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

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spencer1519 said:
For those wondering how canon this episode is, Zoat answered that a while ago.



SI bits canon, Renegade actually might become canon.

Personally I'm hoping they do. If it were me, every time someone said "good thing this isn't canon" I'd add a tally mark to a stickynote and when it reached a certain undisclosed number I'd canonize the episode.
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Someone gets it frankly I just think they give me good opportunities to make funny posts also on the edible flower garden those people are looked at as wierd in most communities
 
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I added a few other books to the list. But what edibles someone eats in the privacy of their own home should be THEIR business, you know? And anything to help someone adapt! Foreign immigrants often crave food from their own culture when adapting to a new place.
 
looking at the Episode/chapter list, it seems the weirdness will be continuing for a while. the return to 'regular' Paul may involve Ambush Bug deciding that he needs a new approach before triggering the Avatar, MLP, and Kung Fu Panda chapters.
 
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Defector (part 5)
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    • "-GGGGG-"

    Defector, part 5

    7th August 2010
    08:21GMT -5

    Even after being.. 'accepted' by the Syndicate, I can't help but feel a little… No, let's be honest here, more than a little nervous about being called into Ultraman's office. Okay, so my status as a Made Man and Ultraman's appreciation of my work so far as team supervisor -not caretaker, Jackie- means that I can come in from the street, walk up to the lift and press the button for the penthouse without anyone stopping me, but… Some of the things I've learned about his personal history from Syndicate files were.. deeply unsettling to me. And that's not even starting on the police and Justice Underground files I've been able to lay my hands on.

    The lift chimes, the doors open and I walk out into the hallway beyond. I think a few of the pictures have been changed since last time I was here. Does that mean that someone fell out of favour, or do they just get rotated on a regular basis? Ah, I see. The new ones all have Jon in them. Ultraman may be a violent criminal but he's really gone all out to make Jon feel like one of the family.

    Kin-family, not Syndicate Family. Though that too.

    I come to a halt just outside the door to Ultraman's office. As far as I've been able to tell, Ultraman doesn't have a secretary in the conventional sense. After all, who could he trust who isn't already doing something more important? Instead, he remembers appointments himself and sets approximate times for things. I was told to be here 'early morning, after breakfast' and that was when I realised that I had no idea what he considers to be breakfast time. Do I knock? Oooor should I find someone to ask-?

    "Get in here, Blue."

    Super hearing does make things easier. I take hold of the handle, turn it and push the door open. Ultraman is standing on the balcony, looking out over the city he might reasonably claim to own. His pose certainly implies it if his accountant can't prove it. His cape flutters majestically in the breeze. Or… Is there an antiheroic version of majestic? He certainly looks inspiring, if it's fear and obedience that you're looking to inspire. An icon for a harder, more realistic age.

    "Reporting as ordered, Ultraman. What can I do for you?"

    Jon told me that Ultraman actually gets a kick out of me going 'full English' when I speak to him, so I've been brushing up on my diction. Never hurts to put your boss in a positive frame of mind, especially when your boss is a serial killer.

    Ultraman remains scanning the skyline for a moment. Are we actually expecting trouble, I wonder? The country is.. stable, at the moment. With the Justice Underground thoroughly underground, Lex Luthor in hiding and President Wilson nobbled there shouldn't be anyone who could seriously threaten this building… Ultraman turns away and strides back in through the door, waving a hand to trigger the closing mechanism behind him as he walks around his desk to sit down. He looks at me for a moment, then waves his right hand in the direction of the free chair on this side. "Take a load off."

    "Thank you, Ultraman." I walk over and sit down. "Jon not joining us?"

    "Nah. This is…" He looks a little pensive. "This ain't about the team. I wanna.. talk t'you about this thing Owlman came up with."

    "I am at your disposal. What.. sort of thing?"

    "He wants to build a bomb. A real big one."

    I frown slightly and shake my head. "City killer size?"

    "Nah. This one would be big enough t'kill a whole planet."

    "Is the Syndicate going interstellar?"

    Ultraman shakes his head, and I realise that he's not looking at me. Humans instinctively avoid looking at face-shaped objects when thinking hard about something and it looks like it's the same for Kryptonians. "He wants it as leverage. Way he sees it, we get a bomb that powerful then we can threaten the world's governments into surrender."

    The fuck? "Okay?"

    "Now, me? I prefer to do things subtle. Less trouble, less chance fer things to go wrong. But, he's got a point. Blackmailing Wilson turned out t'be a whole lot easier than stayin' under the radar." His eyes come back to me. "Somethin' this big, I wanna be sure in my own mind before I say 'yes' or 'no'. You're a smart guy and you're not… You don't think like the rest of us long time Syndicate types. So. " He leans back in his chair, hands resting on his abdomen. "What'd'ya think?"

    "My… Instinctive response is that it's a bad idea."

    He nods. "Thought ya might say that." He motions with his right hand. "Convince me."

    "One of the first things I learned from Al Scott.. is that you don't make a threat you're not prepared to carry out. Because there's always a chance someone will call your bluff, then you end up looking weak."

    "What makes you think Owlman wouldn't push the button?"

    "Oh, no. I know he would. Superwoman too. But that's because they're mental." A slight smile. "Okay… You're blowing up the Earth. Where are you when this is happening?"

    He shrugs. "The moon base."

    "Alright. Let's assume that no rubble from the Earth hits the moon and destroys either the whole moon or just the base. And that the bomb doesn't destroy the moon anyway. And let's assume that the majority of the Earth's mass stays in roughly the same place so the moon's orbit isn't adversely affected. What are you planning to eat that day?"

    He frowns. "What's that got to do with anythin'?"

    "The Syndicate's moon base has food stores for about a month. With the Earth gone there's no way to replenish them. There's a water recycling system so you could probably stretch it out to two months if you had to, but then you'd start starving. And that's assuming you're just talking about evacuating the Management; if you bring Jon and Superwoman brings the other Supers and.. so on, it would be a fraction of that."

    Ultraman nods slowly. "Okay. I grew up on a farm…"

    "Farming on the moon would be.. difficult, without a lot of preparations. Assuming you install vertical farms and don't mind a monotonous diet it's doable, but you're talking about at least a year planning, testing and building and a lot of money. And again, that's just for management and immediate family. What do you think would happen the moment the rest of the Syndicate -Made Men or not- found out you were planning to blow up the planet they were standing on and not evacuating them?"

    This nod is a bit more definite. "They'd do everything they could t' stop us."

    "Right. So… The only way you could do it would be to take the entire organisation with you. That takes you from seven to…" I shake my head. "I don't even know how many. Thousands at least. And what about their families? Children, spouses, parents… They're not all going to be Syndicate members. You'd be looking at setting up a city on the moon for millions of people. And defending it, because when the world's governments work out what you're doing you better believe they're going to pull out all of the stops to stop you. I.. don't even know how to work out how much that would cost. We could probably do it, but it would take every spare penny the Syndicate had and massive amounts of manpower. And that's not even getting on to the really serious problem."

    He raises his eyebrows slightly. "More serious than starvin' t' death?"

    I nod. "Oh yes. The question is: what do you do the next day? The Earth's gone and you don't have faster than light spacecraft. The only place you can go is the moon base. You-" I gesture to him with both hands. "-are now Governor General of all that remains of the Human species. Given all the people you'd have to evacuate to get that far the gene pool probably isn't a problem, but do you have teachers? Doctors? All of the people with the specialist skills needed to keep a civilisation going? Are they going to be on the moon city permanently? Because people like the people who make up the majority of the Syndicate won't react well to being cooped up. What's the next move? Where are you going to go?"

    He looks away for a moment. "Mars, maybe?"

    "I don't imagine that Mister J'arkus' people would be particularly happy to see us. You could set up a mining industry, build ships and colonise the system, but that's an even bigger undertaking and you'd be looking at everyone living in artificial habitats… Terraforming… No work's been done on actually doing that. There are.. theoretical models, but none of them would be quick if they worked at all. You'd be looking at generations, at best."

    "Put it that way, the whole thing sounds like a dumb idea."

    "I'm a little surprised he suggested it. I mean-" Ugh. "-a city-killer is a viable threat, especially if it doesn't give off radiation or other poisons. If worldwide destruction is what you're looking for, a biological weapon would serve far better than an explosive. Far easier to hide an immunisation program than making a massive city in space. But even so…" I shake my head. "The whole thing sounds like a massive White Elephant that would make more problems than it would solve."

    "Bribing governments is expensive. Maybe I think we could convince them we're serious without needin' to use the bomb."

    "Bit of a risk, but okay. Ultraman, you run the Syndicate as a business. You know that the threat of violence achieves more than actual violence. That a little violence nudges things along while a lot of violence just riles them up. The government's used to taking your money. That's.. part of the system they're used to. Giving it to them gets you more money, that's why you do it. No one on their end is looking to rock the boat. What does having a planet killer bomb get you that you don't have now?"

    "Whole lotta nothin'." He nods, then stands. My signal to leave. "Thanks, Blue. You've given me a lotta stuff t' think about."
     
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    • Mr Zoat said:
    Defector, part 5

    7th August 2010
    08:21GMT -5

    Even after being.. 'accepted' by the Syndicate, I can't help but feel a little… No, let's be honest here, more than a little nervous about being called into Ultraman's office. Okay, so my status as a Made Man and Ultraman's appreciation of my work so far as team supervisor -not caretaker, Jackie- means that I can come in from the street, walk up to the lift and press the button for the penthouse without anyone stopping me, but… Some of the things I've leaned about his personal history from Syndicate files was.. deeply unsettling to me. And that's not even starting on the police and Justice Underground file's I've been able to lay my hands on.

    The lift chimes, the doors open and I walk out into the hallway beyond. I think a few of the pictures have been changed since last time I was here. Does that mean that someone fell out of favour, or do they just get rotated on a regular basis? Ah, I see. The new ones all have Jon in them. Ultraman may be an violent criminal but he's really gone all out to make Jon feel like one of the family.

    Kin-family, not Syndicate Family. Though that too.

    I come to a halt just outside the door to Ultraman's office. As far as I've been able to tell, Ultraman doesn't have a secretary in the conventional sense. After all, who could he trust who isn't already doing something more important? Instead, he remembers appointments himself and sets approximate times for things. I was told to be here 'early morning, after breakfast' and that was when I realised that I had no idea what he considers to be breakfast time. Do I knock? Oooor should I find someone to ask-?

    "Get in here, Blue."

    Super hearing does make things easier. I take hold of the handle, turn it and push the door open. Ultraman is standing on the balcony, looking out over the city he might reasonably claim to own. His pose certainly implies it if his accountant can't prove it. His cape flutters majestically in the breeze. Or… Is there an antiheroic version of majestic? He certainly looks inspiring, if it's fear and obedience that you're looking to inspire. An icon for a harder, more realistic age.

    "Reporting as ordered, Ultraman. What can I do for you?"

    Jon told me that Ultraman actually gets a kick out of me going 'full English' when I speak to him, so I've been brushing up on my diction. Never hurts to put your boss in a positive frame of mine, especially when your boss is a serial killer.

    Ultraman remains scanning the skyline for a moment. Are we actually expecting trouble, I wonder? The country is.. stable, at the moment. With the Justice Underground thoroughly underground, Lex Luthor in hiding and President Wilson nobbled there shouldn't be anyone who could seriously threaten this building… Ultraman turns away and strides back in through the door, waving a hand to trigger the closing mechanism behind him as he walks around his desk to sit down. He looks at me for a moment, then waves his right hand in the direction of the free chair on this side. "Take a load off."

    "Thank you, Ultraman." I walk over and sit down. "Jon not joining us?"

    "Nah. This is…" He looks a little pensive. "This ain't about the team. I wanna.. talk t'you about this thing Owlman came up with."

    "I am at your disposal. What.. sort of thing?"

    "He wants to build a bomb. A real big one."

    I frown slightly and shake my head. "City killer size?"

    "Nah. This one would be big enough t'kill a whole planet."

    "Is the Syndicate going interstellar?"

    Ultraman shakes his head, and I realise that he's not looking at me. Humans instinctively avoid looking at face-shaped objects when thinking hard about something and it looks like it's the same for Kryptonians. "He wants it as leverage. Way he sees it, we get a bomb that powerful then we can threaten the world's governments into surrender."

    The fuck? "Okay?"

    "Now, me? I prefer to do things subtle. Less trouble, less chance fer things to go wrong. But, he's got a point. Blackmailing Wilson turned out t'be a whole lot easier than stayin' under the radar." His eyes come back to me. "Somethin' this big, I wanna be sure in my own mind before I say 'yes' or 'no'. You're a smart guy and you're not… You don't think like the rest of us long time Syndicate types. So. " He leans back in his chair, hands resting on his abdomen. "What'd'ya think?"

    "My… Instinctive response is that it's a bad idea."

    He nods. "Thought ya might say that." He motions with his right hand. "Convince me."

    "One of the first things I learned from Al Scott.. is that you don't make a threat you're not prepared to carry out. Because there's always a chance someone will call your bluff, then you end up looking weak."

    "What makes you think Owlman wouldn't push the button?"

    "Oh, no. I know he would. Superwoman too. But that's because they're mental." A slight smile. "Okay… You're blowing up the Earth. Where are you when this is happening?"

    He shrugs. "The moon base."

    "Alright. Let's assume that no rubble from the Earth hits the moon and destroys either the whole moon or just the base. And that the bomb doesn't destroy the moon anyway. And let's assume that the majority of the Earth's mass stays in roughly the same place so the moon's orbit isn't adversely affected. What are you planning to eat that day?"

    He frowns. "What's that got to do with anythin'?"

    "The Syndicate's moon base has food stores for about a month. With the Earth gone there's no way to replenish them. There's a water recycling system so you could probably stretch it out to two months if you had to, but then you'd start starving. And that's assuming you're just talking about evacuating the Management: if you bring Jon and Superwoman brings the other Supers and.. so on, it would be a fraction of that."

    Ultraman nods slowly. "Okay. I grew up on a farm…"

    "Farming on moon would be.. difficult, without a lot of preparations. Assuming you install vertical farms and don't mind a monotonous diet it's doable, but you're talking about at least a year planning, testing and building and a lot of money. And again, that's just for management and immediate family. What do you think would happen the moment the rest of the Syndicate -Made Men or not- found out you were planning to blow up the planet they were standing on and not evacuating them?"

    This nod is a bit more definite. "They'd do everything they could t' stop us."

    "Right. So… The only way you could do it would be to take the entire organisation with you. That takes you from seven to…" I shake my head. "I don't even know how many. Thousands at least. And what about their families? Children, spouses, parents… They're not all going to be Syndicate members. You'd be looking at setting up a city on the moon for millions of people. And defending it, because when the world's governments work out what you're doing you better believe they're going to pull out all of the stops to stop you. I.. don't even know how to work out how much that would cost. We could probably do it, but it would take every spare penny the Syndicate had and massive amounts of manpower. And that's not even getting on to the really serious problem."

    He raises his eyebrows slightly. "More serious than starvin' t' death?"

    I nod. "Oh yes. The question is: what do you do the next day? The Earth's gone and you don't have faster than light spacecraft. The only place you can go is the moon base. You-" I gesture to him with both hands. "-are now Governor General of all that remains of the Human species. Given all the people you'd have to evacuate to get that far the gene pool probably isn't a problem, but do you have teachers? Doctors? All of the people with the specialist skills needed to keep a civilisation going? Are they going to be on the moon city permanently? Because people like the people who make up the majority of the Syndicate won't react well to being cooped up. What's the next move? Where are you going to go?"

    He looks away for a moment. "Mars, maybe?"

    "I don't imagine that Mister J'arkus' people would be particularly happy to see us. You could set up a mining industry, build ships and colonise the system, but that's an even bigger undertaking and you'd be looking at everyone living in artificial habitats… Terraforming… No work's been done on actually doing that. There are.. theoretical models, but none of them would be quick if they worked at all. You'd be looking at generations, at best."

    "Put it that way, the whole thing sounds like a dumb idea."

    "I'm a little surprised he suggested it. I mean-" Ugh. "-a city-killer is a viable threat, especially if it doesn't give off radiation or other poisons. If worldwide destruction is what you're looking for, a biological weapon would serve far better than an explosive. Far easier to hide an immunisation program than making a massive city in space. But even so…" I shake my head. "The whole thing sounds like a massive White Elephant that would make more problems than it would solve."

    "Bribing governments is expensive. Maybe I think we could convince them we're serious without needin' to use the bomb."

    "Bit of a risk, but okay. Ultraman, you run the Syndicate as a business. You know that the threat of violence achieves more than actual violence. That a little violence nudges things along while a lot of violence just riles them up. The government's used to taking your money. That's.. part of the system they're used to. Giving it to them gets you more money, that's why you do it. No one on their end is looking to rock the boat. What does having a planet killer bomb get you that you don't have now?"

    "Whole lotta nothin'." He nods, then stands. My signal to leave. "Thanks, Blue. You've given me a lotta stuff t' think about."
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    Did he just stop the multiverse destruction plan that Owlman had?.
    Or will this just make him build the bomb and dimension jumper device in secret?.
     
    Backlash177 said:
    Did he just stop the multiverse destruction plan that Owlman had?.
    Or will this just make him build the bomb and dimension jumper device in secret?.
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    As @gourdcaptain said, Owlman would likely still try to build it, but without the Syndicate's full backing, it'll take longer and he'll have to use more of his own resources, plus keeping things quiet cause Ultraman, Power Ring, Johnny Quick, and Jarkus won't appreciate him going behind their backs.
     
    gourdcaptain said:
    Looks like Zoat just wanted to rant about the planet killer bomb and is finally letting it out. :p
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    To be fair unless you are totally mental and just like destruction for it's own sack it's stupid unless you have a major fallback plan.

    Planet killers only make sense in interstellar civilizations and even then they don't want to destroy whole living spaces if they can avoid it.
     
    How canonical is this arc by the way? Are Imane and Sunset Hippy-Parents staying around?
     
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    Backlash177 said:
    Did he just stop the multiverse destruction plan that Owlman had?.
    Or will this just make him build the bomb and dimension jumper device in secret?.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    No, remember that the Reality Bomb thing was part of the backstory of the Syndicate Universe when Blue met Orange Lantern. This happened already, and it's what allowed the Syndicate to get steamrolled by President Wilson.
     
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