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

Ngamer11 · Nov 2, 2024

Prince Charon said:
Yeah, I think Blitzen would get more and better advice from Diana or one of the other Amazons, for IIRC more than one reason.

How well could she keep herself from looking at Philippus weirdly?

Darko · Nov 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
because I got Ka-. Mist-. Clark's brain, and knowing Lex Luthor I'm sure that Conner got as much of his brain as he could manage. He should be the smart one.

Don't assume that Lex is that smart.

Mr Zoat said:
I frowns. "I'm pretty

"frown"

Mr Zoat said:
Yes. Mind controlled, for the whole thing. It… Um. It wasn't very nice. And… Then there was the white light. It is… Making me think about things."

"And so you want to stop thinking."

"For now."

Yeah, getting yo see that your beliefs were crap would be a big shock.

Mr Zoat said:
Shouldn't you be talking this over with your-. Ah, with Mister Garrick?"

Jay may not want to be around her all that much for very obvious reasons.

Osserumb · Nov 2, 2024

I am wondering what will happen in next instalment of intern hijinks. Mainly because there will be some Janet as guide to LexCorp , and there was a talk about a Janet, whose main qualifications are appealing looks and being perfect object for heroic rescue. It would be hilarious if there would be a need of either real or fake heroic rescue of said Janet.

BlackCoat13 · Nov 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"You can leave if there if you like."

it there

Neruz · Nov 2, 2024

RichardWhereat said:
Eh, three years old is relative.

There aren't many ways to sound that without sounding like...

While he's only got 3 years worth of experience, he skipped the entire normal development process via telepathic indoctrination, so his 'practical' age is... kinda weird and difficult to say due to nothing like that ever happening in reality.

Chojin Patriarch · Nov 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
April 27th, 2013
10:29 EST

"Recognized, Match, B Two Five."

I don't even really know why I'm here. I know Conner really likes the mountain for a whole bunch of reasons, but it's never really… When they fixed my brain, I didn't… Want to be a weapon, because… Because to me, 'being a weapon' means smashing everything in a berserk rage and I never want to be like that again. For Conner, it has-. Positive associations. It was one of the few things he knew, and he started… Building his identity by fighting things. It was something that was natural for him.

It's probably because it's important to him and OL that you're interested in it. So, Mitchell isn't really invested in the righteous face-punching stuff, then. I wonder what he could find to do that would make good use of his abilities?

I've.. done stuff with the Team before, but I don't really… I don't think I want to make a career out of it. Which is kinda funny, because I got Ka-. Mist-. Clark's brain, and knowing Lex Luthor I'm sure that Conner got as much of his brain as he could manage. He should be the smart one.

And he can be smart... When it comes to punching stuff. Well, not in the early days. We all remember his approach to Mister twister...

I look around the Mountain's hangar.

Ten thirty on a Saturday. Of course no one's here.

I know that feel. Always somewhere else to be. (In my case, at my local gaming store, intending to paint and instead helping assemble display miniatures for the overworked manager...)

"Are you back already?"

I look up at the hangar's camera, frowning as I try and recognize the voice.

It'd have to be someone authorised, or the alarms would be going off in the Watchtower.

"Uh, yeah. It was kind of a-."

"Oh, the other one. I am in the T.V. room."

Heh. I suppose he gets that occasionally with Conner. Maybe one of them needs a change of hairstyle?

Right, I'm wearing dark glasses. Since Conner doesn't, just about everyone realises that the kryptonian wearing dark glasses is me. Mentally shrugging, I head up the stairs towards the kitchen.

"Are you allowed to be here?"

Glasses are as good a way to show the difference, I guess. Partly to hide his distinct eyes, I would assume.

"No one stopped me. So, are you skiving off too, or are you here for a reason?"

I shrug to myself as I walk through the kitchen. "I was kind of looking for Conner, but I guess he's not here."

...League really needs to check the security in this place if just anyone can waltz in. Then again, they most likely entered via Zeta Tube or the sea-tunnel. Which means they're cleared, just unexpected.

"Lotto!"

I look through to the living room, and there's a blonde head hanging over the back of the settee to the side so that she can look this way. Looks a bit uncomfortable, but…

Blonde... To quote Blight: 'Do you have the slightest idea of how little that narrows it down?'

Ah.

I know we've got a lot of blonde women around now but I don't think that's one of the Supergirls. Her hair's too short.

And her attitude too casual, given Mitchell's nature as a clone. Though I would assume the Supergirls have gotten over any ingrained kryptonian prejudice on that front...

She smirks. "And you have no idea who I am, do you?"

"It's not that. I'm not as involved in the Team as Conner is. I'm just trying to work out if I should hit the alarm or not."

True, she could easily be a new recruit he hasn't met yet.

"No! No." She pulls her head back, and I hear… Material rubbing, and I stop in the middle of the dining area just in case this turns into a fight. "My father gave me an identification card."

"Your father?"

Girl, did he also never tell you not to move out of sight or rummage through stuff while not visible to an armed person?

"Jay Garrick."

I frowns. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't have any-"

Not directly. That makes this... Blitzen.

She's standing in the living room, and then she's closer and closer, fast enough that my eyes can barely keep up and I feel everything else slow, a drip from the sink faucet stopping in the air and a tiny cloud of dust the cleaning robots missed freezing like a solid cloud and I reach out to stop her or grab her and she arrives, stopping with my hand on her chest as time starts moving at normal speed again.

Good moment of kryptonian Superspeed... I suspect he even surprised himself there.

"Oh?" She looks down at my hand. "Very forward."

"Last time I hesitated to punch Aunty Philippus in the-. Chest, she broke my nose. Do you have that I.D. card?"

That is a good point. And a good way to train out little quibbles like embarrassment at inappropriate touching in combat. Though I am impressed she managed that much.

"You really can't work it out? You are speaking German."

"I am-?"

Oh. Yes. I am. That's the problem with learning languages telepathically; you sometimes… Switch tracks without meaning to.

If nothing else, it probably put her more at ease. Far too many English speakers for her taste, I'll wager.

"Anyway, here-" She pulls out a laminated card. "-is my papers."

Joannah Garrick. Lightning-. Blitzen. Justice League affiliate.

Heh, having to shift mental gears to untranslate.

I remove my hand.

She looks at me reproachfully. "You can leave if there if you like."

Ha! Is she like that with all the guys on the Team, or just the unattached ones?

"I-. I don't."

"Is it because I'm Nazi?"

"I think its because I'm three years old. Do you know where Conner is?"

Right, remember, technically underage.

"Ahhh… No. Kid Flash said something about helping Big Barda move Apokoliptian technology from where it is being stored to a more permanent home? But I do not know where they are doing that, and I don't know if Overboy is with him. You could.. telephone him."

"No, that sounds important." I mean, I could help, but… Joining in when it's him and Megan always makes me feel like a third wheel. They're nice about it, but…

I wouldn't be surprised if M'Gann can't help but have some twin fantasies... And then feel ashamed about it.

"You want to watch some T.V.?" Joannah walks normal-speed back into the lounge. "When I want to stop thinking I put the stupid cartoons with the bad drawings on."

I follow her, watching her as she flops back onto the settee she'd been lying on. "Why do you want to stop thinking?"

I'd ask which show, but that description can cover a lot of stuff since, well... Ever.

"Oh! Subtle!"

She pulls her legs up next to her, and I… I just sit in the air in front of her. Close enough for a conversation, but far enough away that I'm not crowding her. I think. She gives me a fairly blank look.

A nice, practical use of flight powers. Never need a chair, though the ladies would want to avoid skirts...

"So what were you doing today, anyway?"

"Doing my induction for a summer internship. Except it's at an evil company and they faked a robot attack on me and one of their managers to try and get me to show my powers."

Hey, Lexcorp itself isn't evil... Just some minor bits of it.

"That sounds fun. I assume you didn't do the sensible thing and level the whole place."

"No, I'm still going for the internship. Some girl called Janet is showing me around the office tomorrow. Ah. So how about you?"

Not a name I know, so I'll assume that's no-one important.

Can't wait to be proven wrong...

"My problems-" She looks away. "-are… The Orange Lantern and.. the other members of the team, asked me to join the Alliance of the Just to try to find out if there was anything sinister happening."

"Did you.. find anything?"

"I found some groovy-looking helmets. I even tried one on."

A Super-speed Justifier. Yeah, that's the stuff of nightmares.

Oh. "So…"

"Yes. Mind controlled, for the whole thing. It… Um. It wasn't very nice. And… Then there was the white light. It is… Making me think about things."

Impressive that it's unseating years of indoctrination.

"And so you want to stop thinking."

"For now."

"Shouldn't you be talking this over with your-. Ah, with Mister Garrick?"

He wasn't indoctrinated in a belief system that this world considers wrong, misguided and more than a little evil.

"I have, a bit. Ah, but what does he know about it." She thinks to herself for a moment, then looks back up at me. "I was… It was all selfish, you know? I worked with the New Statesmen because it made me so powerful that no one would try and tell me what to do. Apart from Overman, but he didn't micromanage. I never really cared about making other people's lives better outside of the job, never about People and State. And even coming here, it was just… Personal interest. And because I want to be somewhere else when Overman's war starts, and a little because I want Angelika to stop moping. But, the white light... It felt good, and now I am starting to feel bad. I think things about myself…"

Ah. She cares more about her own freedom than anyone else. But now that she's had a big dollop of compassion poured in...

"You want to become an actual superhero?"

"'Actual', yes." She snorts. "I want to believe in something more than myself. You understand my problem."

It is a right quandary. At least here she can get actual training for that stuff. Training focused more on ignoring things like race, creed or colour.

With the examples she had? "Ah… Yeah."

"So? What wisdom does Overboy Two have?"

Please, it's Wonder Boy.

Given how he does seem to take after Diana more... It's only a matter of time before he chooses to take up her symbol rather than Superman's.

"If you want guidance, don't talk to a three year old."

She smiles weakly. "Yes, that is fair. Perhaps we can consult Mister Ren and Mister Stimpy instead?"

Hey, little kids can see right through adult biases purely because they don't know about them, nor understand them if they do know.

This is an interesting wrinkle in affairs. Makes you wonder what would happen to Earth Ten's more determined believers if they had their own White Light event. Though I wouldn't want to try and invoke it there. Once is special, but throwing them out repeatedly just makes them mundane. At least Overman and Overgirl have one more ally who can see past the party line, now.

Old Knife · Nov 2, 2024

MitchMatch is milking this three year old thing too much.
I would too honestly.

"I have a problem and I want advice."
"I use sexuality to try knock you off balance."

"I'm literally three years old. Go bother someone else."

Is he three years old from release?
Or is he three years old from gestation?

Darko · Nov 2, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
Impressive that it's unseating years of indoctrination.

She hasn't necessarily been indoctrinated.

If I remember correctly it was mentioned that superhumans on Nazi Earth actually receive little to no indoctrination compared to average people because the Nazis genuinely believe that those that are physically superior will gravitate towards superiors morals and ethics, which to them means Nazi morals and ethics.

Chojin Patriarch said:
He wasn't indoctrinated in a belief system that this world considers wrong, misguided and more than a little evil.

I mean, he did grow up in the early 20th century America, which did have a lot of problematic elements, many similar to Nazi behavior, so he may be able to give her some advice.

Bud-E · Nov 2, 2024

Was a Nazi Superboy ever mentioned before cause I don't remember it. And what is this about Overman starting a war?

Darko · Nov 2, 2024

Bud-E said:
Was a Nazi Superboy ever mentioned before cause I don't remember it.

I think that's just how she refers to Kon.

Bud-E said:
And what is this about Overman starting a war?

Karl is interested in reforming Nazi Earth, so that it isn't Nazi Earth.

Naturally, the Nazis don't want that, so there's most likely tension.

Blitzen probably thinks that a war may break out.

Mr Zoat · Nov 2, 2024

Darko said:
"frown"

Thank you, corrected.

Yeah, getting yo see that your beliefs were crap would be a big shock.

Ah, no. As she said, she doesn't have moral beliefs. Angelika had moral beliefs, and when she discovered that the underlying premises were wrong she started trying to find a way to fix things. Joannah doesn't have a moral foundation.

BlackCoat13 said:
it there

Thank you, corrected.

Bud-E said:
Was a Nazi Superboy ever mentioned before cause I don't remember it.

There isn't one. They tried and got a Bizarro, and Nazis really don't like disabled people.

Ngamer11 · Nov 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Ah, no. As she said, she doesn't have moral beliefs. Angelika had moral beliefs, and when she discovered that the underlying premises were wrong she started trying to find a way to fix things. Joannah doesn't have a moral foundation.

So does this mean she's staying on Earth 16 permanently? Or will she eventually go back to Earth 10?

Darko · Nov 2, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
So does this mean she's staying on Earth 16 permanently? Or will she eventually go back to Earth 10?

She may probably go back when Overman is finished with his reformation project.

Granted, that could take years.

iamnuff · Nov 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"If you want guidance, don't talk to a three year old."

That's a good wisdom.

He might be selling himself a little short though. He's very blunt, but he seems pretty smart about it.

Chaoswind · Nov 2, 2024

wait is he really three years old? wasn't he released and fixed no more than a year ago?

I guess he was made three years ago and he counts the time he spend sleep as being comparable to being a baby with no object permanence.

Mr Zoat · Nov 2, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
So does this mean she's staying on Earth 16 permanently? Or will she eventually go back to Earth 10?

She has no plans to go back. Earth 16 seems nice enough. No one is planning to dissect her, breed her or give her orders. But she also wants to find a niche where she's valuable and if possible enjoys it, and she's not really sure how to go about doing that.

Ngamer11 · Nov 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
She has no plans to go back. Earth 16 seems nice enough. No one is planning to dissect her, breed her or give her orders. But she also wants to find a niche where she's valuable and if possible enjoys it, and she's not really sure how to go about doing that.

So the fact that Overman is fine with that means no one is going to request her return eventually? If so, then what does Joannah do when out as a civilian?

haralo99 · Nov 2, 2024

Wait, it was the life entity that end the anti-life crisis, and the clone is still missing. Did the white light bring it back to life, maybe?

Ngamer11 · Nov 2, 2024

haralo99 said:
Wait, it was the life entity that end the anti-life crisis, and the clone is still missing. Did the white light bring it back to life, maybe?

There's no guarantee it's even on Earth.

Ardy · Nov 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
She has no plans to go back. Earth 16 seems nice enough. No one is planning to dissect her, breed her or give her orders. But she also wants to find a niche where she's valuable and if possible enjoys it, and she's not really sure how to go about doing that.

She said earlier that she wasn't planning on hooking up with a slur for a black man as that would mean she wouldn't go back to earth 10 and overman's project would fail. Does that mean she was exaggerating or that she doesn't care anymore or never did or….

thebishop8 · Nov 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"I found some groovy-looking helmets. I even tried one on."

Oh. "So…"

"Yes. Mind controlled, for the whole thing.

Mr Zoat said:
She smiles weakly. "Yes, that is fair. Perhaps we can consult Mister Ren and Mister Stimpy instead?"

Huh, wasn't there a Ren and Stimpy episode about a mind control helmet?

View: https://youtu.be/uJ3yqtu5Hgc?t=101

Mr Zoat · Nov 2, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
So the fact that Overman is fine with that means no one is going to request her return eventually?

What if they do?

If so, then what does Joannah do when out as a civilian?

She doesn't know. She's never had a civilian life.

haralo99 said:
Wait, it was the life entity that end the anti-life crisis, and the clone is still missing. Did the white light bring it back to life, maybe?

How do you mean 'back to life'?

Ardy said:
She said earlier that she wasn't planning on hooking up with a slur for a black man as that would mean she wouldn't go back to earth 10 and overman's project would fail. Does that mean she was exaggerating or that she doesn't care anymore or never did or….

I don't remember exactly what she said, but it was probably a combination of her being insolent as a defence mechanism and genuinely finding the idea disconcerting.

Ardy · Nov 3, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
I don't remember exactly what she said, but it was probably a combination of her being insolent as a defence mechanism and genuinely finding the idea disconcerting.

sounds right. Here's the quote, for reference

Mr Zoat said:
"Jah. And many negro men have hit on me after being told." She gives her head a small shake. "It is very strange."

"They're probably just trying to annoy you. Or get you to say something that would make the Alliance kick you out."

"Or they think they can convert you."

"I am villing to not call for them to be deported to Africa, but let's not go crazy."

"Ah, but think how much it would piss off your creators."

"Psh, please. They vere purged years ago. And then the people who purged them vere purged. Unt I think that the people who purged them vere purged also." She takes on a slightly more serious expression. "If I did that, I vould not be going back. Unt if I do not go back, then Overgirl's oh-so-secret plan to change our society fails. So even if I meet a very nice negro, it vill not happen."

Ngamer11 · Nov 3, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
I reach out with my right hand. "Johanna, it's not-."

Mr Zoat said:
Joannah Garrick. Lightning-. Blitzen. Justice League affiliate.

I just noticed that you used different spellings for Blitzen's first name. Which one is correct?

Mr Zoat · Nov 3, 2024

April 27th, 2013
10:46 EST

"They never made that into an actual game, did they?"

I tear my eyes away from… I don't think this is my thing. And look at Johanna instead. "You mean, like, a board game, or do some people try it on real electric fences?"

"I meant the first one, but why would anyone try it with a real electric fence?"

"I don't know? Some people aren't all that smart, I guess. Um. Can I ask you a question?"

She frowns. "Does that question make more sense in English?" Then she picks up the remote and pauses the cartoon. "Sure, sure. What is it?"

"What were you looking for Conner for?"

"Oh, that sort of question."

"I mean, you don't.. have to answer, I just…"

"I didn't… You might be able to help, but he has been out of the pod for longer. And I barely know you."

"I didn't know you really knew him."

"I know him more-." She sighs. "No, I should not… Say it like that. I suppose-." She straightens up, and gives me a… Smile, like she's talking to a reporter. "How would you like to help me instead?"

"I mean, I've got the rest of the day free. What do you need?"

"Just 'what do you need'?"

I shrug. "I don't know if I can do whatever it is. But, sure."

Her eyes drop, and she gives her head a small shake. "This is… Very different for me."

I frown. "I know Angelika said that Leatherwing was… Not very nice. But-."

"He tortures people to death for fun. And… Yes, the rest aren't that bad. Except Underwaterman can't risk seeming disloyal because the Party still isn't sure whether the Atlanteans should be purged or not, Martian has the same problem, Brünhilde is inhuman… In the bad way, her only real interest is sending strong souls to the Allfather. And Green Lantern is too shallow."

"That-."

"Of course, they-" She shrugs. "-may say the same things about me. Not the.. Martian, he is telepathic, but the others…"

I nod. "So you're surrounded by people you can't risk trusting. And… It's not just that you can't trust them yet, it's… You can't ever take that risk. But I.. thought you said that you came here because you didn't want to help Overman."

"What happened when you were taken from your birthing pod?"

"Ah…" I close my eyes for a moment, trying to remember-. No. Still nothing. Dubbliex said that it might come back, but… Memories can come back when you're in the same headspace you were in when you made them, and I don't ever want to be that angry again. "The first time? I don't remember."

"Okay. And the second?"

I shake my head. "I don't really remember that, either."

She frowns. "Why not?"

"They… Made my brain wrong. My amygdala-. Well, it's not actually an amygdala, but the bit of the kryptonian brain that does the same thing, basically got stuck on 'anger'. Everything I saw or heard drove me berserk. After it got fixed, I… Can't exactly remember what I did. I kind of remember what it felt like, but that's about it. The first thing I remember clearly is waking up in Superman's Fortress."

She's… Looking at me weird.

"What?"

"When they made me… They did not keep the ones who were malformed."

Oh. "They kicked them out?"

"They killed them and dissected them to find out what went wrong. I… Remember a few of them. They just… Disappeared one day. I have a little something to remember Gertrude by."

She… Pulls up her shirt a little and points to a small scar on her abdomen.

"A super speed kidney."

"What happened to your old one?"

"Human Bomb. He worked very hard to trap the whole building." She lets go of her hem and her shirt falls back into place. "I dodged and outran a lot of it and I heal fast, but I cannot replace entire organs."

"Do you need kidneys that… Ah, have… Super speed?"

She looks at me as if I said something stupid. "Yes, of course I do. What do you think happens if most of my body can survive moving at lightspeed but one organ cannot?"

Oh. "Oh."

"Did you have other brothers?"

I… Don't think so. I haven't ever asked if-. No, they'd have said something. Connor said that Paul was really mad about the Justice League not finding me, and Dubbliex definitely would have said something.

"No. Not unless you count Superman. So you… Don't buck the system because you're scared they'll do the same thing to you?"

"That used to be why. And then my supervisors got purged and so on, so I started to buck little things. But I don't… I avoid doing anything bigger, and that is probably why. When I think about… Committing to something as Overman and Angelika are, or… I don't know, saying how I really feel at a meeting, it's like there's a lasso around me and yanking me back. I just say something slightly insolent and everyone carries on."

"Do you think it's the same with Green Lantern? Because that kinda sounds like what you said that he does."

"No, he-. He says something loyal but… Hollow? You could be right, I don't know." She started sagging slightly, but then she straightens up again. "Okay! That's it. That's all I am saying! Why are you trying to work for an evil company?"

"Ah… Basically, I want to save my father's soul."

"Ah… Which one is your father?"

"Lex Luthor."

"The one with the beard, or the other one?"

"The other one."

"Oh." She frowns, shaking her head. "That will never work. Why do you think it will?"

"He could just have tried to have Superman killed. Again, I mean. Instead he had me made. If he'd won, then he'd-. I mean, if I'd turned out right, have needed to work with me for years. Decades. And he used his own genetic material for Connor. I think he was invested. Personally."

She gives her head a little shake. "No. I was made by scientists too, remember. They don't do it because they care. They do it to show off. Oh, they might tolerate you if you're perfect, but they're always… Looking out for what is going wrong. Because you're not a person, not an heir, you're a… You're a… An accessory. And if an accessory doesn't look quite right or do what it's supposed to, into the bin it goes! And think of it no more."

"Well then.. maybe he just thinks he can manipulate me into doing something. I don't think he's a good person or anything, but… I still wanna try."

She nods, and gives me a small smile. "Maybe you will do in place of your brother."

Mr Zoat · Nov 3, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
I just noticed that you used different spellings for Blitzen's first name. Which one is correct?

Thank you, corrected.

Ardy said:
sounds right. Here's the quote, for reference

Oh. In that case, the last line is more her trying to make herself look more essential in order to avoid having the League purge her. Even if that's not something they do, it's the sort of thing that's been a concern for her.

Darko · Nov 3, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
He could just have tried to have Superman killed. Again, I mean. Instead he had me made

To kill Superman.

Mr Zoat said:
If he'd won, then he'd-. I mean, if I'd turned out right, have needed to work with me for years. Decades. And he used his own genetic material for Connor. I think he was invested. Personally."

Assuming he just didn't have you killed after you killed Superman since he doesn't like aliens.

Mr Zoat said:
She gives her head a little shake. "No. I was made by scientists too, remember. They don't do it because they care. They do it to show off. Oh, they might tolerate you if your perfect, but they're always… Looking out for what is going wrong. Because you're not person, not an heir, you're a… You're a… An accessory. And if an accessory doesn't look quite right or do what it's supposed to, into the bin in goes! And think of it no more."

Yeah, if Luthor did show care towards either Kon or Mitchell then it would be more like the care someone has for a beloved object, like a car or a boat.

Chojin Patriarch · Nov 3, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
April 27th, 2013
10:46 EST

"They never made that into an actual game, did they?"

I tear my eyes away from… I don't think this is my thing. And look at Joannah instead. "You mean, like, a board game, or do some people try it on real electric fences?"

In the latter case, only really, really drunk and/or stupid people. and even then, the Mythbusters showed it just wasn't that likely to cause any kind of electric shock. Something about the stream getting too scattered unless you were practically touching it...

"I meant the first one, but why would anyone try it with a real electric fence?"

"I don't know? Some people aren't all that smart, I guess. Um. Can I ask you a question?"

I suspect it would too messy even as a kid's gross-out game. Unless it was played with a squirt gun filled water...

She frowns. "Does that question make more sense in English?" Then she picks up the remove and pauses the cartoon. "Sure, sure. What is it?"

"What were you looking for Conner for?"

Heh. Even in other languages, that little conversational quirk is odd.

"Oh, that sort of question."

"I mean, you don't.. have to answer, I just…"

It is a little nosy, prying like that.

"I didn't… You might be able to help, but he has been out of the pod for longer. And I barely know you."

"I didn't know you really knew him."

He has a point. She's not a team member, is she? And probably not that public a hero, given her infiltration attempt on the Alliance.

"I know him more-." She sighs. "No, I should not… Say it like that. I suppose-." She straightens up, and gives me a… Smile, like she's talking to a reporter. "How would you like to help me instead?"

"I mean, I've got the rest of the day free. What do you need?"

Oof, careful about blank checks like that, Mitchell.

"Just 'what do you need'?"

I shrug. "I don't know if I can do whatever it is. But, sure."

Good point. It's not like he has League-tier pull, especially in his civilian identity.

Her eyes drop, and she gives her head a small shake. "This is… Very different for me."

I frown. "I know Angelika said that Leatherwing was… Not very nice. But-."

That's a grand understatement. Though he hardly matters at this stage.

"He tortures people to death for fun. And… Yes, the rest aren't that bad. Except Underwaterman can't risk seeming disloyal because the Party still isn't sure whether the Atlanteans should be purged or not, Martian has the same problem, Brünhilde is inhuman… In the bad way, her only real interest is sending strong souls to the Allfather. And Green Lantern is too shallow."

Boy, just a messed-up old time in Earth Ten...

"That-."

"Of course, they-" She shrugs. "-may say the same things about me. Not the.. Martian, he is telepathic, but the others…"

I'm surprised the Martian doesn't speak their German. Or is it more the case that they prefer him not to use their spoken language? Edit: Never mind, I grabbed the wrong end of the metaphorical stick. It's more what he was keeping mum on.

I nod. "So you're surrounded by people you can't risk trusting. And… It's not just that you can't trust them yet, it's… You can't ever take that risk. But I.. thought you said that you came here because you didn't want to help Overman."

"What happened when you were taken from your birthing pod?"

I expect she's going somewhere with this. Probably somewhere scientific, given the Naziverse probably had lots of 'engineer superhumans' projects in the works.

"Ah…" I close my eyes for a moment, trying to remember-. No. Still nothing. Dubbliex said that it might come back, but… Memories can come back when you're in the same headspace you were in when you made them, and I don't ever want to be that angry again. "The first time? I don't remember."

Definitely a case of 'better off not remembering', really.

"Okay. And the second?"

I shake my head. "I don't really remember that, either."

That would be the time OL and Conner found him, of course.

She frowns. "Why not?"

"They… Made my brain wrong. My amygdala-. Well, it's not actually an amygdala, but the bit of the kryptonian brain that does the same thing, basically got stuck on 'anger'. Everything I saw or heard drove me berserk. After it got fixed, I… Can't exactly remember what I did. I kind of remember what it felt like, but that's about it. The first thing I remember clearly is waking up in Superman's Fortress."

And what was that time like, then? Third time lucky.

She's… Looking at me weird.

"What?"

"When they made me… They did not keep the ones who were malformed."

Well, that's disturbing, but entirely to be expected... Of course, that probably only counts the ones that survived to be born.

Oh. "They kicked them out?"

"They killed them and dissected them to find out what went wrong. I… Remember a few of them. They just… Disappeared one day. I have a little something to remember Gertrude by."

Ah. Spare parts, eh? Surprised they bothered to give them names.

She… Pulls up her shirt a little and points to a small scar on her abdomen.

"A super speed kidney."

Honestly, that makes it sounds like it process her blood at super-speed. But her whole metabolism is probably freaky that way, adapted to operate while accelerated.

"What happened to your old one?"

"Human Bomb. He worked very hard to trap the whole building." She lets go of her hem and her shirt falls back into place. "I dodged and outran a lot of it and I heal fast, but I cannot replace entire organs."

...Ouch. And that's technically one of the 'heroes' of the Freedom Force.

"Do you need kidneys that… Ah, have… Super speed?"

She looks at me as if I said something stupid. "Yes, of course I do. What do you think happens if most of my body can survive moving at lightspeed but one organ cannot?"

I'm guessing the results would be messy. And probably cause massive levels of internal haemorrhaging and sepsis...

Oh. "Oh."

"Did you have other brothers?"

...If Mitchell had worked out, he might well have been planned as the first of a whole line of super-soldiers...

I… Don't think so. I haven't ever asked if-. No, they'd have said something. Connor said that Paul was really mad about the Justice League not finding me, and Dubbliex definitely would have said something.

"No. Not unless you count Superman. So you… Don't buck the system because you're scared they'll do the same thing to you?"

That's quite a hefty fear. Especially if they later got the process right. Would be difficult without the original scientists, but I suspect the goal would be considered worth the waste.

"That used to be why. And then my supervisors got purged and so on, so I started to buck little things. But I don't… I avoid doing anything bigger, and that is probably why. When I think about… Committing to something as Overman and Angelika are, or… I don't know, saying how I really feel at a meeting, it's like there's a lasso around me and yanking me back. I just say something slightly insolent and everyone carries on."

If anything, the propaganda types might well use her misbehaviour as a humanising trait. Make her seem a little less robotically fanatical. Play her up as a jolly prankster.

"Do you think it's the same with Green Lantern? Because that kinda sounds like what you said that he does."

"No, he-. He says something loyal but… Hollow? You could be right, I don't know." She started sagging slightly, but then she straightens up again. "Okay! That's it. That's all I am saying! Why are you trying to work for an evil company?"

Though he's still able to channel Will, of course. But then, the Green light doesn't need much in the way of entanglement or investment to work, just determination.

"Ah… Basically, I want to save by father's soul."

"Ah… Which one is your father?"

...I mean, the obvious choice is right there. Still, she can probably tell he doesn't mean Superman.

"Lex Luthor."

"The one with the beard, or the other one?"

And it's amusing that she has to specify that. Probably fortunate Lex Sixteen doesn't go in for facial hair.

"The other one."

"Oh." She frowns, shaking her head. "That will never work. Why do you think it will?"

Hey, stranger things have happened. and in this sort of universe, the longer the odds, the more likely it'll happen...

"He could just have tried to have Superman killed. Again, I mean. Instead he had me made. If he'd won, then he'd-. I mean, if I'd turned out right, have needed to work with me for years. Decades. And he used his own genetic material for Connor. I think he was invested. Personally."

...Just not in the way some tabloids might have tried to suggest, shortly before Lex would have them sued out of business for it.

She gives her head a little shake. "No. I was made by scientists too, remember. They don't do it because they care. They do it to show off. Oh, they might tolerate you if your perfect, but they're always… Looking out for what is going wrong. Because you're not person, not an heir, you're a… You're a… An accessory. And if an accessory doesn't look quite right or do what it's supposed to, into the bin in goes! And think of it no more."

...Sadly, some useless parents consider children that way even in our world.

"Well then.. maybe he just thinks he can manipulate me into doing something. I don't think he's a good person or anything, but… I still wanna try."

She nods, and gives me a small smile. "Maybe you will do in place of your brother."

Heh. A fine pair, the two of them. Designer babies made by super-science for not-necessarily good reasons...

Talk about finding the oddest things to bond over. I imagine Johanna's felt a little lonely in that respect, if she's the only surviving product of the project that made her. Have to wonder how many other unique superhumans there are like her on Earth Ten. Just singularly unique people that are an amusing counterpoint to the ideals of fascism...

And look at Joannah instead.

There's that spelling again...

Then she picks up the remove and pauses the cartoon.

Then she picks up the remote and pauses the cartoon.

"Ah… Basically, I want to save by father's soul."

"Ah… Basically, I want to save my father's soul."

Neruz · Nov 3, 2024

Darko said:
Yeah, if Luthor did show care towards either Kon or Mitchell then it would be more like the care someone has for a beloved object, like a car or a boat.

Well it does depend on the Luthor.

Sometimes Lex Luthor is pretty unambiguously 2 dimensional evil; a narcissistic sociopath who cares only for himself. But sometimes he's not actually all bad; some versions of Lex would be capable of forming personal attachments and are pretty much only held back by the obsession with Superman.

Now, that said, I don't think this is the way to go about it. But given how Zoat has depicted him so far I am not entirely certain that this Lex Luthor is unsalvagable, so the overall intent is not wrong.

Mr Zoat · Nov 3, 2024

Darko said:
To kill Superman.

Is that a correction? What's wrong?

Chojin Patriarch said:
Then she picks up the remote and pauses the cartoon.
"Ah… Basically, I want to save my father's soul."

Thank you, corrected.

I'm surprised the Martian doesn't speak their German. Or is it more the case that they prefer him not to use their spoken language?

Huh? No, he speaks German. He doesn't say that about her because he's read her mind and knows how she really thinks.

If anything, the propaganda types might well use her misbehaviour as a humanising trait. Make her seem a little less robotically fanatical. Play her up as a jolly prankster.

Nazis aren't really big on that sort of thing, though they will tolerate it. I am reminded of a story (which I've tried and failed to find a reference for) where a man in 1930's Germany named his dog 'Hitler' to mock the Fuhrer. Nazi Party officials thought about taking him to court, but decided that it would make them look ridiculous.

I make no reference to Scottish comedians.

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