts is treason. In my absence I fear that it will simply be covered up." She huffs irritably. "The Director has made it clear that it is no longer my concern, so I will obey."
"You don't.. actually work for him. Do you? I don't think that the Green Lantern Corps is keen on Lanterns working as Lanterns for nation states."
"I worked for him between my commission being reactivated and leaving Earth. But.. he is.. an important man. And…" Now she actually does look at me. "He implied that the future of Russian space travel was his department and not Roscosmos'."
Ah… "What's your security rating like?"
"Enough to know that he has alien space craft to work with, rather than Cold War era rockets."
"I'm still not sure how close they are to having a production model… But that's my understanding as well."
"I hope to be able to persuade him to create a new space agency that is not purely military. But the only leverage I have is doing as he asks."
"Ah, the illusory carrot."
She frowns. "I don't think that translated."
"In English, you motivate someone with carrots and sticks, rewards and punishments. I thought that the Director might be threatening you with something… But he isn't. And he isn't exactly offering you a reward, because I very much doubt that he's discussed his future plans with you in any detail. But there's an implication that there's a carrot around to be had, and the only way to even maybe get the carrot is to do what he wants."
"Are you.. describing me as a mule?"
"I believe that's where the phrase originates from."
"My last boyfriend said that I work like a mule." She returns her full attention to the fight as John and Alan trade shots while flying evasively.
"A persistently determined attitude is probably what qualified you for the green ring-."
"He also said that I look like one."
"Aaaah. My.. sympathy."
"It does not matter. When do we begin?"
"When they finish. The idea is that we take it in turns, watch what each other do and can intervene if something goes wrong."
"Reasonable. How old is the Blue Lantern?"
"He's in his nineties, though he doesn't precisely age any longer. Is there anything in particular that you want to work on? Lantern versus Lantern combat skills aren't often applicable during actual missions."
She pauses while she thinks about it. "I think I would like to practise splitting my attention during combat. Perhaps fighting against your fat midget creatures."
"I.. don't actually have those any more. I went to Hell briefly, and a demon there was able to destroy them."
"Why do you not get more?"
"Because my limited study of magic suggests that they could possibly be used to attack my rings with demonic magic, and they were… Marginally useful when fighting people who actually challenge me. And in the current climate, having a horde of demons follow me around is so obviously unpopular that even I picked up on it."
"You would not want to attract the attention of an angel, after all."
I smile, making an amused exhalation. "I think I got lucky, getting someone as reasonable as Zauriel. I can't rely on it happening again." Still no follow up from the Silver City on that. Presumably they're still debating the issue. "Reminds me, actually: I've got a ward for you. I'll give it to you once-."
Alan flies my way, flexing life back into his right arm. "Okay, John and I are going to take a breather. All yours."
I take a look at his arm-. And he notices me looking at his arm and raises his eyebrows. Right. I fly forward towards the arena, turning in the air to face Lantern Savenlovich as I do so.
"Alright, let's start with something basic. Try… A barrier and a gun."
09:02 -6 GMT
I wince as John's piston construct slams into Alan's chest, shoving him into the desert rock. Alan himself on the other hand just smiles, fortifying his construct armour and sending a train construct at John without moving from the ground. Pretty clever, actually. The fact that he's pinned doesn't matter if his opponent's offence can't breach his defences. As such, moving out from under the object pushing him down is of secondary importance to striking back.
Okay, Alan's managing. John isn't using any of the specifically anti-Lantern techniques we've come up with, but he isn't holding back when it comes to conventional Lantern combat and Alan's keeping up. I assumed that would take him longer, but it looks like I underestimated how hopeful he was.
I smile at my sparring partner. "Welcome back to Earth, Lantern Savenlovich. Will you be staying long?"
Lantern Savenlovich is a somewhat severe looking woman with a brown bob of hair and a pair of lantern-shaped ear rings. She's actually the second oldest human Lantern, having left the Russian Air Force a Lieutenant Colonel before joining Roscosmos. Her costume is clearly based on Jordan's, though she's armoured it and added the regulation-approved sidearm. She remains focused on the fight before us as she answers me. "My training is not yet complete. Lantern Larvox is on leave, and felt that I would benefit from participating."
"How are you finding it?"
"Finding what, exactly?"
"The Green Lantern Corps? Using a power ring? Life in general?"
"The Corps is a good deal easier on their recruits than the Russian Air Force. Not that I had a great desire to return to basic training."
"You might be new to the Corps, but you're hardly new to military discipline or taking orders. I doubt that they saw any need to treat you as a complete neophyte."
"And I am grateful not to have to shave my head again. Since becoming a civilian I have allowed myself to become a little more relaxed in my personal habits."
"Two sugars, now?"
She neither smiles nor looks around. "I did not wear ear rings while I was a pilot. I also cut down on my exercise regime. I have now intensified it." She sighs. "A minor benefit in return for losing my job."
"You got.. fired?"
"I could hardly continue in a management role in the Russian space agency while on the other side of the galaxy, learning to be a Green Lantern. And the suddenness of the appointment meant that I did not have time to properly train my successor."
"Didn't you point that out to the Guardians? They're big fans of proper order, I'm sure they'd have held the position for a month or so."
"I believe you have met the Director."
"Of Roscosmos? No, I-." Ah. "You mean the.. Director of Future Weapons Development?"
"Yes. Naturally. My commission was reactivated and I was told that I was to leave immediately. The Russian government believes that they gain more from having me as a Lantern than having me fix Roscosmos' procurement problems."
"And you don't?"
"Supplying a state industry with shoddy parts is treason. In my absence I fear that it will simply be covered up." She huffs irritably. "The Director has made it clear that it is no longer my concern, so I will obey."
"You don't.. actually work for him. Do you? I don't think that the Green Lantern Corps is keen on Lanterns working as Lanterns for nation states."
"I worked for him between my commission being reactivated and leaving Earth. But.. he is.. an important man. And…" Now she actually does look at me. "He implied that the future of Russian space travel was his department and not Roscosmos'."
Ah… "What's your security rating like?"
"Enough to know that he has alien space craft to work with, rather than Cold War era rockets."
"I'm still not sure how close they are to having a production model… But that's my understanding as well."
"I hope to be able to persuade him to create a new space agency that is not purely military. But the only leverage I have is doing as he asks."
"Ah, the illusory carrot."
She frowns. "I don't think that translated."
"In English, you motivate someone with carrots and sticks, rewards and punishments. I thought that the Director might be threatening you with something… But he isn't. And he isn't exactly offering you a reward, because I very much doubt that he's discussed his future plans with you in any detail. But there's an implication that there's a carrot around to be had, and the only way to even maybe get the carrot is to do what he wants."
"Are you.. describing me as a mule?"
"I believe that's where the phrase originates from."
"My last boyfriend said that I work like a mule." She returns her full attention to the fight as John and Alan trade shots while flying evasively.
"A persistently determined attitude is probably what qualified you for the green ring-."
"He also said that I look like one."
"Aaaah. My.. sympathy."
"It does not matter. When do we begin?"
"When they finish. The idea is that we take it in turns, watch what each other do and can intervene if something goes wrong."
"Reasonable. How old is the Blue Lantern?"
"He's in his nineties, though he doesn't precisely age any longer. Is there anything in particular that you want to work on? Lantern versus Lantern combat skills aren't often applicable during actual missions."
She pauses while she thinks about it. "I think I would like to practise splitting my attention during combat. Perhaps fighting against your fat midget creatures."
"I.. don't actually have those any more. I went to Hell briefly, and a demon there was able to destroy them."
"Why do you not get more?"
"Because my limited study of magic suggests that they could possibly be used to attack my rings with demonic magic, and they were… Marginally useful when fighting people who actually challenge me. And in the current climate, having a horde of demons follow me around is so obviously unpopular that even I picked up on it."
"You would not want to attract the attention of an angel, after all."
I smile, making an amused exhalation. "I think I got lucky, getting someone as reasonable as Zauriel. I can't rely on it happening again." Still no follow up from the Silver City on that. Presumably they're still debating the issue. "Reminds me, actually: I've got a ward for you. I'll give it to you once-."
Alan flies my way, flexing life back into his right arm. "Okay, John and I are going to take a breather. All yours."
I take a look at his arm-. And he notices me looking at his arm and raises his eyebrows. Right. I fly forward towards the arena, turning in the air to face Lantern Savenlovich as I do so.
"Alright, let's start with something basic. Try… A barrier and a gun."
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Massgamer
Advance toward the Future
- Location
- The Future
That's a shame, they were quite useful against masses of enemies you didn't care about killing and eating all kinds of things in general.
Whaaaaaat? No, they were basically useless in combat, but they were ridiculously useful as a utility mob. Energy source you need to disperse or weaken? Have the demons eat it. Portal you need gone? Have the demons eat it. Armour, barriers, and other advanced and/or magical protections? Have the demons eat it.
Honestly, they worked perfectly as a disposal/removal crew. And you probably aren't going to find anything else with that sheer breadth of utility.
RichardWhereat
Feanor did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Australia
Also, if they could be utilised as a running target if you ever needed to entertain Tee-... oh. Oh.
- Location
- Oceanside
Has he talked to Alan about that Hope Radiance yet?
Also, glad to know I'm not the only one who misses Teekl.
You mean the
Also, glad to know I'm not the only one who misses Teekl.
You mean the
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fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
He is going to need a portable black hole or something to use as waste disposal now.
- Location
- New York
So another interview where OL gets hugs and kiss for the entire thing......where did the American news industry go in this story? I was expecting at least a few hard hitting questions but there was nothing. No demands to testify to the UN or before a Senate committee. No public hearings. Just one friendly TV interview.
I want an actual media/reporters for once. Not straw men/women who ask nice questions with no follow up. With journalism being such a big thing in the setting it is very poorly represented. A public figure admits to stealing something, from God, and there are no more questions about that. Just about repentance. I just.....words fail me to describe my disbelief. Maybe it was a narrative choice, but it was jarring to get to this chapter and just go, 'wait, that just happened?'
Here are some sample questions that wouldn't have been that mean, and not that unexpected either.
Did you report to the UN on what you would be doing since they hold the mandate of the Justice League? If you aren't a member of the League who are you accountable to?
You admitted to theft, from God. What did you steal exactly?
There has been a lot of violence and disruption caused by your actions even if it is unintended. You seem to ignore the consequences of what you do, like moving the moon, making eyes, and creating a giant cake. You have been personally named personally in 27 lawsuits ranging from intimidation, terrorism, and being the devil, how do you plan to respond?
I am confused.
I want an actual media/reporters for once. Not straw men/women who ask nice questions with no follow up. With journalism being such a big thing in the setting it is very poorly represented. A public figure admits to stealing something, from God, and there are no more questions about that. Just about repentance. I just.....words fail me to describe my disbelief. Maybe it was a narrative choice, but it was jarring to get to this chapter and just go, 'wait, that just happened?'
Here are some sample questions that wouldn't have been that mean, and not that unexpected either.
Did you report to the UN on what you would be doing since they hold the mandate of the Justice League? If you aren't a member of the League who are you accountable to?
You admitted to theft, from God. What did you steal exactly?
There has been a lot of violence and disruption caused by your actions even if it is unintended. You seem to ignore the consequences of what you do, like moving the moon, making eyes, and creating a giant cake. You have been personally named personally in 27 lawsuits ranging from intimidation, terrorism, and being the devil, how do you plan to respond?
I am confused.
SomeguySomewhere
The CriticalFumbler
- Location
- Someplace
Well at least he still has his Hell Wraith even if we haven't seen the useful lil bugger since the battles in Vega. Still demonic, and just as likely a vector for such an attack, and bad sign of the evils to the current public relations issue. Its possession ability is arguably more useful then being able to eat things. Who needs to eat the atomic bomb, when you can just have the villain turn it off.
T.O. Morrow's still kicking as a construct as well. In case Paul need someone to build some Orange Manhunters as replacements for the swarm.
T.O. Morrow's still kicking as a construct as well. In case Paul need someone to build some Orange Manhunters as replacements for the swarm.
Shouldn't he be thinking in terms of fighting the Reach? They don't use magic, and Beetles are usually accompanied by fleets and armies that need to be dealt with as well.
Also, he literally just said
The juxtaposition is a little on-the-nose.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly a big fan of the morbidly obese midgets. "They grossed me out and I got sick of them" or "I don't want to set a bad example for the rookies by making flagrant use of assimilated Construct Lanterns" would make sense, but it's a bit weird that he gave three separate reasons for his decision, all of them kind of bad.
- Location
- New England
None of those things really apply. He's beholden to exactly the same people other non-league superheroes are, aka no one. He did not admit to stealing from God. He said he stole some fruit and an angel bitched at him for it, and admitted the angels' priorities were weird. That's all anyone outside of the league knows. Violence and disruption? Why? The hell did he do? Get talked at by an angel peacefully? Quick. let's riot! Everything else is generic superhero shit that can be applied to everyone in a mask and there's no reason to single him out personally for it.
Hestia&theCourt
Turns out we're plural too.
- Location
- In transition
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Zoat, I think you forgot to threadmark.
Maybe if you learned basic reading comprehension and/or reading between the lines... parnary covered most of what I would have said in response, but outside of that, the cake/eyes/moon thing would have been covered way back when the news covered him distributing the cake back in Unusual Suspicions, because he'd be right there and not doing anything except distributing cake; and if there had been lawsuits that actually stood any chance of going through, he would, again, have heard about them by now because it's not like it's that hard to get ahold of him.
I am confused.
Maybe if you learned basic reading comprehension and/or reading between the lines... parnary covered most of what I would have said in response, but outside of that, the cake/eyes/moon thing would have been covered way back when the news covered him distributing the cake back in Unusual Suspicions, because he'd be right there and not doing anything except distributing cake; and if there had been lawsuits that actually stood any chance of going through, he would, again, have heard about them by now because it's not like it's that hard to get ahold of him.
TheLurker
Random Omnipotent Lazy-As-Fuck Being
- Location
- The space beyond the stars
Dude. Ease up. Let's try and not escalate things until the mods come back into the thread. Again.
Hestia&theCourt
Turns out we're plural too.
- Location
- In transition
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I have no patience for people incapable of making it this far through the story and not trusting that Zoat knows what he's doing, or without doing basic fact-checking before they post.
- Location
- Ashtabula
He was on a talk show, not a hard hitting 60 minutes piece. Where did the American news industry go? Probably the same place it's gone in real life. Remember, OL has/had Lex Luthor recommended Lawyers on retainer. Higher ups remember things like that.
Well unless Themyscira is a UN member, the UN currently has no power over Paul. Ditto for the Senate. The US Senate can, for instance, demand that Putin show up for a hearing till they are blue in the face. If he says "No" then what? And yes, I do put OL on the power level of a world leader.
You didn't get Lois Lane, you got a talk show host. One that apparently couldn't get over the whole "Why don't you care about the angel/god thing?"
OL did not admit that he stole something directly from yahweh. He also made sure that HE steered the interview, and not anyone else. Media training.
No he didn't report it to the UN, and I guarantee that no one on the JL does either. You do remember that the Young justice team was created to be a BLACK OPS team outside of the UN's knowledge right? Does it surprise you that Paul might have learned from that?
He is, as every other independent vigilante, accountable to no one. All super heroes are technically criminals operating outside the law.
A god, not THE god. Not his either.
Like any other very rich, powerful person, yeah Paul does ignore the little things. Also, he did mention settling the lawsuits over the cake thing. So if Paul is sued? He more than likely just pays them off, money means nothing to him after all. If it was something he DID care about? Well he can hire a dream team of power lawyers any time he wants.
I'm going to go ahead and state that any lawsuit over you "Being the devil" would be tossed out of court almost instantly. Also, what terrorism and intimidation has been done? I don't recall Paul doing either in this last arch.
- Location
- New York
There is a super powered person running around that isn't accountable to anyone. That is a politicians worst nightmare. People will be asking about that. Paul should be asked about that. There would be hearings and committees. Look at real life, anytime something happens politicians get involved, Facebook, guns, ect. An actual angel would have them getting very excited to get him in front of a committee for questioning and some soundbites.
An angel said he stole something. OL played them the recording. He admitted to it as well. It isn't that much of a leap to think he stole something from God and ask about it. Why else would an Angel get involved? This would lead to more follow up questions until he either says no comment or asks to change the subject in a direct manner.
He rotated the moon and made eyes. Those are not small things. People may have blown that off. But now there is an Angel that appeared and people are upset. I expected more than a hand wave on the issue. There would be lawsuits. People sue over crazy things. Before since no one was really hurt or had jurisdiction then it is possible they were dismissed. But there are sure to be some religious judges or judges who see the merits in pursuing an out of control hero from their courtroom and allow a lawsuit. Then expand this over the world and all the jurisdictions, you get a lot of lawsuits. There should be a question on how he plans to respond, and if he plans on ignoring them how will he handle arrest orders being put out for him for failure to show or contempt of court?
See my above comment. People sue for stupid stuff all the time. With something of this magnitude, there is a non-zero chance lawsuits will be dismissed. His actions will show a pattern of not being held accountable. Something that makes people in charge nervous. The politicians would want to reassure the public. That means hearings, tough questions, and people suing him for more information during the discovery process or just to weaken him. I am sure the energy companies aren't too pleased, it is peanuts to pay out $5 million to start at least 3 different lawsuits in different parts of the world just to see what sticks. Heck, Paul probably has made a lot more enemies who would attack him through his image since they can't attack him physically. Make him look like a deranged crazy person who doesn't listen to anyone.
The eyes, moon, and cake would show a trend. The angel would be the icing on the top of all of that. It doesn't matter now if the lawsuits have no merit, his public appearance of squeaky clean has been heavily tarnished. He admitted to a crime on television.
So, so many things to say:
1) Roskosmos is not a military agency. At least IRL. It's a civilian state corporation. It does a lot of commercial civilian launches and work.
2) What, all praexis demons were destroyed? The whole horde? And marginal utility? They scared Klarion. They were far more than "marginal" in their utility - they were an omnivorous von neuman swarm.
3) OL still hasn't checked whether anyone could affect him through assimilated demons, but, given that Satanus didn't, it's likely no one can.
1) Roskosmos is not a military agency. At least IRL. It's a civilian state corporation. It does a lot of commercial civilian launches and work.
2) What, all praexis demons were destroyed? The whole horde? And marginal utility? They scared Klarion. They were far more than "marginal" in their utility - they were an omnivorous von neuman swarm.
3) OL still hasn't checked whether anyone could affect him through assimilated demons, but, given that Satanus didn't, it's likely no one can.
TheLurker
Random Omnipotent Lazy-As-Fuck Being
- Location
- The space beyond the stars
Cool, whatever, I have pet peeves too, but we have fifty-two staff post threadmarks, let's not add to that by being pettily snide.
- Status