thelegion | video | post murderworld thoughts

So um... I've been thinking about this for a while. Ever since we left Harrub, actually...

[ He grimaced a bit, pausing for a couple of seconds. Glancing off to the side, before taking a breath, and addressing the camera again. ]

But um, after the whole Murderworld thing... it's kind of become clear that some of us aren't... handling things that well... [ He was thinking about Videl specifically, but the anon meme has also made it clear Videl wasn't the only one. ] I know we all took the oath for various reasons, and we probably all expected different things out of becoming a superhero. But um, some of us probably didn't expect this... so...

... With the whole "Legionnaire Legacies" thing coming around the corner, I think we should... [ Another pause, as he tries to figure out how to phrase this. ] ... um... I guess, share our lives with each other? To make sure we're prepared, in case... in case the news digs up stuff about us, and tries to drag us through the mud with it.

[ This is so weird and strange and against everything Gohan knows. He's usually the most secretive person in the world, but... he's kind of had to cope with having an open identity, so might as well go all in. ]

I guess um, I should go first? My name's Gohan, and... if you have any personal questions for me, I'll be happy to answer them...

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[Rich is sitting on Obs Deck, his feet dangling over the edge of the platform, his expression thoughtful.]

I've been thinking about that myself. It's not like I've kept certain things a secret from anyone, but out of context, there's a lot I did during the war that'd look terrible.

And a lot from before where I looked like an idiot obsessed with making myself look good. [He shrugs and looks sheepish.] Which I was.

But I grew out of that, and it's the war that'll look the worst.

[He bites the inside of his cheek]

The long and short of it was I became a superhero when I was seventeen. Like a lot of heroes, I did a lot of good, but also screwed up a lot. That's just how it works. I definitely wasn't the worst out there, but I wasn't really anything special, either. [He rolls his eyes slightly, and grins.] There are three of you that I know will probably try to argue that, so let's not and just say we did.

[He loves his friends but they just do not let him wallow in his perceived mediocrity as much as he wants.]

A few years back, the intergalactic police force I was a part of got wiped out during a really terrible intergalactic war. This omnicidal maniac named Annihilus was trying to destroy all life in my home universe. I inherited the power of all the Novas that had died, and somehow -- to this day I'm not even sure how it happened -- I wound up the head general of the resistance against him.

It was a no holds barred, Starship Troopers kinda thing. Billions died. Whole planets were wiped out. And it wasn't exactly the kind of war you could win by following the Geneva conventions. Our side never hurt innocent civilians -- we tried to protect as many worlds as we could -- but when it came to fighting the enemy we did what we had to do.

We didn't take prisoners, and I authorized things that, on Earth, would get a military leader tried for war crimes. But after I saw entire worlds filled with innocent people cut down, I'll be damned if I let anyone tell me it wasn't the right thing to do. You can't win a war like that by following rules of engagement your enemy has no respect for.

So, that's everything, I guess. I'm sure the people of the UP will twist that up, but I checked up on the history here: the UP's never faced a threat quite like that.

And I hope they never do.

The closest they had was the Roboticans, while they were being controlled, and that was still smaller scale.

Edited 2016-11-23 13:42 (UTC)

Crystal told me it nearly wiped out the Skrulls. Even the Kree never managed that.

[And then there was the Cancerverse, which managed to be even worse.]

I thought I was a huge bleeding heart, but this total freakout about killing is weirding even me out. It's like. Evil Mar-Vell-level obsession with life above all else.

I can't say I disagree with the Legion's rules on it, especially in a galaxy with a fairly decent justice system, but even their rules allow for self defense or defense of others.

I think they're just spoiled because the Legion's had to fall back on that so infrequently.

[It sounds like a terrible thing to say, but it's what he thinks.]

They're not used to facing as much hardship, as often, as some other universes do. So they're not used to the pressure it can put on people to survive, and the natural consequences that happen when heroes face villains that are just that bad.

[ Gohan's actually pretty quiet as he listens to what Rich has to say. A part of him genuinely paying attention to everything he was saying, while another part of him couldn't help but envy how easily the man was talking about all this. If it was this easy for Gohan to talk about the Cell Games, he'd probably be having less problems altogether.

But at the same time, it was encouraging. In the sense that, if one of them could talk about something this heavy with all of them... well, maybe Gohan could too. ]

Y-Yeah, that... that sounds like something the news would spin around...

They can do what they want. It doesn't change that I still made the right choices. Everyone would've died if we hadn't fought back with the same methods.

[He genuinely believes that.]

I'm still arguing it, officially.

[ Just not in any depth. ]

I kinda figured that'd be a given.

And the thought's nice, but it doesn't change the sheer levels of meatheadedness that were there back then.

Yeah, but it's not like you cornered the market on meathead. They're all meatheads, when you talk to them. Have you tried talking to an Avenger lately? You'd get a lot further talking to a literal pork butt.

[ He tries to make the shrug audible, but it's really hard to do without a Members Only jacket. So he kicks it over to video and then shrugs again. ]

You know you weren't that bad. Okay, you were kind of like a one-man cast of Baywatch, but have you seen what passes for TV here? I don't think a past history of rampaging ego would make the cut.

[ Robbie rakes his hair back as he figures out a delicate way to point out that the war will make for much juicier television than the attitude of a teenager too green to know any better.

Yeah, there's no way to gently allude to the death of billions. ]

They'll go for the gut punch, but I think it won't be so bad. You're too... [ Dopey do-goodery. Square-jawed. Apple pie, but with a massive pile of street meat on top. ] ... lame for them.

You did what was necessary to protect the most people.

That's not easy.

I don't think the people in this universe have faced enough cosmic planet-wide threats to get that.

Then it's good the Trapper thought to bring us.

[ 'How kind and thoughtful of him' says the Chief's non-tone. ]

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