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Life Ore Death - DC Feruchemy [Young Justice]

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Even A Man - part 3
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    • Life Ore Death​
    * December 1 [Ferris PoV]

    Several people recognized me as I waited for my appointment, but the capitol's employees were professional enough – and no doubt at least somewhat inured to the presence of various 'celebrities' – that I was not unduly bothered as I waited.

    Without the need to store into many of my other metal-minds, I'd amassed around 20 hours of unidentified connection in the duralumin-mind ring on my right hand, so I did not bother storing up any more. I also had more than enough identity, and I'd gotten a bit bored of storing compassion without any lantern-light tricks for me to tap, so I spent my time storing acuity in a zinc-mind, since it struck me as useful.

    A gentle voice informed me in accented English that it was time for the appointment. I wheeled my chair through the door the secretary held for me, nodded politely to the lone visible bodyguard, and turned my attention to President Rumaan Harjavti.

    He was a well-built man with a calm demeanor, his upset shown only in the sunken eyes brought on by his recent stress and sleep loss.

    I tapped connection to greet him warmly in his native tongue: "President Harjavti, thank you for taking the time to see me."

    "The pleasure is mine, Miss Ferris," he replied, walking around the desk to shake my hand. "My nation suffered the loss of 19 lives due to the Disappearance Disaster; without the swift of action of yourself and the Justice League, we would have had at least ten times as many casualties. We all owe you a great debt." He paused. "I had believed that you were learning English. Or is this one of your powers?"

    "I am learning English without my powers, and I am currently using a power to speak Arabic," I confirmed.

    "Very useful," he commented as we both moved into more comfortable positions. "I hope you don't mind-,"

    "Not at all," I demurred, following his gaze back to the guard. "Keeping a guard is entirely wise, after what you have suffered. Although I would like to know your name, Mister…?"

    "Ahmad Khalin, Miss Ferris," he introduced with President Harjavti's permission. "I have a three-year-old niece; thank you."

    "Happy to help," I replied genuinely before I turned back to President Harjavti.

    There was a moment of silence.

    "I do not wish to seem rude, Miss Ferris," he began. I debated cutting him off to remind him of my name, but I decided that could be said later, and that putting him off-balance would serve me no purpose here. "You have not mentioned your intended purpose here."

    "Mm. I wanted…" I trailed off artistically, to draw out his attention. "I wanted to support you. In the recent past, I was also mind-controlled into revealing dangerous information, with the risk of harming many people. I feel tremendous empathy for you, Mister President, and in all the fuss about politics, I feel not many people may worry about the fact that it hurt you. I want to ask about your feelings; to offer my help in recovering and moving on with your life. How are you? Not your country, not your people, but you, the person?"

    His expression had changed as I went on, and in the silence afterward I tapped more connection, then leaned forward. In silence, I reached out across the desk to take his hand.

    Another moment passed before he sighed, sagged, and gripped me back.

    "Thank you, Miss Ferris," he said sincerely. "With this… this catastrophe, I have been barely able to give a moment's thought for myself. But my people have been harmed, and my first responsibility must be to them."

    'About what I expected from a good man.' I huffed a little laugh.

    "I am on medical leave because I cannot fight to save people. If you cannot responsibly care for yourself, can you care for everyone else? I am not only speaking in parables and ideals," I added quickly when he looked to object. I tapped my head. "You make decisions in here, and the human brain consumes one-fifth of our daily energy. Being 'too hungry to think straight' is a real thing, and stress hormones can interfere with thinking the same way grit can interfere in an engine." I glanced meaningfully at the clock. "You have set aside some time today to meet with me, I think, and address my concerns; rather than you helping me with my problems, perhaps I can assist with yours?"

    I continued tapping connection at a heavy rate; I would burn through my reserves in less than four hours at this pace, but when we had less than an hour to speak, I could work with that.

    "Thank you," he said finally, "but I do not believe I can solve my personal problems, when many result from political problems."

    "Let us break it down, then," I suggested. "We eat in bites, not all at once, yes? So: you personally have been subjected to mind-control, the cognitive equivalent of a violent beating or assault, and you are miserably recovering in the aftermath. Second, you feel guilty for what you were forced to do, and it is helped that your countrymen also blame you. This builds into the third issue, where you are facing public censure, potential impeachment, loss of your job, reputation, stability… Fourth, Queen Bee certainly wants revenge."

    He sucked in a breath. "That is an accurate summary, yes."

    "Then the simplest thing to do is begin with the most immediate problem: public censure and the impeachment calls."

    "And so we return again to politics," he chuckled drily. "I don't suppose you have any advice?"

    "Several pieces, the most prominent of which is to not apologize." He raised an eyebrow. "Saying sorry indicates regret and remorse for your actions, declaring that you behaved wrongly and would act differently if you could do it again. You need to emphasize that you did not do anything wrong, and you are no more responsible for this than you are for the destruction caused by a natural disaster, or if the nation suffered a terrorist attack. Apologizing invites them scorn you. Invite them to stand with you against Queen Bee."

    "Lack of apologies is only going to upset people," he objected.

    "Lack of compassion for the suffering of your people will upset them, but you can show compassion without taking responsibility for the tragedy, same as though it happened elsewhere, not under your control," I rattled off. "If you point them at Bialya, that will resolve much of the issue. You have the telepath responsible for the mental domination in captivity to stand trial. You have members and associates of the Justice League willing to testify that you were the victim, myself included. You have your own record of exemplary behavior to back this up. You have video evidence of your rebuke of Queen Bee when you were freed. If you firmly tell them you have done nothing wrong, and who the real villain is, they will listen to you and to us."

    He looks more hopeful, but also bitter, as he replies, "Perhaps… that might work, though it will be a dance to avoid a war."

    It was close enough to a feed line I'd consider, but not expected to use, so I acted.

    I laughed at him.

    "Rumaan," I said imperiously, my voice dripping condescension as I increased my tap of connection again to keep him listening, "you are already at war. Perhaps you haven't realized it, but a foreign power deliberately ordered an agent of their government into your territory, mentally assaulted the head of state – you – issued false and unlawful orders through impersonating you, usurped your authority, mobilized the military, invaded your borders, attempted to assassinate you, and who knows what they would have done to your daughter!"

    I drew in a sharp, deep breath, letting my verbal momentum die down before I continued.

    "President Harjavti, the fact that you have not declared war and mobilized military retaliation already is the single greatest argument I see in favor of impeaching you. Queen Bee took an eight-year-old boy hostage to get revenge on Miss Martian for freeing you, and nearly killed him. She was less than a half-inch away from him bleeding to death before we could provide medical treatment," I informed him flatly. "Do you think she will stop? She wanted Qurac even before she wanted revenge. Now? Now it is a matter of personal spite. She will target your brother. She will target your daughter. And if you do not defend against her she will force you to watch."

    While not shouting, I had taken on a ringing, strident tone to convey force.

    When I had said my piece – or at least those several parts of it – I sank back into my chair and let the sudden quiet pour into him.

    Under other circumstances, I have no doubt my tone would have back-fired badly, provoking his anger only to direct it at me, or provoking his fear that he did not dare to act.

    But.

    I was still tapping connection from my duralumin-mind, and while that would last he would be too close to me to react like that. My words would sink in properly, with my sincerity conveyed, and unless something had gone very wrong….

    "What is it," he asked finally, "that you would suggest, if you are so knowledgeable? What would you tell me to do?"

    'Trap,' I dismissed drily, and sighed. Dispensing advice wasn't as straightforward as would be optimal, but what in life was?

    "Whatever I told you to do, if you do it, it would be the wrong thing to do simply because I told you to, rather than you coming to a decision that you truly believed in yourself. But you are not alone, and you have resources that you may not realize. The Wonder Woman despises Queen Bee because she gives a bad name to women with authority. You have Psimon in custody, and your laws are less limiting than in the United States about the ways by which you obtain evidence. Rather than bothering her, I believe she would enjoy the chance to ask whatever questions you believe will be helpful.

    "The Martian Manhunter and his niece know more than most humans about telepathy, and should freely answer your questions. They are also able to inspect people for lingering telepathic keys and instructions, if you so desire. Superman is currently in Qurac because your press conference this afternoon will be the most obvious time to make an attempt on your life; he and I both hold popular influence and are willing to support you. Beyond that, you have the same option I intend to recommend to every head of state or high official I address."

    "And that is?" he asked slowly.

    "The Aquaman is also the king of Atlantis. They have medical technology and mystic knowledge far beyond surface nations, with extra-ordinary skill at reattaching or even re-growing limbs," I listed, relying my connection for him to hear me out, "as well as providing other-wise rare organic ingredients. King Orin has been pushing for closer relations with the surface world, and Aqualad has mentioned to me a number of things Atlantis lacks. If you can find ways to provide them and open talks, you could revolutionize your country's medical proce-dures, to say nothing of getting teachers of sorcery to train your government agents in simple magic use for the sake of national security.

    "I am not, however," I continued, "the person who will have to live with the consequences of doing any of this. You are. If you do not choose a course because you believe it is a genuinely good idea, then it will not be a good idea to do so. We have until your meeting ends for you to think, and then all the time after to keep thinking. I am on your side, President Harjavti. Think what I have said over, without talking, just for two or three minutes. Just thinking. And if you think these are bad ideas, I will work with whatever you suggest instead," I finished easily.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Character is inseparable from politics, sometimes fortunately, sometimes unfortunately.

    'The foolish are full of certainty and the wise full of doubt' is a common one.
     
    Political aspects of the story truly highlight how different Renka, both culturally and intellectually, is in comparison with "average Joe".

    Sadly, most of her teammates (and even more, League members) counts among these *shrugs*

    Also, Queen Bee is about to have Crusader Kings match against literal avatar of Ruin and budding Goddess of Schadenfreude. I wonder that can go wrong, here... ;)

    P.S. Correct me if I wrong @Obloquy, but Quarac is UJ counterpart to OTL Libya - with Queen Bee domain serving as Egypt replacement?
    P.P.S. Aaand now I wish to see an meeting between Renka and Emperor Izaro of Eternal Empire. The man is... Quite insane even by past standards (in addition to being undead servant of Justice's Goddess) - but one thing is uncontestable, he does know his statecraft.
     
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    Kurkistan said:
    Ferris: I'm here to support you as a person, not as a president.
    Harjavti: Thanks, I appre-
    Ferris: So let's talk policies...
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    Yup. ;)

    Stripes said:
    P.S. Correct me if I wrong @Obloquy, but Quarac is UJ counterpart to OTL Libya - with Queen Bee domain serving as Egypt replacement?
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    I believe the Egypt equivalent is Khandaq (Egypt and Libya are in North Africa), while Qurac and Bialya are in the Middle East.

    That's the way I'm playing it, at any rate.
     
    I wonder if there is a Century Child in Khandaq, Quarac or Bialya. Perhaps he or she could be a tech wiz that leads a cultural revolution supporting government-free internet over a heavily restricted and monitored internet. I just have so many ideas floating around for mundane and superpowered Century Children in this setting!

    Wait. Could Klarion use Hemalurgy on a Century Child if he got some Atium to hijack their powers? Oh dear.
     
    So evidently the latest episode of Young Justice has the implication that everyone with the Metagene is a descendant of Vandal Savage. I haven't seen it myself yet, but I actually like it as an explanation. He's been around long enough that pretty much everyone will have some heritage from him, and if you think about it, Vandal Savage's power is to survive everything, and the Metagene's main power/effect is to make some survive an experience they shouldn't by somehow adapting to it. Like, sometimes it goes off for other reasons, but that seems to be the 'main' or 'biggest' reason for it to go off.

    Basically, it feels like a somewhat Brandon Sandersonesque solution to explaining the metagene.
     
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    TheLastOne said:
    Basically, it feels like a somewhat Brandon Sandersonesque solution to explaining the metagene.
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    This is good, but PLEASE spoiler it ASAP! I like it, and I forgive you this time, but I'm too busy to be caught up on recent episodes!

    It does seem like a great explanation, which I might steal for other things. It's even similar to the explanation I'm going to be using (although there is the question of whether Savage himself had the meta-gene or not before he slept by the space rock).
     
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    Obloquy said:
    This is good, but PLEASE spoiler it ASAP! I like it, and I forgive you this time, but I'm too busy to be caught up on recent episodes!

    It does seem like a great explanation, which I might steal for other things. It's even similar to the explanation I'm going to be using (although there is the question of whether Savage himself had the meta-gene or not before he slept by the space rock).
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    Sure, spoiled.
     
    Even A Man - part 4
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    • Life Ore Death​
    * December 1 [Ferris PoV]

    In consideration of the Batman's suspicions that there could be an assassination attempt on the President Harjavti at this press conference, I had suggested having either the Superman or Miss Martian in the air circling to scout from above. It had been acknowledged as a good idea, but infeasible to do on this occasion because everyone would need to be present and accounted for in their secret identities unless trouble occurred and they slipped away in the confusion.

    It also seemed that M'gann and Conner had not been explicitly informed of the assassination question prior to now, and were only here originally in the guise of visiting the Logan family and keeping an eye on me.

    They had not been happy to be told this way, and my whispered-for-super-hearing comment about not bothering with secret identities for exactly this reason had left the Superman visibly abashed in his secret identity.

    Through the comm link I had continued wearing, I had kept up my observations about how it would have been much easier to arrange air cover if the Superman's companions were allowed to know and account for his secret identity, or if M'gann and Conner had known, and thereby let M'gann not be in her 'secret identity' when the Daily Planet reporters arrived, allowing her to disappear without their notice.

    I was a little pleased to provoke a waspish, impolite response from the Superman through the comm link before any public talking began.

    It was only mildly linked – even – to the fact that I had figured it out myself only recently. He had said he was intending to tell me, before the Disappearance Disaster, and I believed him. That did not change the fact that the many layers present were making this more complicated.

    Even with my tapping of connection – or arguably because I had stopped tapping so deeply after the end of our talk – the President Harjavti had not used all of my ideas, and his speech was not as militant as I would have preferred.

    He had, however, latched onto the, 'show no shame for what is not your fault' part of my speech, and the crowd that had been against him was slowly swaying in his favor, as he stood sturdy like a rock against the waves of their displeasure.

    I took some satisfaction in that, too.

    His speech continued, and we waited.

    As the closest, I took up the self-appointed position of watching the guards and stagehands for suspicious activity, because we all knew (I hoped) that shape-shifters and telepathic instructions were very much a strategy of pragmatism. I remained in my wheelchair, but I felt capable of walking or running just long and far enough to act if I had to, having a steel-mind I had begun storing into for emergency use.

    Mostly, though, I kept my attention on my stores of acuity and connection. I was tapping only enough connection to comprehend what was being said, but I was also aware at the edge of my consciousness of the telepathic link Miss Martian had erected between the other three. It would hurt to do so, but I kept open the option of entering into it and conveying whatever I came up with when trouble occurred.

    On the one hand, Queen Bee had shown herself to be single-minded in her goals, muck-footed in her executions, and brutally direct.

    On the other hand, she was ruthless, prone to overkill, and incredibly vindictive, from what I understood.

    I was still considering the possibility that she might use explosives or alien weaponry to destroy the entire gathering and everyone present in a single stroke, but I could do nothing to influence an outcome beyond warning my friends, so I did not dwell on it.

    There were far too many directions for me to predict where trouble was most likely to come from, but once a first assault narrowed down the methods of the attempt, it would be a simple act to tap acuity deeply, discern the most likely 2-3 next moves, and enter the link long enough to convey the information with advice to my teammates.

    'I hope my headache won't last longer than an hour or two. I would like to talk with the Martian Manhunter sooner, rather than later.'

    I continued to wait, glad that the winter temperature of this desert was tepid and mild, and as the questions started, it happened.

    I didn't hear anything until the Superman was in motion to intercept, but the smoke-trail was obvious enough that I immediately realized it was the assault, even if I was not familiar with the form of this weapon.

    Focusing more than I should have had to on the zinc-mind ring around my finger, I immediately tapped acuity-

    'I don't know what that is, but a missile or explosive makes the most sense, since it obviously isn't designed for piercing or kinetic force. It's far too loud for stealth, if I can barely hear the propulsive-engine-whatever over everyone's screaming, and it's putting off visible light as well as a large smoke trail, making it easy to track. Is a second missile hidden in the smoke? Potentially, but no matter what it is, it's a big distraction.

    'Any explosive big enough to reliably take the targets out would be more efficiently delivered by hand and set off at a distance… It's not very accurate, either. I can literally see it swaying in its path as the Superman is rising up to intercept it…'

    -and entered-

    'Thus, this a giant distraction. I do not immediately see any guards about to attack President Harjavti, and even then they'd only need a distraction if they wanted to escape after the fact. Superman should intercept it without issue, but the attacker wants him doing that instead of blocking the real attempt, which is probably a more conventional bullet/dart/knife in the back. Or they want everyone to focus on Harjavti while the real target is different, such as me, but unless Queen Bee or whoever is associated with the Light I am in statistically less danger than the obvious targets: Harjavti and his family. But no matter what the attack will be, it should rely on the target being present to take the hit.'

    -the link.

    [-on my way, follow as-,]

    [M'gann, leave the assassin to the Superman,] I snapped out as I caught her message to Conner. [Missiles-bullets-knives all require the target to be able to be hit so evacuate the President and make cover with telekinesis in case there are two assassins in this.]

    I included a few images – of a man with a knife leaping out of the crowd and onto the stage, and of M'gann pulling away the President behind a wall of floating debris, and for good measure an image of the assassin tossing one of Robin's explosive disks at me while I was vulnerable – in my rapidly conveyed message, and we were linked enough that I felt her almost stumble in her position a few inches off the ground.

    [It's a good plan, you-,] I heard the Superman begin to respond before I dropped the link, an ash storm swirling behind my eyes as the pain hit me. My heart pulsed once, twice, and before I counted a third beat I felt the familiar force of M'gann's telekinesis grip me.

    Wheelchair and all, I was pulled a ways through the air, and my vision finally cleared after another twelve heartbeats to see that we were tucked into a corner, surrounded bits of floating curtain, pieces of the speaking podium, stray chairs, and other miscellaneous objects.

    'We' being myself, President Harjavti, his daughter, his brother, and M'gann in an uneven camouflage, which she dropped.

    "Sorry for the scare, sir, but I thought getting you out of there was a higher priority than being subtle. You remember me?"

    "Miss Martian," I provided blearily, and added, "Arabic or telepathy," because I was unsure how well he spoke English.

    "No, no, I remember you, Miss Martian. She is the one who freed me, and incapacitated Psimon," the President Harjavti explained to his daughter and brother. He said something else in another language – probably Arabic, but I had released my duralumin-mind – and produced a small radio device, into which he said more things.

    Then followed the type of silent reactions I could recognize as signs of telepathic communication that I was not included into.

    I turned to the President Harjavti's family and re-opened my tap of connection.

    "Please do not worry," I said, barely able to hear my own uncertain voice through the clanging against my inner skull.

    "Th-that was Superman, right?" Noor Harjavti gave a little laugh. "Okay, yeah, things are gonna be fine. You look… different."

    She was not talking to me with that comment. I turned to follow her vision and saw only M'gann.


    'Oh, so that's how she decided to avoid the M'gann/Megan associations,'     I realized. 'Bald with a swelled head, like in the old movies we saw.'

    Not long after, Superman descended with the assassin in custody. I thought I recognized the name, but given my headache….

    Gratitude was expressed, arrangements were made for the speech to finish, and I was grateful for the chance to sit in a dark and quiet room with a cold cloth on my forehead for a looooong time. I must have dozed off, because the sun had set by the time I wheeled myself outside.

    'I know that this is supposed to be psychosomatic and done to me by my own powers,' I mentally groused, 'but knowing that doesn't make it any easier. …Would risking other consequences be worth some type of hypnotic therapy to fix this…? Not right now. But I will need to take it especially easy over the next week.' The throbbing was mostly gone, so I took a moment to review my upcoming schedule.

    'Today is Wednesday the first. It will take about a week of travel to go from Themyscira to Erebus, so we will need to be on the island as of next Friday, the 10th, to start journeying in time for the ancient Saturnalia on the 17th of December. I risk being refused participation if I am overtly unwell on the day we're beginning. So: rest, minimal storage, and appropriate physical therapy are the orders of the day.' I sighed at that.

    Then, having resolved myself, I started looking around for the others.

    The security staff had been watching me, and approached very quickly once I made it clear that I was finished resting.

    I was efficiently escorted to the President Harjavti's office, where he was nursing a drink while in conversation with Miss Martian and with the Superman. She gave me a hug while he put a hand on my shoulder, and the President toasted to my health.

    They and I then returned promptly to business.

    "I have had some difficulty convincing your comrades of your suggestions," the President Harjavti sort-of-lamented. "Perhaps you…?"

    "Which suggestion?" I asked, because some would be less appealing than others.

    "The one in addition to me or uncle J'onn checking people for telepathic triggers," M'gann elaborated. "Which, well, since I missed the thing with Superboy before the first time it got triggered, that clearly isn't perfect, though Uncle J'onn doesn't know how…." She quieted.

    "Mm. The Wonder Woman has the Lasso of Truth, and it can even reveal a truth the subject is unaware of at the time," I answered more confidently. "The questions to ask are simple. Do you have any conscious or unconscious instructions from Psimon or Queen Bee? Do you know any information about plots of Bialya? Ask the questions to every person who may have been in Psimon's control. Also, it is good, I think, to ask Psimon what he did while he was controlling minds. It seems simple." I waited for the Superman's most likely objection.

    "There are laws," he began before I cut in.

    "There are laws in the United States of America, yes. Are there laws in Qurac about the Lasso? Will an 'executive order' work?"

    "I believe, given the extremity of the situation, that it would work in this scenario," said Rumaan. "If Wonder Woman agrees."

    "I don't think she'd object to this," M'gann said when the Superman hesitated.

    "I'm not sure she'd be happy about it, either," he stated slowly, but he sounded less certain of his opposition.

    "Mm. The Wonder Woman does not like Queen Bee. Also, she believes in truth and freedom. It is important to find out the truth of Queen Bee's plot, and to free innocent people from the last of Psimon's control." Something occurred to me. "Where is Psimon?" I asked sharply.

    "He is being held in a jail cell, under watch from a guard with a radio, and a live camera. Psimon is wearing an inhibitor collar, and the keys to the cell and to his collar are held by separate guards, one of whom is not in the building, and all of whom must periodically check in by the radio to confirm that all is well," the President Harjavti informed me. "Also, there were no lasting injuries."

    I nodded, but asked, "Were there possible lasting injuries?" I had not thought so. I saw M'gann cringe, and the Superman shift uncomfortably.

    "Superboy," M'gann began with a glance to the Superman, "tried to free up Superman to take in the shooter by getting rid of the missile. He threw some stones at it, but… he… He hit the propulsion instead of the head, and it veered off, into a wall. Not too bad…"

    "But people were hurt by the, the broken wall," I finished, unable to vocalize 'debris' at the moment. "They are okay. Is he okay?"

    "He... berated himself for endangering people, and then after he finished apologizing to everybody, he declared that he was going to do accuracy practice so that he wouldn't make that mistake again," said the Superman. I nodded neutrally, and the conversation moved on.

    At the end of the meeting, when it was almost midnight, I stayed behind because I had another few things to ask the President Harjavti. The Superman and Miss Martian went ahead uncertainly, promising to wait and bring me back a little later.

    I settled down again, and accepted a drink from the President.

    I was not one to drink much alcohol, even at home, but I would not say no to a depressant at the moment, and it had a pleasant bite.

    I tapped connection and lowered my glass.

    "Is this about what you said before," he asked carefully, "about your belief that we are already at war? Queen Bee will try again?"

    'It would have been, if you did not mention it, but since I know you are still thinking of it there is no need to thrash a fallen skaa.'

    I shook my head. "No, it is about citizenship, and emigration, and refugee laws in Qurac," I informed him.

    The President Harjavti hesitated.

    "While it would be a wonderful piece of propaganda, I doubt you are thinking about seeking Quraci citizenship," he noted. "Is this about the young boy who was hurt, or his mother? Or another subject entirely?"

    "It is, I think, another subject entirely. Mm. In the United States of America," I said slowly, "the Martian Manhunter has become a naturalized citizen, I think, after a many years, and Miss Martian is here on a special visa. The Martian Manhunter is a citizen, but is not… even though he is not a human," I finished. "There are laws to recognize other alien immigration. However, the law does not see a robot like the Red Tornado as a citizen. He has lived in the United States of America longer, and was created or born there, but he is not a citizen.

    "I wanted to ask you about the laws of Qurac about citizens, and immigration, and non-human rights for alien people," I finish. "I have a problem about humans rights and non-citizens, and this is a chance to explain it, to hear your opinion, and to maybe plan the future."

    He looked… intrigued, and even smiled tentatively at me before he began to speak.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • This could end up with groups like Dr. Magnus and the Metal Men and non-American Un-Men seeking Quraci citizenship due to concerns over their legal status. That would be an interesting complication to Queen Bees ambitions as I doubt she planned for the possibility of someone like Detective Chimp seeking a government job.
     
    42hitchhiker said:
    This could end up with groups like Dr. Magnus and the Metal Men and non-American Un-Men seeking Quraci citizenship due to concerns over their legal status. That would be an interesting complication to Queen Bees ambitions as I doubt she planned for the possibility of someone like Detective Chimp seeking a government job.
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    I think the intention is that the Genomorphs could move there, which would also provide protection against any evil mind controllers that happen to live next door.
     
    Armok said:
    I think the intention is that the Genomorphs could move there, which would also provide protection against any evil mind controllers that happen to live next door.
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    Yes, I know but I figured that if the Genomorphs move there for citizenship there are quite a few characters that could end up making the same decision whether due to being robots, genetically modified, or magically imbued with intelligence in the case of Detective Chimp depending on how much of the main DC comics universe is used here.
     
    Kurkistan said:
    Ferris: I'm here to support you as a person, not as a president.
    Harjavti: Thanks, I appre-
    Ferris: So let's talk policies...
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    Very perceptive.

    Remember that Ferris is very manipulative, albeit benevolently so on most occasions. Establishing a first impression of being personable will help make him more receptive to the political; she's also happy to help any person problems he brings up, but she isn't sure what specific things are troubling him after this, same as the League isn't sure what specific things are troubling her about Cadmus.

    nmWarden said:
    I wonder if there is a Century Child in Khandaq, Quarac or Bialya. Perhaps he or she could be a tech wiz that leads a cultural revolution supporting government-free internet over a heavily restricted and monitored internet. I just have so many ideas floating around for mundane and superpowered Century Children in this setting!

    Wait. Could Klarion use Hemalurgy on a Century Child if he got some Atium to hijack their powers? Oh dear.
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    I have not decided yet on all of 21st Century's children, but omakes are always welcome as inspiration! You have ideas? Feel free to write out any snippets or bios or whatever, and they'll at least end up Apocrypha if I don't canonize them.

    Also, Klarion would have to get back on the Material Plane and get some atium before he could try to hijack them.

    Even if that happened, he'd either be facing off against an adult Century Child and allies, or he'd be trying to get past the protections they have while they're still kids. Neither of which is conducive to his long-term health. But it is theoretically possible, yes.

    PatrickDiomedes said:
    Ok, why is she going to the underworld?
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    The JSA era hero Wesley Dodds, aka Sandman, had a sidekick once by the name of Sandy once. Events conspired to turn Sandy into a literal sand monster, and after he was captured they stuck him in containment for a few decades while working out how to try healing him.

    Then Sandy broke out, went on a rampage, and was believe to be dead and absorbed into the Earth itself at the end of it.

    Wesley Dodds discovered (by means unknown,) that no,Sandy is still alive, but is bodily trapped somewhere in the Dreaming. Since he's going to die soon, he asked Wonder Woman to help him save his once-sidekick first, and Ferris is tagging along because Magic Adventure.

    The loose plan is to go to Themyscira, go from there to the Greek Underworld, go from there to the Dreaming, and with luck come back after.

    Dark as Silver said:
    Personally I always prefered Chad alpharangs. :V:V:V
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    ...Are these an actual thing? Because I googled the term, and I just got a bunch of Quran quotes.
     
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