Fate Doctor [Young Justice SI]

[Lockedaisical]

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Summary: Zatanna Zatara takes drastic measures against the entity that inhabits her father's body. But the world still needs Doctor Fate, and they will get him -- with some adjustments [SI, Season 2]

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0.0 At the ready
I open my eyes with a start as something nudges my stomach.

"C'mon kid. You gotta get up."

The unfamiliar voice jolts me further, and I push myself into a sitting position. I blink rapidly, a strange clarity in my head that was unlike any 'waking up' sensation I'd felt before. It felt like I had just blinked, and found myself on the ground.

"Where…"

There's a single bright spotlight overhead, the sole source of light. The rest of the environment bleeds into a murky darkness. I can't even see the edges of the room.

"...where are we?"

The elderly man in front of me inclines his head at my question, but hasn't made any move to answer, standing at ease with both hands resting on a cane. I bite my tongue to keep myself from asking further at the hard edges of his expression. The many laugh lines and wrinkles make the sternness of his features seem uncharacteristic, but all the more serious.

"We haven't got a lot of time," he tells me. He holds out a hand and I take it, surprised at his strength as he lifts me to my feet in one smooth motion. He's looking away, up towards the light. I try to follow his gaze but have to use my palm to shade my eyes, which makes it a rather worthless effort.

"I'm going to be asking you for probably the biggest favour you'll ever have to give in your life, but I hope you'll go along with it," he says so casually, I had to run it through my head twice before it the meaning gets through.

"I'm -- I'm sorry..?"

"Look sharp. He's here."

And something appears up in the light, first a speck, growing bigger and more recognisable as it descends. It floats down, then stops around eye-level, surrounded by an golden ethereal glow.

Doctor Fate's helmet.

I'm dreaming, aren't I? Come on, I'm not even that big on the comics, but it's hard to mistake it for something else with that shape, colour --

"Nabu, we need to talk."

This is… this is a strange dream to say the least. Nabu, as in the actual 'Lord of Order' character. I rarely have this sort of detail, though I suppose that could be chalked up as my memory getting fogged up as I awaken --

"I dismissed you because I grew tired of your baseless whining."

"Well, you don't have a choice now. This is important, Nabu, and I hate to say 'I told you so', but you really brought this onto yourself."

I've… never lucid dreamed before, never to this extent. I've been trying to, doing those dream diary things and memory exercises, but have never succeeded. This is too clear, too direct --

"Why have I been brought here."

"You've been sent to this side of the planes because that Zatara girl finally grew fed up with you puppeteering her father around. I told you it was a bad idea. Now here we are."

To actually interact with another person and listen to a coherent conversation --

(...this side of the planes…)

"The order of the world —"

"Must be restored, yes, yes, I know. And now the Earth's lacking one Lord of Order while Klarion still runs wild. We need to do something."

There's a heavy, meaningful pause as the initial sparks of defiance burn away into a resolute smoulder. The helmet seems to turn its gaze onto me.

I can feel the weight from eyes that don't appear to exist, piercing right through my physical body and straight into my soul.

I don't think this is a dream.

"And this is your solution."

The man turns to me as the pieces click into place. There's a brief moment as he closes his eyes, as if pained, before he pins me with his gaze. Contrary to the tones he used while speaking to Nabu, he's now gentle, as if breaking bad news.

"My name is --"

"Kent Nelson." I cut him off. I bring up a hand towards my head, a gesture of habit more than anything, as I don't feel the headache I expect to have. "I know."

"...I'm sorry to say, bit since you're here with us now... that means that you're..."

"Dead." I squeeze my eyes shut. "I know."

---

"What is your plan." / "What's your plan?"

We speak at the same time and there's a moment where we make eye contact -- if that was possible with a disembodied helmet -- before I turn back to Mister Nelson. "Sir."

He's gazing out into the darkness, which now that I look closer, truly is an empty nothing. We're standing in the middle of a void, and though we're clearly in the light, I can't help but shiver.

"The ritual Zatanna Zatara used on Doctor Fate was to absolutely and cataclysmicly remove the spirit of Nabu from the living plane. Which is why we're all here together, on this side." Mister Nelson gestures out into the expanse of darkness. He inclines his head, as if listening. "We're not supposed to be here like this. They're going to find us soon."

I can guess easily who he means, and I don't want to ask further. He's not finished explaining, so I hold myself from saying anything, even as I feel Nabu's impatience emanating in ripples.

"Nabu, even the most powerful sorcerer can't overturn something like that. What I can do, is send you back with someone else. Cut together pieces to make a whole."

"...you want me to be a host." I manage to say quietly. Mister Nelson looks away from addressing the helmet, turning to me with an odd look on his face.

"You choose a random being -- a deceased being -- and assume it is an adequate host?" Nabu demands.

"I had to work with what I could get, but I did try to get someone with the highest mystic potential available. We don't have the luxury of being picky."

"You know that Klarion's level of power --"

"Better for it to be you rather than some new Lord to have a chance of defeating him -- !"

I lose track of the conversation as their discussion grows more heated.

Damn it, I…

Who hasn't fantasized about something like this before? Getting thrown into a world of fantasy? Escaping the mundane world into the exciting lives that could only be found in fiction.

(I'm too young to die, only 19, how could I have died, I'm so scared, why did this happen)

I'd dreamed about this, because I'd never thought it was possible. It was something you yearned for because you couldn't have it.

How could this possibly be real?

"Look. We're dead. Dead. All three of us are. I'm just trying my best not to bring down the rest of the world with us." The severeness of his voice brings me back to the present.

"I don't… understand."

Mister Nelson sighs softly. "I plucked your soul and brought you here right after you died so that we could -- "

"No, I -- this… I'm dead, I can accept that -- " the gravity of that truth somehow settles as I say it out loud, a strange finality that is almost calming. "-- but you -- you're not real."

"What do you mean?"

"I -- I… don't think that this is my afterlife? This doesn't seem right. I don't understand how this is happening, this shouldn't be possible -- "

He's taking me seriously. I see the the cogs in his mind whirr, searching for the right reasoning. "...how did you know my name?"

"I read about you in a book that someone wrote. It was a fictional story, someone made it up for fun, it shouldn't be…"

Mister Nelson stares at me for a moment before a light seems to spark in his eyes. "Hah!" He lets out a bark of laughter, triumphant. "A being from a higher plane of existence! Nabu, you can't get more mystical than that!"

---

"I will speak with him."

Some of the hardness returns to Mister Nelson's expression. "I'm serious about the 'we don't have much time' thing. We need to make a decision, fast -- "

"And I will tell you the verdict. But I must speak with the boy first."

And Kent Nelson disappears.

"Is he…?"

"He is fine. I simply did not wish to deal with his interruptions." The helmet gently bobs up and down on an undetectable wave. "You are aware of the nature of the deal Kent Nelson is proposing?"

"You need a host to act on the… mortal? Plane. After you put on the helmet, only you can take it off again."

"In this case, our souls would be merged. You would don the helmet permanently."

Oh.

That… changes things.

"Giovanni Zatara was an unwilling host. That has wrought complications I was not fit to deal with. Now, with the merge being permanent, if you are unwilling -- "

A spike of fear through my heart. "No, I am willing." The words pour abruptly out of my mouth, but they are true. Real or not real, if I deny this opportunity, I would hate myself forever. "I just have no… desire, to become a mere puppet, watching as you control my body."

A pause. The helmet bobs steadily. "The fate of the world rests on a Lord of Order keeping the Lords of Chaos at bay. Even fully trained, you do not have the power to undertake that alone."

"I know, I know." I assure quickly. "We're not equals. You're the master. You know what to do the best; say the word and I won't resist. Just -- can't we work something out? Surely you don't fight all the time, right --"

A booming sound interrupts, and I flinch. Mister Nelson's voice echoes from everywhere at once. "You guys better not be taking too long, you hear…"

"All right, we can discuss that later." For a helmet, it's gaze is piercing and intrusive. Okay, only important details…

"If… if we die…"

"We are bound and will leave the mortal plane together."

I bite my lip. "So you'll die too? That's…" not good for Order, is it. "Why are you okay with this? I expected… this seems extreme."

"I judged wrongly." The admission is frank and to the point. (respectable) "The love Zatanna Zatara felt towards her father was more forceful than any destruction of Chaos. There will be repercussions."

I don't really have a response for that. I grit my teeth as I think…

"Do you find this proposal acceptable?"

Final answer?

"Yes."

"Why?"

Huh?

Come one, Lee, get a hold of yourself.

Easy answers are available immediately, but I clamp my mouth shut and truly think for a moment. Undoubtedly, I am being judged. Yet, I do not want to… choose an answer that would simply appeal to him. The answer that I would personally, fundamentally agree with…

"I've always wanted… to be given, opportunity. Might be a childish faith, to believe in luck and fate and all that. But I know from experience… hard work and skill doesn't guarantee success. I suppose this time, if this is what it is, then I'm the lucky one. And this is such an opportunity to do good. Justice, righteousness, order, I believe in these things. I have no qualms about… serving you." I stare deeply into the eye holes of the helmet, trying to connect with Nabu. "If only -- I have a condition -- if I ask for it, you will listen to what I say. If and when we disagree… I want to talk."

Suicidal probably, I have my doubts, but was it worth voicing them right now? Do I have complete faith in myself that I could convince Nabu of my opinions if I disagreed with him? His actions are overall good, overall for the protection of Earth, but how reliable is he? How much do I trust him?

And yet I want to take the leap.

"Besides, I'm dead anyways… is the afterlife all that great?" I add on, more of mumbling to myself. Wonder if he can take sarcasm?

"We will have… a long time to talk." It's difficult to pick up Nabu's tones with the almighty weight of his words, but that almost sounded wistful. "The rest of our lives."

"So it's decided?"

"Yes."

"About time; if we're going to do it -- " Mister Nelson's voice seems to be carried by the wind as it swirls around us, and his form is reconstructed from spiralling strips, making a whole. " -- we need to do it now."

With Mister Nelson's reappearance, I become aware that the atmosphere has grown much more oppressive. The chill is no longer passive, but lashes out with sudden cold bursts of wind. The shadows seem to swell and heave, streaks of darkness that look like clawed hands brushing at the edges of the light.

I take a step back, towards the centre, bumping into Mister Nelson. He puts a hand on my shoulder.

I hear him inhale, expecting him to say something, but it doesn't come. Slowly, I peer backwards at him, questioning.

"I am… sorry, for dropping this on you, son. Making it seem like you have no choice."

I frown, worried at his wording, as I turn to face him fully. "No, I'm -- " Breathe, say it properly. "...thank you, for giving me this opportunity."

A wry grin twists his face, tugging at wrinkles in a pleasing manner. He looks much better with a smile.

"Glad you think that way."

Mister Nelson lifts his cane slightly, before bringing it down with an thump that rings and echoes out into the abyss. With a flare of light, a golden ankh appears on the ground -- with me standing at the cross in the centre and the Helmet of Fate within the loop on the top end. The glow grows brighter as the winds whip past, magical energy crackling.

"Now off you go. Good luck."

The light grows blindingly bright as it engulfs everything and then there's only --

Light.

---

Spoiler: A/N:

haaa I blame that one really popular (really good) Young Justice SI for inspiring me into doing this, though I'm sure I'm not alone in that. A bit of a problem is that I'm very not familiar with with comic book lore, only the TV series, so I appreciate any fun suggestions. I mainly write for fun and my own self-satisfaction, no desire to make a career out of it or anything, so please be gentle on me…

 

[TimeLordLucario]

So far so good.

 

[Chailon]

Good start, now its just keeping the enthusiasm and giving us regular updates

 

[FancyMolasses]

This looks fun. I'm excited to see more!

Your dialogue for the SI is pretty strong, and I like that you're giving more characterization to Nabu. It'll be interesting to see how a completely kitted out, full time Doctor Fate will interact with the Team, especially Zatanna after she basically exorcised the dude.

 

[ZFighter18]

Wait, is this a With This Ring SI cross?

 

[Lockedaisical]

So far so good.

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Good start, now its just keeping the enthusiasm and giving us regular updates

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Thanks so much for your kind words!! I'll try really hard to update regularly, I'm also quite worried about my ability to do that haha... I'll try for shorter, but consistent updates, hope that'll work out.

This looks fun. I'm excited to see more!

Your dialogue for the SI is pretty strong, and I like that you're giving more characterization to Nabu. It'll be interesting to see how a completely kitted out, full time Doctor Fate will interact with the Team, especially Zatanna after she basically exorcised the dude.

Click to shrink...

YEAH!!! Thanks for your feedback!! I'm really excited to see what else my gal Zatanna is going to do here. Severe lack of Doctor Fate in S2...

Wait, is this a With This Ring SI cross?

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Oh no, this would be in canon Earth-16! I love Paul but I doubt I'll be able to write someone else's character well ;;;

 

[ex-ellent]

Well that is interesting.

 

[Lockedaisical]

1.0 Steady
This time, this time it feels like waking up in the real world.

I'm on my knees, hands braced in front of me and keeping me upright. I blink hard, trying to clear the blurriness of my vision, head still stuffed full of cotton and lacking full awareness.

I reach up and rub my face, knocking my glasses askew. My hands… are shaking.

I feel full. Bloated. Throat feels closed off, choked with something I can't identify; not exactly a physical nausea, but a sensation of being close to bursting, barely holding it together --

Breathe. It's not painful, and I can work through the discomfort. Breathe. The sensation doesn't lesson, but I can push it behind me, and see --

A clattering of metal as it falls to the rough stone floor. A woman with long black hair standing before me, hands to her face and eyes wide.

She's looking past me.

"...Dad?"

"...Zatanna."

I don't think I have the capacity of moving and interrupting the scene in front of me right now. And it's not like I'd want to.

Zatanna Zatara takes a few hesitant steps forwards, before outright throwing herself at her father. The disparity in their ages from the last comparison I can make is clear. Zatanna was about the same height as her father now.

I can't see her face, buried in his shoulder, but I can see Zatara's. His eyes are screwed shut as he basks in the embrace, as if never wanting to let go. The lines in his visage twist deeply, making him look much older than I remember. His immaculate hair is slightly mussed from where his headwear was ripped off and thrown away, but otherwise, his appearance is almost supernaturally well-kept.

I'm already glad I did this.

I bite myself to keep from gasping as a roiling force stirs in my chest, but Zatara notices it and pushes away from his daughter with a small remorseful sound. I'm bent down further, curled to the ground, and I see his feet as he kneels and puts a hand on my back.

"...too much energy, too suddenly…" I hear him mutter, as he gently pulls me upright. Ugh, that doesn't feel good… "I need you to stay with me, okay? You're going to be alright."

I hear Zatanna's heels click as she approaches, wanting to assist, but her father stops and turns to look at her. "No Zatanna, stay back."

She complies, but hesitantly asks, "Dad? Who is this?"

"Nabu explained it to me before we were separated. Kent Nelson managed to find another being to act as a host, merging them permanently so that they could be sent back to this realm."

"S-sounds about right," I manage to say for once, forcing the words through my tight throat. My vision is blur -- where are my glasses? -- but I can make out the expression on Zatara's face. Concern? Compassion.

"Do you know what's wrong? Does Nabu?" Focus on what Zatara is saying. Answer.

"I don't… know… where is he … ?"

Where before the sensation was a constant wave, now it slams hard into me. A door, with a force pressing desperately against it, expanding, leaking through the cracks as the pounding gets frantic --

"Nabu? He's still here?" Zatanna's voice is is high with panic, but laced with the steel of rage --

A flash of golden light.

"I am here."

---

I watch the events unfold with my eyes, but it plays out like watching a scene through the lens of a camera. Like from a movie, or film. From a window.

Nabu turns my head, slowly, regally as he examines the scene. We are underground, a dark, high-ceilinged cavern lit only by primitive flame torches on the walls. The room itself is man-made, carved stone with antique design, detailed columns supporting the rock overhead. It is an open room, sporting signs of destruction, a recent fight.

Large chunks of rock torn from the walls and ground, statues of marble thrown aside and fragmented. Rows of coffins and biers overturned and crumbled. A tomb? Grave?

On the ground, a large ritualistic circle painted painstakingly across the entire expanse of the room. A ritual which was carried out successfully -- even with my existence being evidence enough, my senses seem to open as I gaze at the runes painted with an uncomfortably dark red substance. Though rationally, I cannot hope to comprehend the writings, I seem to be experiencing a… sixth sense.

It's difficult to explain.

"Zatanna Zatara." Nabu steps forwards -- with my body, gold-cloaked and gloved -- just as she steps back. I can sense the flow of magic in her core, flowing out to her arms, preparing for a fight --

I can't control my body. I can't even choose where to look. I can feel what Nabu is planning, how he feels what he is doing is right.

No, no, no --

"Nabu." Giovanni Zatara steps in his way, and I gaze up at him with Nabu's vision.

Zatara, you have to stop me!

"She has attempted to upset the balance by removing Order from the world. Her actions would have caused the destruction of the Earth, had they occurred as she had intended."

"You took my Father! He was my everything — "

Zatara holds out a hand to her, cutting her off. She looks incensed, but thankfully logic prevails as she regards him warily.

"And now the balance is restored once again. You are free to combat the evils of this world, and this time, I can even fight beside you. The outcome is favourable."

"She has conspired with the elements of Chaos in order to perform this ritual. She has acted in a way that is sacrilegious and destruc — "

"My daughter acted in what was just. She is not an agent of Chaos."

Listen to Zatara! Nabu, please, listen to me!

"This does not -- "

Nabu, do not let this be our first act!

He's stopped short.

...did I get through to him?

**We will speak of this later.** I hear Nabu's voice within my mental plane, rather than out loud.

Of course. Thank you.

Zatara notices our internal debate, and is bolstered to speak further. "My daughter acted out of her love. And I know you think it is one of the most chaotic magics of all. But love is the thing that is most right in this world, the greatest reason for what we do. We've had this discussion a hundred times, Nabu, and I know you'd come to agree with me, at least, sometimes."

...could Nabu feel…?

Through our link, he stays strangely silent, deliberately withholding his thoughts.

With a flap of his cape, Nabu turns away from the pair. Instead, he strides towards something gleaming and golden, inappropriately tossed on the dusty ground.

He bends and picks it up, moving with a smoothness I didn't know my body could possess. Nabu holds up the Helmet of Fate with his right hand, turning it so the eye holes look back at us. Had we not been wearing it before? Had Nabu been using my face to speak to the Zataras?

...I'll worry about that when we get to that bridge.

With a subtle flick of the wrist, he wills the magic forth, and the Helmet glows with arcane power. The light grows stronger, until only its shape is visible. It then collapses into itself, turning into streaks of gold that coil around us, coalescing at our core.

I feel the weight of the metal against my face. The helmet is properly donned.

"The integration of the Helmet of Fate should solve the issues of any magical strain. There should be no problem now." Nabu says, and I see Zatara nod in acknowledgement.

"Very well." Zatara still stands with his body partially blocking his daughter's. "Now…"

Nabu interrupts him. "Take care of my host." He says quickly, then the garb of Doctor Fate dissolves into motes of white light, unceremoniously dropping me onto the floor.

Spoiler: A/N:

Hehe, is it cheating to use that emotion colour spectrum thing even though there are no Power Rings in this story? They're just so nifty, though.

 

[AlwaysRubixing]

I was slightly hoping Lee would somehow manage to be in control of Dr. Fate because they rushed the merge or something. Can't wait for more, I've never seen a Dr. Fate SI.

 

[krahe]

"She has attempted to upset the balance by removing Order from the world. Her actions would have caused the destruction of the Earth, had they occurred as she had intended."

"You took my Father! He was my everything — "

Click to shrink...

But screw the Earth and 7 billion other unimportant people, dooming them to a whatever hellish fate Chaos will throw them in, am I right?

 

[Jonnoda]

But screw the Earth and 7 billion other unimportant people, dooming them to a whatever hellish fate Chaos will throw them in, am I right?

Click to shrink...

Nah I don't think you are. In a world where there is an entire league of super heroes ready to rise up and defend the world from hellish and terrible fates, fighting to free your father from slavery at the hands of a "hero" is just, in my opinion.

That's what it is, once the helmet is on, only Nabi decides if it comes off. What happens he decides that unimportant things such as his hosts family, his hosts desires, his hosts rights as a human being, are irrelevant because his pursuit of order is more important?

Unless you approve of the unwilling and complete domination and enslavement of the few for the benefit of 'order' and the ''greater good"?

 

[Lockedaisical]

I was slightly hoping Lee would somehow manage to be in control of Dr. Fate because they rushed the merge or something. Can't wait for more, I've never seen a Dr. Fate SI.

Click to shrink...

Thank you for your comments!! Hope I'll continue to entertain even if its something different from what you expected! I think I'm trying for a gradual control thing? Also because I wanted to try the magic of ~~character development~~ with Nabu

But screw the Earth and 7 billion other unimportant people, dooming them to a whatever hellish fate Chaos will throw them in, am I right?

Click to shrink...

YEAHHH The Last of Us dilemma!! I'll try to be clearing what exactly they mean up in the next few chapters, so I hope Zatanna doesn't come off as too unlikable until then...

Nah I don't think you are. In a world where there is an entire league of super heroes ready to rise up and defend the world from hellish and terrible fates, fighting to free your father from slavery at the hands of a "hero" is just, in my opinion.

That's what it is, once the helmet is on, only Nabi decides if it comes off. What happens he decides that unimportant things such as his hosts family, his hosts desires, his hosts rights as a human being, are irrelevant because his pursuit of order is more important?

Unless you approve of the unwilling and complete domination and enslavement of the few for the benefit of 'order' and the ''greater good"?

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the discussion!! This is great, and I do personally agree with you. Also keep in mind that Nabu is far from an unbiased source of information -- I'll be trying to clear that up in future updates!

 

[krahe]

Unless you approve of the unwilling and complete domination and enslavement of the few for the benefit of 'order' and the ''greater good"?

Click to shrink...

If some untouchable cosmic asshole is constantly throwing at us extinction event-level asteroids and the one-in-a-kind precursor's orbital protection laser need to be powered by one person once in a hundred years to keep us from that extinction event? Yeah, I totally agree with that ideology. And so is the MC, for that matter

 

[FancyMolasses]

I'm excited to see more interactions between Lee and Nabu. There dynamic is interesting as two entities inhabiting the same body, and puts how they operate as heroes in an interesting light. Judging by Zatanna's apparent age, this is also during season two, which isn't something seen very often in Young Justice fics, so it's exciting for that reason as well.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[Skeletickles]

Holy fuck thank you so much. I am so happy I woke up to this! A magic Young Justice SI is so rare they're almost impossible to find!

 

[edmantgoog]

Nah I don't think you are. In a world where there is an entire league of super heroes ready to rise up and defend the world from hellish and terrible fates, fighting to free your father from slavery at the hands of a "hero" is just, in my opinion.

That's what it is, once the helmet is on, only Nabi decides if it comes off. What happens he decides that unimportant things such as his hosts family, his hosts desires, his hosts rights as a human being, are irrelevant because his pursuit of order is more important?

Unless you approve of the unwilling and complete domination and enslavement of the few for the benefit of 'order' and the ''greater good"?

Click to shrink...

Honestly? Yeah I do depending on your definition of grater good which would then be a question of values and what should be considered important. It is not an easy question and would require a lot of debate but it is the most logical option. (Having said all this I am swear that the excuse of the grater good has been used for the reason to vomit various heinous acts in human history which I why I would trust nobody but my self to set was is right and why nobody could trust me but then selves as it is a system that can only work under the rule of a benevolent tyrant and tyranny except in the most extreme circumstances is never good)

 

[krahe]

Honestly? Yeah I do depending on your definition of grater good which would then be a question of values and what should be considered important. It is not an easy question and would require a lot of debate but it is the most logical option.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, the moral is good and all, but when at stake is the survival of the human race, and I mean an actual, physical threat to continuation of humankind, not some bullshit political 'with this bill the humanity as we know it is ending' demagogy, all the pretty things go out of the window really damn quick. Hell, this could develop over time into martyrdom in peoples' minds, a respected self-sacrifice, we're good at finding coping mechanisms

 

[Jonnoda]

If some untouchable cosmic asshole is constantly throwing at us extinction event-level asteroids and the one-in-a-kind precursor's orbital protection laser need to be powered by one person once in a hundred years to keep us from that extinction event? Yeah, I totally agree with that ideology. And so is the MC, for that matter

Click to shrink...

Yeah, the moral is good and all, but when at stake is the survival of the human race, and I mean an actual, physical threat to continuation of humankind, not some bullshit political 'with this bill the humanity as we know it is ending' demagogy, all the pretty things go out of the window really damn quick. Hell, this could develop over time into martyrdom in peoples' minds, a respected self-sacrifice, we're good at finding coping mechanisms

Click to shrink...

All true. It would apply to the situation if Nabu was the only thing standing between humanity and extinction. Thing is, he's not.

As I pointed out, Nabu is a member of the justice league, and I wouldn't even rate him as top tier in it. Earth has survived without Nabus intervention and can continue to do so.

Kent Nelson is all that you described. He took up the charge, put on the helmet and knowing he was sacrificing control of his body, he chose to act for the greater good. He is the martyr you speak of, who should be honoured and remembered for his sacrifice.

Giovanni Zatara made a similar choice. He chose to accept the fate of a helpless slave in his own body to save his daughter from it.

That's real heroism.

Forcing someone to make that choice? Not so much.

I don't blame Zatanna from doing what she did, I'd damn well help her if I could, more so because when you place a paragon above you, you have to keep him accountable to that ideal.

It's ever so easy for order, to become tyranny after all.

 

[krahe]

All true. It would apply to the situation if Nabu was the only thing standing between humanity and extinction. Thing is, he's not.

Click to shrink...

I could try to defend my point by saying that JL don't involve themselves into magic affairs, but I'll admit, I don't know enough of DC lore to say it for sure. Though, I was certain that the whole Order Lords versus Chaos Lords endless fight was a pretty eqclusive dance and needed specialized people, Fate and his bearers, to deal with. If that's true, then my post's argument still stand and Zatanna's made a horrifyingly selfish choice that I frankly can't stand with, especially if it was Giovanni's choice, or if dramatic, sacrifice, to become Fate's vessel in the first place

 

[A/N]

Not really sure why he so instantly enslaves himself. Serving Nabu, Master, etc

Maybe if he called himself apprentice or something? Otherwise it's a bit creepy.

 

[Zardeon]

In the long run Nabu would probably be as bad as Klarion for humanity. We are not very orderly, not at all, and this would not mesh well with a lord of Order. Also, if people actually started looking into the magical side of DC, there would probably be replacements for someone of Nabu's level.

 

[Night_stalker]

Not really sure why he so instantly enslaves himself. Serving Nabu, Master, etc

Maybe if he called himself apprentice or something? Otherwise it's a bit creepy.

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Probably hardwired in, to ease transitions?

 

[edmantgoog]

In the long run Nabu would probably be as bad as Klarion for humanity. We are not very orderly, not at all, and this would not mesh well with a lord of Order. Also, if people actually started looking into the magical side of DC, there would probably be replacements for someone of Nabu's level.

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There are o5her lords of order and lords of chaos out there each with their own morality and nabu is defiantly one of the milder guys.... not the best but better than most

 

[Skeletickles]

There are o5her lords of order and lords of chaos out there each with their own morality and nabu is defiantly one of the milder guys.... not the best but better than most

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The thing is though, none of them are even near Nabu in strength. He's really fucking OP as a byproduct of being in the spotlight for so long.

 

[Briefvoice]

Some comments on the two updates.

"I read about you in a book that someone wrote. It was a fictional story, someone made it up for fun, it shouldn't be…"

Mister Nelson stares at me for a moment before a light seems to spark in his eyes. "Hah!" He lets out a bark of laughter, triumphant. "A being from a higher plane of existence! Nabu, you can't get more mystical than that!"

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This really sparked my imagination. Given that the purpose was to find Nabu a host with 'mystical potential' and this was expressed as coming from a "more real world" as it were, I wonder if some of their powers will express themselves in a literal "treat the world as though it were a comic book" fashion.

Will the protagonist be able to "flip the pages" of reality back and forth to jump around the narrative? Can they peer between pages to read scenes they weren't in? Check out narration boxes and their opponent's thought balloons? Maybe not in a jokey way, but you could easily take that sort of thing and translate it into stunts done with mystical power. That could be Nabu's big new edge, even if he's not as powerful as he was before in other ways.

A/N: haaa I blame that one really popular (really good) Young Justice SI for inspiring me into doing this, though I'm sure I'm not alone in that. A bit of a problem is that I'm very not familiar with with comic book lore, only the TV series, so I appreciate any fun suggestions. I mainly write for fun and my own self-satisfaction, no desire to make a career out of it or anything, so please be gentle on me…

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If you're only familiar with the television series, why does the SI say "a book that someone wrote" rather than "a cartoon series" or something like that?

Hehe, is it cheating to use that emotion colour spectrum thing even though there are no Power Rings in this story? They're just so nifty, though.

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It is cheating... and frankly kind of derivative. You don't need to color code text to communicate what emotions a character is feeling. We ought to be able to tell that from the writing. I would knock it out, if you're asking for opinions. You don't need that crutch.